Twice The Ice Is Nice

Justin and Sarah practice the Rhythm Blues

Having shared practice ice time for four years at Clearwater Ice Arena, Justin and Sarah decided in October to take a crack at ice dancing.

Before they got serious about it, though, they tested the frozen waters.

About a month earlier, the two started playing around with some of the ice dance moves.

They would stand about 16 feet apart from each other, do two back crossovers, step into the circle and spin around like ballroom dancers on a dance floor, only they were on ice. They laughed. They kept practicing.

Prior to those twists and turns, Justin always had been adamant he wasn't interested in partnering. He preferred to skate alone.

As all figure skating parents of boys know, when you have a son on the ice the idea of pairs skating is always out there because boys are a commodity in figure skating.

Time and time again, though, when Joe or I would bring up the notion of pairs skating, Justin's feelings about it stayed the same: not interested.

So I was surprised when one day on our way home from the rink Justin had a change of heart.

"Mom, I think I want to try ice dancing," he said.

"Really?" I responded, not quite sure anything would come of it.

Yes, he assured me, he wanted to give it a try.

Four months later, he is still trying to catch up so the two can compete at the Junior Nationals Ice Dance competition in December. Sarah, a more advanced skater, has already passed the dance tests and the USFSA moves in the field tests needed to compete at the national level.

So far, Justin has passed the USFSA's pre-preliminary and preliminary moves in the field. He's also moved through the first three dance tests, including the Swing Rolls, Dutch Waltz, Rhythm Blues, and the Canasta Tango, all of which may seem like innocuous dance sequences except when you're two inches from a partner with blades as sharp as yours.

But Justin still faces several challenging tests ahead of him. While he enjoys practicing the five step Mohawk sequence, he needs to work on his backward circle eights and get started on his juvenile moves. By summer, he'll need to skate all the steps and turns on good edges with good form, flow, power and precision in order to pass pre-juvenile and juvenile moves in the field. These test help skaters increase power and strength.

So the two work hard to learn the dance moves and get the timing down. Olympic ice dance medalist and coach Jim Millns is their coach.

Once Justin passes his USFSA moves in the field, they will be eligible for junior nationals.

But that only opens the door to nationals. They still have to skate through it.

Coach Jim has mapped out a schedule for them to get some experience performing together before the judges. They will compete for the first time as ice dance partners in March at the TBSA District 18 Championships in Oldsmar. In May, they'll do a pre-bronze level dance at the State Games in Coral Springs.

Meanwhile, Justin, 15, and Sarah, 13, continue to pursue their single skating efforts. Justin still takes single lessons with Coach Diana Deka. He will perform a single's routine to Pirates of the Carribean for the March competition. Sarah also will perform a single's routine at the competition.

As with all journeys, there are difficulties and challenges that arise. And it is here on this blog where we will both chart the course and follow Justin's love of skating wherever it may take us.