One of the most anticipated events at the Winter Olympics, figure skating dazzles audiences with daring jumps, dizzying spins and glamorous costumes. The artistry and athleticism of the modern-day sport, however, bears little resemblance to its origins when skaters diligently traced geometric patterns—or “figures”—on the ice. The first organized figure skating club—which formed in the 1740s in Edinburgh, Scotland—required new members to pass an entrance test in which they completed a circle with