“A twizzle will never be a triple-triple. And you all know it.”
I can’t lie – my favorite part about the Winter Olympics is hands-down the ice skating. The elaborate lifts, dance spins and perfect “twizzles” make both ice dancing and figure skating fun to watch – not to mention, those extravagant costume choices make the events worth-watching, in-and-of themselves.
But which of these athletic feats is the best Olympic skating event (and what exactly is the difference, anyway)? We asked some fellow BostInno staffers to chime in with their opinions of the events. So, let’s see which one takes the gold in this vs. that.
Ice Dancing
What the F is a twizzle? (Everyone’s first reaction to ice dancing, ever).
We get it – but by now you’ve heard of the USA ice dancing duo Meryl Davis and Charlie White. The two were recently awarded an Olympic gold medal for their performance (and for their twizzling, of course).
A twizzle is simply a “multirotational one-foot turn,” according to About.com. It’s a common move used in ice dancing, which is a lot like ballroom dancing on ice. The two figure skaters can be no more than two arm lengths apart from each other. There are no throws or jumps like in figure skating. And according to this Yahoo Sports blog, “a primary staple of ice dancing is intricate footwork sequences to the rhythm of music.”
BostInno writers Gillis Bernard and Hayden Bird weigh in:
“Ice dancing is absolutely sport… It’s like ballet on ice, it’s all in the subtleties, crazy power beneath the ever-so-smooth surface. So yeah, I’ll say it. Maybe the Olympic committee should consider adding a dance event to the Summer Olympics.” – Gillis Bernard, BostInno Business and Tech Writer.
“As far as ice dancing, I’ll be that guy: Everyone bashes on it, and it kind of becomes the default Olympic event that people question whenever some other sport gets cut by the IOC, or isn’t included (“Oh, but ice dancing is in, why can’t my Olympic dream of mud wrestling become a reality?”) Still, I maintain that it requires more precision than almost any other event.” – Hayden Bird, BostInno Sports Writer.
Pair Skating
Pair skating on the other hand, requires that the duo “complete a list of required elements, like throw jumps,” at least during their short program, according to Yahoo Sports. The always popular viewing event “features high-flying tricks and lifts and couples skating side-by-side in unison.”
BostInno’s Managing Editor Alex Weaver weighs in:
“Anyone who hasn’t skated seriously before might be quick to dismiss ice dancing as pure spectacle rather than serious sport. I wouldn’t go that far – they’re graceful as all hell and whatnot – but if you say it’s as exciting as figure skating, you’re just lying to yourself. A twizzle will never be a triple-triple. And you all know it.”
Winner: Ice Dancing (go ahead and hate).
Ice Dancing takes the gold because:
