Novice ice dance training gets specific in the final weeks before a competition. On Tuesday, November 3, Bella and Josiah ran their full free dance, drilled their dance spin and twizzles, and skated the Blues pattern dance. This Washington Elite practice report breaks down every element from top to bottom, with the rules that decide each level.

Tuesday, November 3, 2026: the full free dance and the Blues, element by element, with clean replays.

Novice Ice Dance Training: The Free Dance Scoreboard

A Novice free dance has a set list of required elements: two lifts, a dance spin, a step sequence in hold, a set of sequential twizzles and a choreographic element. Every box is filled in this program. Here is where each element stands after Tuesday’s practice:

The Dance Spin: Three Levels on One Transition

Josiah’s camel with Bella spinning upright is clean, with three to four rotations every time. That spin counts on its own. The sit spins and layback that follow are beautiful, but a short glide between the camel and the sits ends the spin, and anything after it is not scored.

Two Lifts, Two Very Different Stories

The crouch lift: built for Level 4

Josiah starts in a deep crouch before Bella leaves the ice, holds it through the lift, and finishes on one foot before she touches down. Bella holds a full layback supported only at the legs. That covers all four lift features: a difficult pose for Bella, a difficult position for Josiah, an entry feature and an exit feature. The job now is protecting the clock, since the whole lift runs about seven seconds against an eight-second limit.

The final rotational lift: a jump entry in the bank

Bella jumps into the final lift, which counts as an entry feature once the lift has a position feature to go with it. The lift rotates continuously for 6.3 seconds. Adding a clear change of pose in the air is the next step, and with the jump entry already in place that moves the lift up a level.

The Blues and the Choctaw

The Blues is a slow, heavy, deep-edged pattern dance, and at Novice it has four key points. Two of them are the same turn: the closed choctaw at steps 12 and 13, scored once for each partner. Bella and Josiah turn it cleanly and together, in a closed hold. The detail that decides the call is timing: each edge needs two full beats, and at 88 beats per minute that is 1.36 seconds per edge.

1. Skate steps 11 to 13 on a circle, counting 1-2 on the inside edge and 3-4 on the outside edge.
2. Bring the free foot to the heel just before the turn.
3. Deep knee on the entry so the edge has time to last.
4. Keep both edges on the same curve, with the closed hold steady through the turn.

What’s Next for This Novice Ice Dance Team

Nine days to competition. The work now is in the details: the spin connection inside the full run, twizzle features held a beat longer, and every Blues edge lasting its full count. These two have come a long way in one week. Catch up on the series: first day back on the ice and Monday’s free dance upgrades.

Novice Ice Dance FAQ