The television here at Miss Salsa has been on the Winter Olympics in Milan all morning. There is a special energy in the air that I recognize from the wings of major dance competitions. The focus, the tense faces, and those inevitable nerves; it is top-level sport in its purest form. But the question on everyone's mind at the coffee machine is simple: what time does the skating actually start?
Sunday, February 8: The Men's 5,000 Meters
Today, Sunday, February 8, one of the toughest distances is on the program. The men will appear at the start for the 5,000 meters. For those who want to watch on the box: the race starts at exactly 4:00 PM. It is a full afternoon program that lasts until approximately 6:20 PM.
Three heavyweights will be in action for the Netherlands. Marcel Bosker gets to kick things off in the very first heat against the German Gabriel Gross. Immediately after, in heat two, we see Stijn van de Bunt make his Olympic debut against the Norwegian Sigurd Henriksen. Chris Huizinga has to wait a bit longer; he only takes to the track in heat six after the ice resurfacing break. According to the latest reports from Schaatsen.nl, the international competition is cutthroat, with names like Davide Ghiotto and Sander Eitrem as the big favorites.
Figure Skating: Dancing on the Cutting Edge
From my 30 years of experience in the dance world, I naturally watch figure skating with an extra sharp eye. It is essentially ballroom dancing or ballet, but on a blade a few millimeters wide. The Dutch pair Michel Tsiba and Daria Danilova already made us proud during the opening ceremony last night, but their true baptism of fire on the ice is still a little while away.
It is striking that they temporarily left Milan to train in Switzerland. Michel Tsiba was very down-to-earth about it: in Milan, they only got half an hour of ice time per day. He joked that otherwise, they would come onto the ice next week like a 'bratwurst'. I understand that like no other. As a dancer, you need hours to get into that 'flow'. That discipline to follow your own plan, even if it means leaving the Olympic village for a while, shows enormous professionalism. They are not expected in the competition until next Sunday.
The Hard Lessons of Joy Beune
Yesterday we saw the women's 3,000 meters, where the Italian Francesca Lollobrigida took gold on her 35th birthday. A beautiful story for the sport, but for 'us' it was a tough pill to swallow. Joy Beune finished in the thankless fourth place. In an interview with the NOS, she indicated that she could not blame herself for anything, but that the fourth place is 'bitter'.
This is a moment that every dancer can learn from. You can perform the perfect choreography, execute every step technically correctly, and yet the jury (or in this case the clock) might just not fall in your favor. The resilience Joy shows after her previous setbacks at the OKT is admirable. That is the mentality you need to reach the top: take the blow, analyze, and move on to the next performance.
Jutta Leerdam and the Media Attention
Tomorrow, Monday, February 9 at 5:30 PM, it is Jutta Leerdam's turn in the 1,000 meters. There has been a lot of fuss about her interaction with the press. She wanted to stay in her 'bubble', which led to an official complaint from the sports press. Eventually, she gave in, but the tension is palpable. In the dance world, we know this too; the pressure from the outside can make or break your performance. It is a thin line between closing yourself off for focus and being open to the world watching you.
What We as Dancers Can Take Away
Whether you are on the ice or on the dance floor, it's all about rhythm. In long-track speed skating, you see that in the cadence of the strokes. As soon as a skater gets out of rhythm, the time increases. That is exactly what we experience in salsa or ballroom. The timing must be perfect. This afternoon at 4:00 PM, just pay attention to the 'swing' of the riders in the corners. There is a musicality in those movements that is almost hypnotic.
Concretely, this means for us: look at the technique of the push-off and the glide. The way these athletes shift their center of gravity is a masterclass in balance. Even if you have nothing to do with skating, watching these Olympic top athletes is a source of inspiration for your own body control.
So, set the alarm. 4:00 PM. Grab a cup of tea, settle on the couch, and enjoy the power of our Dutch men. We hope for a medal, but we watch primarily for the passion and the technique that brings this sport so close to the dance world.