the form of figure skating in which couples perform sets of particular dance patterns to the accompaniment of music. Unlike pair figure skating, ice dancing is not characterized by jumps or lifts, and there is no prolonged separation of partners. Ice dancing was recognized as a sport in 1948, when the Dance Technical Committee was formed by the International Skating Union. In 1975 the committee included representatives from 25 countries.
The current program for official competitions includes three compulsory dances, an original set dance, and a free dance. There are nine compulsory dances, including the waltz, quickstep, blues, rumba, and Argentinian tango, which are divided into three groups of three different dances. The group to be performed at a given competition is determined by casting lots 24 hours before the start of the competition. The original set dance consists primarily of elements of the compulsory dances performed at a set rhythm. The free program, which lasts four minutes, includes four parts, each part differing in tempo. The skaters choreograph the program themselves and select their musical accompaniment. Skating performance is judged according to a six-point system.
World ice-dancing championships have been held since 1952, European championships since 1954, and USSR championships (as part of the figure-skating competitions) since 1964. World champions have included J. Westwood and L. Demmy (1952–55), J. Markham and C. Jones (1957–58), D. Denny and C. Jones (1959–60), and D. Towler and B. Ford (1966–69), all from Great Britain, E. Romanová and P. Roman (1962–65), from the Czechoslovak Socialist Republic, and L. A. Pakhomova and A. G. Gorshkov (1970–74) and I. V. Moiseeva and A. O. Minenkov (1975), from the USSR.
Ice dancing was added to the program of the Olympic Winter Games in 1976, and the first Olympic champions were Pakhomova and Gorshkov. In 1975, more than 5,000 people, including approximately 50 masters of sports, were studying ice dancing in the USSR. Outside the USSR, ice dancing is popular in Great Britain, the Czechoslovak Socialist Republic, the Hungarian People’s Republic, the Federal Republic of Germany, the USA, the Polish People’s Republic, Austria, Italy, and Canada.
V. I. RYZHKIN