ice dancing

American  

noun

1. a competitive ice-skating event in which a couple, using basic skating figures and not being permitted to use lifts, performs choreographed movements to music, based on traditional ballroom dances.

---

Etymology

Origin of ice dancing

First recorded in 1920–25

Example Sentences

On Monday, the Olympic skating competition continues with the ice dancing rhythm dance section with US world champions Madison Chock and Evan Bates bidding for a first Olympic individual medal.

From Barron's • Feb. 9, 2026

Among those to follow her were Debi Thomas, a two-time U.S. champion and a bronze medalist at the 1988 Winter Olympics, and Elizabeth Punsalan, a two-time Olympian and five-time national champion in ice dancing.

From Los Angeles Times • Feb. 1, 2026

They are hoping the wait may be nearly over with the emergence of Lilah Fear and Lewis Gibson, who Torvill says have "taken ice dancing in Great Britain to another level".

From BBC • Mar. 24, 2025

For better or worse, Ravel’s “Boléro,” with its churning swell of sound, has stirred the imagination of artists over time, among them the choreographer Maurice Béjart and the ice dancing team of Torvill and Dean.

From New York Times • Jan. 25, 2024

The prize was to skate in the ice show with Russian ice dancing stars Svetlana and Alexi Dubonov.

From "Case of the Sneaky Snowman: Nancy Drew and the Clue Crew, #5" by Carolyn Keene