Kilian
A brisk march skated in Kilian hold on a small circle, fourteen steps to sixteen beats, testing close footwork, matched rotation and control.
Not checked yet. The mechanics on this page are a first draft by a non-expert, and no coach has seen them yet. Read them as a starting point and check them with a coach. Corrections are very welcome.
The dance
March in 2/4, 116 beats a minute. The hold is Kilian. Both partners skate the same steps. 14 steps and 16 beats to one pattern.
| Step | Hold | Both partners | Beats |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kilian | LFO | 1 |
| 2 | RFI-Pr | 1 | |
| 3 | LFO | 2 | |
| 4 | RFO | 2 | |
| 5 | LFO | 1 | |
| 6 | RFI-Pr | 1 | |
| 7 | LFO | 1 | |
| 8 | CR-RFO | 1 | |
| 9 | XB-LFI XF-OpSSt | 1 | |
| 10 | RBO | 1 | |
| 11 | XB-LBI | 1 | |
| 12 | RBO | 1 | |
| 13 | XF-LBI | 1 | |
| 14 | RFI | 1 |
The steps are in the rulebook's own notation: foot, direction and edge, with Pr for a progressive, Ch for a chassé, SwR for a swing roll, XB and XF for a cross step behind or in front, 3 for a three turn, CSt and SSt for C and S steps, Op for open and Cl for closed. From the step chart in US Figure Skating's 2026-27 rulebook.
The Kilian is short and fast: fourteen steps to sixteen beats, both partners on the same feet, travelling anticlockwise round an ellipse that can sit anywhere on the ice as long as it stays put once chosen. Only the two outside edges in steps 3 and 4 get two beats, and the rulebook wants them strong and unflattened.
The partners stay pressed together in Kilian hold, and US Figure Skating asks that they never drift apart and back. The rulebook singles out the cross roll and tight cross behind at steps 8 and 9, where the shoulders check to hold the lean, and the crossed open S step into step 10. The clockwise rotation through the back steps must stay controlled.
British Ice Skating lists it at National 7, one of five dances to choose from there. US Figure Skating tests it at Pre-gold.
Appears in
In the USA's grades
None of the American level lists in this guide name it.