The step sequences and choreographic sequences are the ‘dancing’ part of figure skating. They are all about utilising the blade’s edges (remember how a blade has an inside and outside edge, as explained in the Jumps article) effectively, turning from front to back, and how the movements flow from one to the other.
Step Sequences
These are technically scored sequences of figure skating skills, and the step sequence has its own grading attached to it. When you start learning how to skate, you’re taught some of the more basic forms of these moves.
For example, when I was skating regularly, I was at level 5 and was learning the moves I needed to complete levels 6 and 7.
These included three turns (also known as C turns) where you skate in one direction around a circle, then turn your foot to continue skating in the opposite direction on the same foot. So imagine skating forwards in a circle on one foot, then doing a 180 and continuing around that circle skating backwards.
Another move I was learning was the mohawk, where you’re skating forward on one foot, then you bring your back leg in with as much turnout as possible and transfer your weight to it so you’re skating backwards on the other foot.
Obviously, at an elite level, these skills have a lot more nuance to them, but if you watch the routines carefully, you can still see these fundamentals.
The step sequence consists of several moves like these, in a sequence and is judged on:
use of the entire ice surface (it has to at least go from one end to the other, though often it turns around and goes back again),
the difficulty of the moves,
how well they are controlled (especially upper body control),
how fast they are,
the variety of moves used,
how well they match the music,
and how deep the edges are (as in, how much a skater leans into the angle).
A routine also often has several required moves a skater must make as part of their step sequence, in the same way that they must have a certain number of jumps.
Choreographic Sequence
The choreographic sequence, on the other hand, doesn’t have any technical scores or specific requirements. They are used to add to the presentation score and are judged on the performance, creativity, and musical interpretation.
Choreographic sequences can include:
slides
lunges
spirals
expressive movements
“small” jumps or jumps that don’t have a set requirement
This is the “raspberry twist” that Ilia Malinin performs (I think he invented it, but I could be wrong). It’s basically a butterfly jump, with a horizontal twist added into it. It’s an example of a jump that is part of the choreographic sequence (and proof that even these so-called small jumps aren’t really small), but isn’t worth any specific points itself outside of presentation points:
Final Thoughts
Step sequences are designed to show skating skills, where choreographic sequences are designed to show who you are.
In Salt and Ice, these are where Mikael absolutely shines and what he loves to do, where Daniil struggles with them and usually rushes them in the hopes they will be over faster.
These are what make a program feel unique and usually what we remember the most (unless some record has just been broken). I’ll leave by sharing my absolute favourite figure skating routine of all time, Jason Brown’s Riverdance, where his step sequence and choreographic sequences absolutely excel. You might even be able to pick out some of what we’ve been talking about the last few days, including Brown’s own “small” side and front split leaps: