The rhythm dance (RD) is the first segment of an ice dance competition. The International Skating Union (ISU) renamed the short dance to the "rhythm dance" in June 2018, prior to the 2018–2019 season. It became part of international competitions in July 2018. French ice dancers Gabriella Papadakis and Guillaume Cizeron hold the highest RD score of 90.83 points, which they achieved at the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics.
Gabriella Papadakis and Guillaume Cizeron from France during their rhythm dance at the 2019 Internationaux de France
Ice dance is a discipline of figure skating that historically draws from ballroom dancing. It joined the World Figure Skating Championships in 1952, and became a Winter Olympic Games medal sport in 1976. According to the International Skating Union (ISU), the governing body of figure skating, an ice dance team consists of one woman and one man.
Ice dance in 1976, its first year as an official Olympic sport (Irina Moiseeva and Andrei Minenkov)
Jackson Haines, the "father of figure skating"
Eva Romanová and Pavel Roman in 1965
Torvill and Dean performing in 2011