Charlotte Oelschlager

“ The most important things to have in mind as one skates the elementary figure are carriage, poise and deliberation. If the body is correctly poised a slight stroke will carry the skater in the right direction; no amount of straining or kicking will cause the skate to execute the right figures if the body over that skate is in the wrong position or wrong balance.
19My own skating as head of the ice ballet at the New York Hippodrome is fast and spectacular, I admit; it has to be so to be theatric, to catch the crowd, to startle the sensation seeker. ”

“ The tracing of certain set figures on the ice is by no means all there is to figure skating. The correct carriage of the head and body, the arms and the balance leg are not merely an important part of the sport; they are even the very basis on which good marks are given in all serious competitions. No skater wishes to look like a freak on the ice. To avoid it one must cultivate the right carriage and balance from the start. ”

“ There are no set figures which the skater is expected to demonstrate in free skating. He has a limit of time, that is all. In that time he may skate as many different or similar figures as he sees fit, large or small, intricate or simple. Every resource of his skating knowledge may be brought into play here. Therefore it is not surprising that this portion of the skating contests in Europe attracts very large crowds from long distances. My skating on the stage of the Hippodrome is what might be called free skating, except that I am skating for the general public and not for skating judges. ”

“ There is an exhilaration and rhythm about ice waltzing which nothing equals. The skating stroke is long and swaying and fits the music better than dancing steps can be made to do. Probably the waltz, owing to its ease of accomplishment, will be the most stimulating influence toward making ice skating popular among both men and women. Almost any couple capable of skating the simplest of the school figures can learn the waltz on ice, whether they dance or not, in a very few trials.
The steps are the forward and backward outside edges and the threes. ”

“ One must not only be an independent skater but must also watch his partner and meet that partner’s stroke or change of stroke. Evenness and accuracy in individual skating are more necessary in pair skating than in solo skating for on that accuracy depends the manner in which the partner is met after separating strokes. In many figures the difficulty is enhanced by not only having to execute the figure but meet the partner at the right spot and the right moment afterward. It is in some respects a finer art to skate well with a partner than it is to skate well alone. ”

“ They are not pretty figures but are sometimes useful in embellishing a skating programme through their oddity. Spectacles are often extremely beautiful numbers to skate to music, the balance foot beating time in the air. Spirals are splendid figures for pair skating or for the demonstration of graceful carriage. The various grapevines have never been very popular in Europe yet they have much value in stimulating ingenuity and in increasing the flexibility of the ankles. ”

“ Skating to music is the most rhythmic of all exercises and far surpasses dancing in enjoyment and benefit. Dancing generally implies the need of a partner who dances equally well, while skating is a sport which can be enjoyed with a partner or without one. In fact, the more expert one becomes in skating the less one is dependent upon any one else for the pleasure of the sport. ”

“ Each skater should be able to do the outside edge forward circles and at least strike out alone on the backward edges. Each should be able to execute the threes on both feet, at least forward. With these fundamental accomplishments it is possible to do very pretty and very interesting pair skating. Figures which seem not at all remarkable when skated alone have added interest and beauty when skated with an equally competent partner. Even the waltz, which is in some respects the most effective of all pair skating numbers, can be done by skaters who have not advanced further than this point. ”

“ The body performs a gradual and almost complete rotation during the execution of the forward outside circles. At the beginning of the stroke the back is toward the centre of the circle, at the end of the stroke one faces the centre. The twisting of the body during the stroke should be first at the shoulders and afterward at the hips. But care must be exercised not to make this twisting conspicuous. It must be gradual, deliberate and almost unnoticeable. In fact, it is difficult to believe as one writes about the stroke that all these changes of poise and balance are taking place. ”

“ No skater can be considered as having learned the fundamentals of skating until he can do the school figures on both feet and in both directions. On the stage of the Hippodrome I frequently execute difficult spins and jumps on one foot, and then on the other foot, not for the purpose of prolonging the number but for the purpose of showing that I can do them equally well on either foot.
The start of the inside forward rocker is made like the start of the inside forward circle, but a strong inside edge is taken and the rotation of the body toward the circle is held back. ”

“ Where charm and grace are revealed in individual skating, the addition of a partner who skates equally well accentuates the grace and beauty of this poetry of motion.
Many other delightful features are characteristic of pair skating. It is the sociable form of skating, As in dancing, where few are expert enough to do solo dancing, thousands enjoy dancing with a partner. There is stimulus to individual achievement in skating with a partner. Weak figures are aided in their development by encouragement and the helping hand. ”

“ Skating backward in any circumstances is trying work to the beginner, and the curious balance of the outside backward circles is a hard thing to learn when one is at the same time distressed by the perfectly natural fear of skating backward. ”

“ The new thing to learn is the combination of the two strokes which have already been learned into one continuous movement or figure. A change of edge either forward or backward implies considerable loss of power or momentum at the place where the change of edge occurs. The most important thing to learn in all changes of edge is the manner of retaining or even of increasing this momentum at the time of the change. That the momentum of a skating stroke can be added to during its execution may surprise some persons who are unfamiliar with skating ”

“ One has the advantage of a partner at the threes who is placed where help in the balance is most desired. There is an advantage in knowing the change of edge, but it is often attempted for the first time in this waltz skating. The only disadvantage in the waltz which women who are not good skaters experience, is due to the fact that the woman skates backward most of the time so as to allow her partner to lead. There is more danger of bad collisions on the ice floor than on the ballroom floor and a good waltzing partner is even more desirable on the ice than in the ballroom. ”

“ If too wide reaching out of the arms is permitted the skater appears to be grasping at imaginary straws like a drowning man. Both extremes are bad but of the two it is better to allow the arms freedom of poise and carry them gracefully extended than stiffly hung to the sides of the body. Fencing and interpretive or folk dancing furnish interesting examples of the right use of the arms during vigorous action. ”

“ The shoe should not be laced so tight as to stop circulation or to interfere with the play of the toes, but it should be capable of being laced with rigid firmness around the instep. Skating is hard on the feet at first and makes them sore and tender. A thin lisle or wool stocking is advisable for the beginner, and cold baths will soothe and strengthen the foot muscles.
The costume for skating may now include practically all varieties of design and material, ranging from silk to leather, the latest fad. Nowhere can a woman look prettier and nowhere can she look less attractive than on the ice. ”

“ While the skating of school figures is always to place, and the marking of that skating is dependent upon the ability of the skater to make his tracings upon the ice conform to correct designs, the free skating is, as its name implies, entirely independent of conventional form and may be located at any place upon the ice. The free skating programme is the most interesting portion of the contest generally and offers the best test of the skater’s ability to illustrate mastery of the spectacular side of the sport. ”

“ Probably the beginner will not realize that he is making a sculling or waving mark on the ice until he has examined the print of the skates. It is an excellent practice to look at the marks which you have made in the ice. Often the accuracy of a curve or circles, or the correct tracing of a three or counter or rocker will be impossible to determine until the print has been examined. The judges in all great contests study the print on the ice as much as they do the carriage of the skater. ”

“ I have quite a deep groove ground in my skates, and I have the outer edge of the skate slightly lower than the inner edge. The height of the skate above the ice is not very important. Some of the experts favor great height. My skates are built comparatively low.
The flat bladed skate ought not to be used by any one who wishes to learn figure skating. The hockey skate is the right skate for hockey, but the wrong skate for anything else. To learn on that type of skate means that the skater must learn all over again when figure skating is attempted. ”

“ Start the outside forward rocker as for the outside forward circle with a strong edge and twisting the shoulders toward the circle. The balance foot should be brought up close to the skating foot just before the rocker and be almost over it when the rocker is made. The turn is made on strong edge in every case. The arms should not be allowed to spread or they will swing the body at the turn. The rocker is made by the strong twisting of the hip joint and skating foot at the moment of the turn, the skate making almost a complete reversal of position from forward to backward. ”

“ Skating is a sport for everybody—girls and boys, young people and old people. It can be started in extreme childhood and enjoyed far into old age. It can be a fast, strenuous exercise or a gentle enjoyment of poetic motion. It stimulates health, prompts to wholesome life out of doors, is a social diversion and, in its best development, requires considerable mental application. In every respect it is an ideal sport for people of any nation, especially those situated where natural ice is found or artificial ice is provided. ”

“ The inside edges are much easier. But there are certain fundamental things to remember in the inside edge circles. And unless they are remembered the figure cannot be executed properly. The circle will insist upon becoming a spiral in spite of all the skater can do unless these few foundation principles are mastered. An excellent method for learning to skate, seen constantly on the skating floors of Europe, is the little book or even the page from the book, held in the hand of the skater and studied constantly as the figure is practised. ”

“ These are the foundation of all figure skating. After they have been fully mastered the skater will probably discover a tendency to adopt an individual style and make up special figures suited to individual physical or temperamental characteristics. One skater, for instance, will especially enjoy spins and whirls; another will incline toward big, showy spirals; another will develop individual skill in two-foot movements such as grapevines, etc. Skating, like every other fine sport, becomes an expression of individuality. ”

“ This little book is intended as a stimulus and encouragement toward ice skating among Americans. It is intended as much for women as for men. There are no physical reasons why women should not skate quite as well as men. Skating is a matter of balance and grace, not strength. Young girls often become very expert skaters, doing all the difficult feats that grown men accomplish. Up to within a few years ago, the figure skating championships of Europe were open to both men and women on equal terms. ”

“ But the same edge is employed after as before the rocker, as right outside forward to right outside backward. Flexibility of the hip joints and courage to take a strong if apparently dangerous change of position are the chief requirements to the mastery of the rockers. The body and shoulders are often required to maintain one position while the skating leg from the hip down is being twisted into a different position in readiness for the new curve which finishes the figure. Again, as in brackets, the aid of a partner is most useful in learning the rockers. ”

“ Stand on the flat of the left skate, swing the right foot in front of you, just as if you were going to make a little jump backward onto that foot, bend the right knee a good deal and lunge onto the right skate on the inside edge. The left foot as it leaves the ice should then be carried across the right leg, with the knee bent and the toe turned out and down. It should be carried well across the print or mark that the skate is making on the ice and somewhat high, not dragging along. The body should lean strongly backward. ”

“ Spectacular jumps and spins, pirouettes and acrobatic development of skating strokes are the most taking features of any skating programme offered to the general public. For this reason, the skater who is ambitious to become an exhibition skater must perfect himself or herself in these movements which are somewhat outside of the strict school figures but which nevertheless are most important additions to general figure skating. ”