Editing Ice dance (section)

==Rules and regulations==

Skaters must execute the prescribed elements at least once; any extra or unprescribed elements will not be counted in their score. In 1974, the ISU published the first judges' handbook for ice dance.{{Sfn|Hines|2011|p=xxv}} Violations in ice dance include falls and interruptions, time, music, and clothing.

===Falls and interruptions===
According to ice dancer and commentator [[Tanith Belbin White|Tanith White]], unlike in other disciplines wherein skaters can make up for their falls in other elements, falls in ice dance usually mean that the team will not win. White argues that falls are rare in ice dance, and since falls constitute interruptions, they tend to have large deductions because the mood of their program's theme is broken.<ref name="nbcolympics">{{cite news |last1=Lutz |first1=Rachel |date=2 February 2018 |title=How to be a Better and Smarter Figure Skating Fan |url=http://www.nbcolympics.com/news/how-be-better-and-smarter-figure-skating-fan |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180218055904/http://www.nbcolympics.com/news/how-be-better-and-smarter-figure-skating-fan |archive-date=18 February 2018 |access-date=18 July 2024 |work=NBC Olympics.com |publisher=NBC Universal}}</ref> The ISU defines a fall as the "loss of control by a Skater with the result that the majority of his/her own body weight is on the ice supported by any other part of the body other than the blades; e.g. hand(s), knee(s), back, buttock(s) or any part of the arm".<ref>S&P/ID 2022, pp. 80–81</ref> The ISU defines an interruption as "the period of time starting immediately when the Competitor stops performing the program or is ordered to do so by the Referee, whichever is earlier, and ending when the Competitor resumes his performance".<ref name=":0">S&P/ID 2022, p. 90</ref> A study conducted during a U.S. national competition including 58 ice dancers recorded an average of 0.97 injuries per athlete.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Fortin |first1=Joseph D. |last2=Roberts |first2=Diana |date=2003 |title=Competitive Figure Skating Injuries |url=https://painphysicianjournal.com/current/pdf?article=MTkx&journal=16 |journal=Pain Physician |volume=6 |issue=3 |pages=313–318 |doi=10.36076/ppj.2003/6/313 |pmid=16880878 |s2cid=42526887 |access-date=18 July 2024 |doi-access=free}}</ref>

In ice dance, teams can lose one point for every fall by one partner, and two points if both partners fall. If there is an interruption while performing their program, ice dancers can lose one point if it lasts more than ten seconds but not over twenty seconds. They can lose two points if the interruption lasts twenty seconds but not over thirty seconds, and three points if it lasts thirty seconds but not more than forty seconds. They can lose five points if the interruption lasts three or more minutes.<ref name="ISU 2022-18">S&P/ID 2022, p. 18</ref> Teams can also lose points if a fall or interruption occurs during the beginning of an elevating moment in a dance lift, or as the man begins to lift the woman.<ref>{{Cite web |date=6 May 2021 |title=Communication No. 2393: Ice Dance |url=https://www.isu.org/inside-isu/isu-communications/communications/25800-isu-communication-2393/file |access-date=18 July 2024 |publisher=International Skating Union |page=7 |location=Lausanne, Switzerland}}</ref> They can lose an additional five points if the interruption is caused by an "adverse condition" up to three minutes before the start of their program.<ref>ISU No. 2403, p. 68</ref>

===Time===
Judges penalize ice dancers one point up to every five seconds for ending their pattern dances too early or too late. Dancers can also be penalized one point for up to every five seconds "in excess of [the] permitted time after the last prescribed step" (their final movement and/or pose) in their pattern dances. If they start their programs between one and thirty seconds late, they can lose one point.<ref name="ISU 2022-18"/> They can complete these programs within plus or minus ten seconds of the required times; if they cannot, judges can deduct points for finishing their program up to five seconds too early or too late. If they begin skating any element after their required time (plus the required ten seconds they have to begin), they earn no points for those elements. If the program's duration is "thirty (30) seconds or more under the required time range, no marks will be awarded".<ref name="ISU 2022-80"/>

If a team performs a dance lift that exceeds the permitted duration, judges can deduct one point.<ref name="ISU 2022-19">S&P/ID 2022, p. 19</ref> White argues that deductions in ice dance, in the absence of a fall or interruption, are most often due to "extended lifts",<ref name="nbcolympics"/> or lifts that last too long.<ref name="nbcolympics" />

===Music===
All programs in each discipline of figure skating must be skated to music.<ref>S&P/ID 2022, p. 11</ref> The ISU has allowed vocals in the music used in ice dance since the 1997–1998 season,<ref name="coleporter">{{cite news |last1=Hersh |first1=Philip |date=23 October 2014 |title=Figure Skating Taking Cole Porter Approach: Anything Goes |url=http://www.chicagotribune.com/sports/international/ct-music-lyrics-figure-skating-spt-1024-20141023-column.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190316113755/https://www.chicagotribune.com/sports/international/ct-music-lyrics-figure-skating-spt-1024-20141023-column.html |archive-date=16 March 2019 |access-date=18 July 2024 |work=Chicago Tribune}}</ref> most likely because of the difficulty in finding suitable music without words for certain genres.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Clarey |first1=Christopher |date=18 February 2014 |title='Rhapsody in Blue' or Rap? Skating Will Add Vocals |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2014/02/19/sports/olympics/rhapsody-in-blue-or-rap-skating-will-add-vocals.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170707185102/https://www.nytimes.com/2014/02/19/sports/olympics/rhapsody-in-blue-or-rap-skating-will-add-vocals.html |archive-date=7 July 2017 |access-date=18 July 2024 |work=The New York Times}}</ref>{{Efn|The use of vocals was expanded to all disciplines starting in 2014.<ref name="coleporter"/>}}

Violations against the music requirements have a two-point deduction, and violations against the dance tempo requirements have a one-point deduction.<ref name="ISU 2022-19">S&P/ID 2022, p. 19</ref> If the quality or tempo of the music the team uses in their program is deficient, or if there is a stop or interruption in their music, for any reason, they must stop skating when they become aware of the problem "or at the acoustic signal of the Referee",<ref name="ISU 2022-19" /> whichever occurs first. If any problems with the music happens within 20 seconds after they have begun their program, the team can choose to either restart their program or to continue from the point where they have stopped performing. If they decide to continue from the point where they stopped, they are continued to be judged at that point onward, as well as their performance up to that point.<ref name="ISU 2022-19" /> If any of the mentioned problems occurs over 20 seconds after the start of their program, the team can resume their program from the point of the interruption or at the point immediately before an element, if the interruption occurred at the entrance to or during the element. The element must be deleted from the team's score and the team can repeat the deleted element when they resume their program. No deductions are made for interruptions caused by music deficiencies.<ref>S&P/ID 2022, pp. 90–91</ref>

The ISU provides the following definitions of musical terms used in the scoring of ice dance:<ref>S&P/ID 2022, p. 134</ref>

* '''[[Beat (music)|Beat]]''' – "A [[Musical note|note]] defining the regular recurring divisions of a piece of music."
* '''[[Tempo]]''' – "The speed of music in Beats or Measures per minute."
* '''[[Rhythm]]''' – "The regularly repeated pattern of accented and unaccented Beats which gives the music its character."
* '''[[Measure (music)|Measure]]''' (Bar) – "A unit of music which is defined by the periodic recurrence of the accent. Such units are of equal number of Beats."
* '''Strong Beat''' – "The first Beat of the Measure or group of two Measures supporting the skating count of the Rhythm."
* '''Weak Beat''' – "For Rhythms with a skating count on two Measures, the first Beat of the second Measure."

===Clothing===
The clothing worn by ice dancers at all international competitions must be "modest, dignified and appropriate for athletic competition—not garish or theatrical in design".<ref name="ISU 2022-79">S&P/ID 2022, p. 79</ref> Rules about clothing tend to be more strict in ice dance; Juliet Newcomer from U.S. Figure Skating has speculated limits in the kind of costumes ice dancers chose were pushed farther during the 1990s and early 2000s than in the other disciplines, resulting in stricter rules.<ref name="fashion">{{cite news |last1=Yang |first1=Nancy |date=21 January 2016 |title=What Not to Wear: The Rules of Fashion on the Ice |url=https://www.mprnews.org/story/2016/01/21/figure-skating-fashion-rules |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220210055916/https://www.mprnews.org/story/2016/01/21/figure-skating-fashion-rules |archive-date=10 February 2022 |access-date=18 July 2024 |work=MPR News}}</ref> Clothing can, however, reflect the character of ice dancers' chosen music. Their costumes must not "give the effect of excessive nudity inappropriate for the discipline".<ref name="ISU 2022-79"/>

All men must wear trousers. Female ice dancers must wear skirts or trousers. Accessories and props on the costumes of both dancers are not allowed. The decorations on costumes must be "non-detachable";<ref name="ISU 2022-79"/> judges can deduct one point per program if part of the competitors' costumes or decorations fall on the ice.<ref name="ISU 2022-18" /> If there is a costume or prop violation, the judges can deduct one point per program. Judges penalize ice dance teams with a deduction to their scores if these guidelines are not followed, although exceptions to these clothing and costume restrictions may be announced by the ISU.<ref name="ISU 2022-79" /> Costume deductions, however, are rare. According to Newcomer, by the time skaters get to a national or world championship, they have received enough feedback about their costumes and are no longer willing to risk losing points.<ref name="fashion"/>