Dance Skating - The Westminster Waltz

I thought today I would take a break from all of the pattern reviews, and go back to some skating stuff.  In our journey of dance skating, we are on the fourth and final World Class compulsory dance for this year - the Westminster Waltz.  This year it is being skated as a team dance, although it was used for solo dance event in 2009.  As with the Iceland and the Paso, there are two versions: the International version and the American version.  The International version has a set pattern and thus some different edges and timing in spots.  The American version is skated as a border pattern, and is now only skated in the senior solo event (although I can't seem to find any American solo videos).  For both styles, the ladies steps are used when skating solo.




Here is the International team:

And the international version skated solo:

The international version is also used for ice dance:

And, apparently, they also use it for solo dance?

Here is an example of the American style.  As you can see, the pattern changes location on the floor, and some of the steps and edges are different because of that:

You can see how this can get a bit crazy with a bunch of teams on the floor during warmup....

Not that we really have to worry about having quite so many teams around anymore.

This dance is used in both the American Gold Medal and International Gold Medal dance tests (using their respective styles) for team and solo.  As much as I enjoy watching the solo events, this is one dance that really looks so much more elegant with a partner, and also one where I feel the American version is nearly as lovely as the international style.

So there it is - the Westminster Waltz.  Next up I will start on the Jr WC dances for this year (14 Step, Imperial Tango, Rocker Foxtrot, and Flirtation Waltz).  Hopefully I can get them all covered in the next 3 weeks before the roller nationals starts!