Definition: A death spiral is a figure skating move done in pair skating. The man does a back outside pivot and holds the lady's hand. The woman circles the man on a forward or backward inside or outside edge. The lady's body is in an almost parallel position to the ice and her head is dropped back.
Examples: There are really four different versions of the death spiral, since death spirals can be done on forward or backward outside or inside edges. There are forward inside death spirals, back inside death spirals, back outside death spirals, and forward outside death spirals.
A pivot spiral is an easier move.
The death spiral was first performed by Canadian pair skaters Suzanne Morrow Francis and Wallace Diestelmeyer who won a bronze medal in the 1948 Winter Olympics.
The back outside death spiral was the trademark move of Russian pair skating legends Lyudmila Belousova and Oleg Protopopov.
