Ice dance is a discipline of figure skating that historically draws from ballroom dancing. A team consists of one woman and one man. Ice dance originated as recreational social skating: couples and friends would skate waltzes, marches, and other social dances. By the early 1900s it was popular in this form around the world. The first international ice dance competition took place as a special event at the World Figure Skating Championships in 1950 in London. Ice dance was formally added to the World Championships in 1952 and became an Olympic medal sport in 1976. Dominated by British teams in the 1950s and 1960s, Soviet teams until the 1990s, and North American teams in the 2000s, the discipline lost much of its integrity as a sport in the late 1990s and early 2000s after a series of judging scandals. Ice dance has certain elements that competitors are required to perform in specific ways, including the dance lift, the dance spin, the step sequence, twizzles, and choreographic elements.

Read more: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ice_dance

_______________________________ Today's selected anniversaries:

1855:

The precursor of Michigan State University in East Lansing was founded as the United States' first agricultural college. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michigan_State_University

1947:

The French fashion company Dior unveiled its New Look collection (suit pictured), which revolutionized women's dress and re- established Paris as the centre of the fashion world after World War II. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dior

1968:

Vietnam War: Unarmed citizens in the villages of Phong Nhị and Phong Nhất were massacred, allegedly by South Korean Marines. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phong_Nh%E1%BB%8B_and_Phong_Nh%E1%BA%A5t_massacre

2016:

In the first meeting between the leaders of the Catholic Church and the Russian Orthodox Church, Pope Francis and Patriarch Kirill of Moscow signed the Havana Declaration at José Martí International Airport in Cuba. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joint_Declaration_of_Pope_Francis_and_Patriarch_Kirill

_____________________________ Wiktionary's word of the day:

Darwinian: 1. Senses relating to Charles and Erasmus Darwin. 2. Of or pertaining to the scientific views advanced by the English biologist, geologist, and naturalist Charles Darwin, especially his theory that living organisms evolve through the natural selection of inherited variations that increase organisms' ability to compete, survive, and reproduce. 3. (by extension) Of or pertaining to Darwinism, which includes the theories of Charles Darwin and other scientists. 4. (by extension) Competitive, especially in a ruthless manner. 5. (by extension) Exhibiting an ability to adapt or develop in order to survive; adaptable. 6. (chiefly historical) Of or pertaining to the philosophical and scientific views, or poetic style, of the natural philosopher, physiologist, and poet Erasmus Darwin. 7. Of or pertaining to Darwin, the capital city of the Northern Territory, Australia. 8. Senses relating to Charles and Erasmus Darwin. 9. An adherent of Charles Darwin's theory of the origin of species, or of Darwinism. 10. (obsolete, rare) An adherent of the philosophical and scientific views, or poetic style, of Erasmus Darwin. 11. A native or resident of Darwin in the Northern Territory, Australia. https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/Darwinian

___________________________ Wikiquote quote of the day:

More brain, O Lord, more brain! or we shall mar Utterly this fair garden we might win.   --George Meredith https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/George_Meredith