Bonnie is incredibly supple for her age. I know she gets critisised for her footwork but for sheer artistry I think she does well. She is graceful and fluid. She makes it look easy and some of the others look quite stiff and leaden compared to her.

I really look forward to Bonnie and her partner and their routines - the spin one was terrific last night. I don't look forward to lumbering Kelly and her daggers looks - it's her attitude that has completely turned me off her. Bonnie has personality by the bucketful and at 41, will find it more difficult to perform with a cold. Good on her for giving it her best shot, and staying upright. (still wish John was dancing )

It's called Dancing on Ice and I think BL 'dances' really well every week. Only she and Gaynor look at ease, the others all look awkward and their smiles look like clenched teeth - I'm not criticising, I couldn't do it. The judges are marking on technical merit, the home viewer is better placed to judge overall on artistry and general impression. I don't vote for someone who tries something really hard and it looks clumsy, I vote for who I think was the most pleasurable to watch. I don't have a favourite but if Bonnie were to win I think that would be fair.

I wasn't happy with Bonnie's marks because I failed to spot her required element --- I know she SAID she did one and the other one was assisted, but I did look for it because the leadin to her performance was full of how she was failing to nail it.

She stumbled on several occasions and she failed to produce the required element. The judges' rating was therefore far too high.

I don't mind Bonnie. I think she is a spectacular performer and she's got a whole new career opening up for her which I think it great.

BUT ... she MUST be rated on her dance performance in relation to the others and what is expected of her and I think the judges will have to accept that many of the others are now better than her when it comes to actual skating.

The trouble is that if the contest is judged on the basis of looking graceful while being twirled around it's a bit hard on the male contestants who have to actually SKATE and lift their partner at the same time. As for the age - Sean is about the same age surely and was also burdened by having to lift a partner who is as tall as he is.

The judges are really inconsistent. When John fell they said they didnt penalise him, but when Stefan did they said "its unfortunate but you did fall over and we have to take that into consideration". ERMMMMM HELLOOOOOO!!!! please decide which one it will be.

That was Jason again !

You have identified the flaw in the idea, really. We are asked to vote for an individual celebrity, yet we are watching a pair, one of whom is a professional skater. The man and woman have different roles in each pair, yet we are asked to compare them directly.

Maybe they should have had us whittle the males and females down separately, and then in the final pick the best overall pair.

but they did punish john....nicky gave him 5.0 for the routine but explicitly said to holly in the 'explain your marks bit' immediately after that it would have been 5.5 for sure without the fall

I don't disagree with you, but then in these kind of competitions it's usually harder for the man (thinking of ballroom dancing here where the man has to be seen to lead his partner) and in Sean's case, the physical size ratio did place him at a disadvantage. I found the pairing a bit hard to understand given the height of some of the other male celebs.

Again, my point about Bonnie specifically, is that whilst it looks easy compared to everyone elses' efforts (in that lots of people say Bonnie just gets carried or thrown around) then, it's not quite so straightforward as all that.
For example, Kelly does have a look of a startled rabbit about her, regardless of the technical difficulties, and should she have a partner strong enough to perform the same moves as Bonnie's, then I don't think she could pull them off with such aplomb.

I suppose I'm just saying that they all have strengths and weaknesses, and we should appreciate the things they do well, as there's more to it than might appear.

Yess Bonnie Dances - but On Ice?

Just thought - what about David taking those ballet lessons? he seems to realise that there's a lot more to it than just getting through the routine

I think you can put forward debits and credits for just about every 'celeb' left in now and (as always) it comes down to personalities and personal choice. Let's face it, people are always prepared to let things go if it affects their personal favorite!
Bonnie, to me, is the only one who actually dances to and with the music - obviously because she is a dancer! - and she actually finishes with the music (Gaynor has finished a good 10 seconds after the music at least twice) but the jazz hands and musical theatre facial expressions are a bit off putting.
Gaynor is if not bigger than her partner then basically the same size, but I'd guess because he is an ice skater he knows the techniques behind lifing, unlike Sean. On her plus side, she is an actress who can work the routine.
David can already skate - granted ice hocky but he has the basics - but he lacks performance (and he never has had that safe a pair of hands!!).
Stefan seems to have no prior skating experience but his partner is at least smaller than him, and again he has the performance ability.
Kelly - I think her debit and credit is bascially the same - a fierce comptetitiveness that doesn't know how to do 'just for fun'. She is used to working and training with just herself and I'd think she finds it hard to have to rely on someone else.

I must be honest, though and say that generally in these kind of shows the one I want to win tends to be a male contestant 'cos it seems like they always have the rough end of the deal.

Bonnie hasn't actually learned a new skill. As you said she could already dance, so once she's in the air the leg lines and body positons come naturally, but she's failed to get to grips with the skating.

The reverse is true of David. He could skate but couldn't dance. IMO the routine on Saturday showed his dancing skills are improving.

The other three had to start completely from scratch which is why I have such admiration for Gaynor and Stefan. They are both improving all the time and if the judges mark on all round performance they must be in with a shout of winning.

Kelly improvement on Saturday was down to Todd making sure she didn't spend too much time unassisted on the ice.

Oh for sure.
Like I say, I generally want a guy to win anyway 'cos I think it's more difficult for them - they have to 'show off' their partner if you like and for Stefan especially that must be very hard - like you say all Kelly had to do was be towed! It must be harder too for the female pro skaters to trust their celeb partner in the lifts when they are wobbling away under them!
I think was I just trying in a (rambling) way to say that if you like someone you can find a reason to excuse a bad performance and if you don't like someone you can find a reason why they should have gone.
I, personally, would like to see either David or Stefan in with a shout at the end and be the eventual winner. I think Bonnie should be their at the end because she does actually dance but I would like to see her perform a routine that didn't rely so heavilly on the lifts to gauge the improvement in her actual skating.

I certainly am not underestimating the courage it takes for Bonnie to perform those spins and I certainly admired her most at the beginning when her routines were the most professional looking but now that the other celebs having polished up their skating skills and others - such as Gaynor are taking part in spectacular lifts - it's begining to look as if she is doing the same old thing every week ...

I agree I re-played her performance and still didn't see the required element solo jump.

During the lifts Bonnie knows how to hold herself elegantly and land in an elegant manner. this is no doubt from her dancing training. Her skating needs some work though.

Bonnie looks good, moves like a dancer, looks the part, has great lifts and presentation, but I still fail to see her basic skating skills improve.

She's either on two feet, holding on to her partner, or skating like Bambi might, unsure and stiff. I think the choreo and the routine's layout, cover up her weaknesses and highlight her strong points, ie lifts etc.

There's always going to be a split decision on Bonnie.
It's a toss up between whether people are happy enough with the choreo and aesthetics of the lifts, or whether people want to see the celebs actual skating well.

The thing with Bonnie is she always looks graceful.
I know she stumbled on Saturday but we must remember she had never ever skated before the run up to the show.
To say she hasn't learned a new skill is a bit unfair really.
Professionals fall over sometimes too.

In one of her many interviews this week, one of the interviewers said something about she is working on her basic skating!!

Boy does she need to.