HIPPODROME SKATING BOOK, by “Charlotte”
To CHARLES DILLINGHAM, ESQ., TO WHOM I OWE A DEBT OF GRATITUDE FOR MY
AMERICAN FAME, AND TO WHOM ALL SKATERS ARE THANKFUL FOR THE
STIMULATING INFLUENCE HIS ENTERPRISE HAS HAD IN REVIVING INTEREST IN
AMERICA IN THE GREATEST OF ALL ATHLETIC PASTIMES, THIS LITTLE VOLUME
IS RESPECTFULLY DEDICATED,
[Illustration: Charlotte]
COPYRIGHT, 1916,
by
THE HIPPODROME SKATING CLUB
NEW YORK
[Illustration:
SALUTATION.
]
HIPPODROME SKATING BOOK
PRACTICAL, ILLUSTRATED LESSONS IN THE ART OF
FIGURE SKATING
AS EXEMPLIFIED BY
“Charlotte”
Greatest Woman Skater in the World
PREMIERE IN THE ICE BALLET
NEW YORK HIPPODROME
ELEMENTARY SCHOOL FIGURES
ADVANCED SCHOOL FIGURES
PAIR SKATING AND WALTZING
EXHIBITIONS AND COMPETITIONS
PUBLISHED BY
THE HIPPODROME SKATING CLUB
770 SIXTH AVENUE, NEW YORK
[Illustration:
“CHARLOTTE.”
]
CONTENTS.
Chapter
1— THE RIGHT EQUIPMENT, Skates, Shoes, Costumes, etc. Page 11
2— Correct Form of Skating Page 15
Illustrated Page 17
3— Outside Circles, forward Page 18
4— PLAIN CIRCLES, Inside Edge Forward Page 22
Illustrated Page 22
5— OUTSIDE CIRCLES, Backward Page 26
Illustrated Page 27
6— INSIDE CIRCLES, Backward Page 30
Illustrated Page 33
7— CHANGE OF EDGE; Forward; Outside to Inside Page 34
8— CHANGE OF EDGE; Forward; Inside to Outside Page 36
Illustrated Pages
36–37–38
9— CHANGE OF EDGE; Backward; Outside to Inside and Inside to
Outside Page 40
Illustrated Pages
40–44
10— THREES—Forward and Backward Page 45
Illustrated Pages
46–47
11— DOUBLE THREES Forward Page 49
12— DOUBLE THREES Backward Page 53
13— LOOPS, Forward Page 55
Illustrated Pages
56–58
14— LOOPS, Backward Page 59
Illustrated Pages
60–61
15— BRACKETS Page 63
Illustrated Page 65
16— ROCKERS; Outside Forward and Outside Backward Page 67
17— ROCKERS; Inside Forward and Inside Backward Page 70
18— COUNTERS Page 73
Illustrated Page 74
19— The Advanced School Figures Page 75
Illustrated Page 76
20— Other Important Figures Page 77
Illustrated Pages
69–72–83
21— FREE SKATING Page 79
Illustrated Page 80
22— Pair Skating Page 81
23— Competitions and Judging Page 90
24— Skating Ponds and Rinks Page 92
[Illustration:
“CHARLOTTE” starting the right inside edge forward.
]
INTRODUCTION.
Americans ought to be the greatest skaters in the world. They are
athletic people, lovers of outdoor sports and their country is situated
in the largest tract of the North Temperate zone occupied by any one
nation in the world. In this zone is found sufficient cold weather to
produce a great deal of natural ice and at the same time such agreeable
weather as to render the use of that ice, for sport, attractive and
exhilarating. In this respect the United States is more fortunately
situated than any of the countries of northern Europe.
This little book is intended as a stimulus and encouragement toward ice
skating among Americans. It is intended as much for women as for men.
There are no physical reasons why women should not skate quite as well
as men. Skating is a matter of balance and grace, not strength. Young
girls often become very expert skaters, doing all the difficult feats
that grown men accomplish. Up to within a few years ago, the figure
skating championships of Europe were open to both men and women on equal
terms. Perhaps the fact that women excelled in grace was partially
responsible for the separation of the sexes in these championships.
Much attention is paid in the book to the fundamental strokes, called
school figures. These are the foundation of all figure skating. After
they have been fully mastered the skater will probably discover a
tendency to adopt an individual style and make up special figures suited
to individual physical or temperamental characteristics. One skater, for
instance, will especially enjoy spins and whirls; another will incline
toward big, showy spirals; another will develop individual skill in
two-foot movements such as grapevines, etc. Skating, like every other
fine sport, becomes an expression of individuality. The foundation rules
must first be learned, after which personal choice will direct the
skater toward special figures most to his or her liking.
Skating is a sport for everybody—girls and boys, young people and old
people. It can be started in extreme childhood and enjoyed far into old
age. It can be a fast, strenuous exercise or a gentle enjoyment of
poetic motion. It stimulates health, prompts to wholesome life out of
doors, is a social diversion and, in its best development, requires
considerable mental application. In every respect it is an ideal sport
for people of any nation, especially those situated where natural ice is
found or artificial ice is provided.
[Illustration]
Frontispiece and cover design by Mr. Karl Struss.
Portrait Study, page four, by Count Streclecki.
All other photographs posed for at White’s Studio.
I wish to thank my American skating friend, Mr. James A. Cruikshank of
New York, for his assistance in the arrangement of this book and for
preparation of the manuscript for the printer.
[Illustration:
“CHARLOTTE” on right inside edge forward.
]
[Illustration:
CHARLOTTE’S personal equipment for skating.
]
CHAPTER 1.
THE RIGHT EQUIPMENT, SKATES, SHOES, COSTUMES, &C.
Skating on ice is the best sport in the world. It is also the best
method in the world for developing grace of carriage, supple muscles and
fine health through a fascinating exercise. I have tried all the various
sports, including swimming, fencing, dancing, tennis and mountain
climbing, and there is none to compare with ice skating.
Strange as it may seem, ice skating will both reduce fat and add fat; if
mildly followed as a regular exercise it will stimulate appetite,
digestion and that zest in life which makes for healthy, rounded
physique without superfluous fat. If persisted in vigorously, it will
reduce flabby fat into smooth muscle. It is especially good for the
reduction of fat around the waist and hips.
Skating to music is the most rhythmic of all exercises and far surpasses
dancing in enjoyment and benefit. Dancing generally implies the need of
a partner who dances equally well, while skating is a sport which can be
enjoyed with a partner or without one. In fact, the more expert one
becomes in skating the less one is dependent upon any one else for the
pleasure of the sport.
To skate properly or to learn to skate, the right equipment is
absolutely essential. The skate is the first essential; one may skate
fairly well with shoes which are inappropriate or costume which retards
free action, but with the wrong skates it is impossible to learn the
art.
The proper skate has two stanchions or uprights running from the blade
to the foot and heel plates. There seems to be scientific warrant for
the statement that this method of construction makes it “run farther.”
The old pattern having three stanchions or supports has been discarded
by the best skaters of all skating countries for years.
The toe of the skate should curve up and around the toe of the shoe, in
many patterns even touching the sole of the shoe in front. This curved
front is deeply cut in with very sharp sawteeth, and it is on these
sawteeth that so many of my pirouettes and pivots and dance steps are
made. The height of the foot plate from the ice is much less than that
of the heel plate from the ice, which naturally throws the skater into a
forward balance. Most of the time I am skating upon the part of the
skate directly under the ball of my foot. The curve of the blade from
toe to heel is about a nine foot radius.
My skates are very light, weighing only four ounces. I advocate a light
skate, and I think that most of the skates being used are too heavy. As
one becomes more expert, lighter skates become more important, for in
spins and turns on one foot the weight of the shoe and skate can
seriously affect the balance and throw the skater into a false curve.
For about two inches along the blade of my skate, almost directly under
the ball of my foot, I have a slightly flattened space which permits the
immense curves and spirals I execute. These would be impossible with a
sharply curved blade. The blade of my skate is splayed—that is, it is
wider at the centre than at the toe and heel.
I have quite a deep groove ground in my skates, and I have the outer
edge of the skate slightly lower than the inner edge. The height of the
skate above the ice is not very important. Some of the experts favor
great height. My skates are built comparatively low.
The flat bladed skate ought not to be used by any one who wishes to
learn figure skating. The hockey skate is the right skate for hockey,
but the wrong skate for anything else. To learn on that type of skate
means that the skater must learn all over again when figure skating is
attempted.
I am glad to hear that some of the American manufacturers are even
making their hockey skates with a curved blade, so that the simple
curves can be learned on that type of skate. There are several excellent
models of skates now being made in the United States.
The skating shoe should fit very snug around the heel and over the
instep, and should be comparatively high, seven or eight inches being my
preference. The heel of the shoe should be higher than that of the
sporting or tramping or golf shoe now being worn by the American woman.
It is important to get such skates and shoes as will throw the balance
of the body forward onto the ball of the foot when one stands on the
ice. This can only be done by raising the heel of the foot, partly
through the design of the skate and partly through the height of the
heel of the shoe. But no such thing as French heels are intended or
advocated, of course.
The shoe should lace from close to the toes up and should be a
comparatively straight last. A strong, stiff leather lined shoe should
be the first choice. Afterward, as the ankles strengthen, a lighter shoe
can be worn. I often skate in low shoes, my ankles are so strong, and
the only trouble I find with my low shoes is that the heel slips out in
the toe spin.
Artificial braces are sometimes valuable aids to the beginner. The best
braces consist of a bandage wrapped carefully around the ankle and foot
under the stocking. A stiff piece of leather set inside the shoe between
the stocking and the shoe is an excellent brace. It can be removed as
the skater gains strength.
The shoe should not be laced so tight as to stop circulation or to
interfere with the play of the toes, but it should be capable of being
laced with rigid firmness around the instep. Skating is hard on the feet
at first and makes them sore and tender. A thin lisle or wool stocking
is advisable for the beginner, and cold baths will soothe and strengthen
the foot muscles.
The costume for skating may now include practically all varieties of
design and material, ranging from silk to leather, the latest fad.
Nowhere can a woman look prettier and nowhere can she look less
attractive than on the ice. Some items are essential, however. The
material of the skating costume ought to be something which does not
bulk up, something which falls into naturally graceful curves and
straightens out quickly.
An undergarment of silk or satin in the form of a petticoat, bloomers or
knickerbockers is important in skating any difficult or spectacular
figures, since it serves to keep the gown from bunching around the legs.
The skirt should be comparatively snug around the hips and free, even
slightly flaring, around the edge. Fur bands around the edge of the
skirt give an air of appropriateness.
The new unrestrained and somewhat bold way of skating necessitates
skirts which permit freedom in the swinging and spread of the legs. A
petticoat or short skirt of thin woven elastic goods, especially if of
silk, makes an ideal undergarment for the skater, whether beginner or
expert.
The length of the skirt should be about to the tops of the skating
shoes. Sensible costumes are now being adopted by the best skaters of
all countries. One should as soon think of swimming in a long skirt as
skating in one. The skirt which reaches to the middle of the calf will
be found both comfortable and graceful.
My skating costume at the Hippodrome is probably regarded as very
daring, but I wish every woman who skates might test for herself how
comfortable it is. There is a stimulus in suitable costumes which it is
impossible to get any other way. Skating is worth a pretty and
appropriate costume, and such a costume will last for years and be
always in style.
[Illustration:
AN INTERNATIONAL SKATE STYLE of American Manufacture.
]
Note:—The CHARLOTTE SKATE, designed and used by CHARLOTTE, is not as
yet being manufactured in America, but it will be on the market next
winter. Those who desire this skate should accept none as the
genuine CHARLOTTE Skate unless stamped with her trade-mark on the
side of the runner.