What is the difference between Dance and Free Skate?

When your daughter first starts skating, she'll just be learning basic skating skills. After she has a collection of skills under control, her coach will give her a program or routine to skate to music. This program is her free skate program.

Read more: What is the difference between Dance and Free Skate?

What is a free skate?

Free skate is a solo skate routine (or program) done to music. The program is comprised of a choreographed sequence of moves and jumps that the skater does at a competition or test.

What's the difference between dance and pairs?

Pairs fly. Dancers don't.

If the skaters are doing side by side tripple lutzs or the guy throws the girl in the air or he lifts her above his head, they're pairs skaters. Dancers are big into fancy footwork and typically are never very far apart. I'm sure a skater can tell you a lot more specific differences.

What are elements?

Elements refers to standard moves that skaters must learn and execute. Each testing level has an associated group of elements that go with that level. For example, to pass the Junior Bronze elements test your skater would have to learn XX moves including: salcow, waltz jump, spiral (both feet), etc.

A skater's program is comprised of a series of elements choreographed to music.

What are all the levels about? Canskate. Preliminary. Pre-preliminary. Junior Bronze. Senior Bronze. Etc.

In Canada, go to the Skate Canada Web site.

Can you explain what all these skating terms mean? Axel. Lutz. Salcow. Loop jump. Toe loop. Spiral. Camel spin. Flying camel. Sit spin. Shoot the duck?

No I can't. But this guy has a really good site where he explains how to identify each element so now you too can tell the difference between a flip and a loop and na lutz and a salchow. 

http://www.sk8stuff.com/m_recognize.htm