Gaynor and her partner also put a lot of emotion into their skating routines and they tell a story - which is another very important element of ice dancing. Jayne and Chris were masters of this - even from off the ice and staying 'in character' until the end.
Just watch the Olympic/European/Worlds ice skating - listen to the commentators. There are several elements on which the judges mark - there's the technical (lifts, difficulty of the steps etc), and there is also the 'performance' facet, which includes showmanship, storytelling etc.
I have yet to see Bonnie and her partner put any kind of emotion or storytelling in any of their routines.
Bonnie is spectacular at the lifts (because she's very supple, as a dancer would be - which has undoubtedly helped her), but that is only one part of a performance and she should know that, coming from a theatre background. I also think the judges have been too unstinting in their praise (and given extraordinarily high marks on the occasions when she didn't deserve them) and that has turned people off. Sad but true. I actually liked her at first but have been increasingly turned off partly because of this and partly because of the lack of actual 'ice dancing'. Gaynor may spend as much time 'attached' to her partner (although this is not always true) but this is ice dancing and that's an element of it. But she doesn't look as if she's actually being 'carried along' by him. Instead, they look like two equal partners. That doesn't seem to be true of Bonnie unfortunately.
I like Bonnie. Really. I just think that Stefan and Gaynor have more going for them in more of the elements. Their partnerships stand out on the ice and they can do 'romantic' and 'funny' routines whereas poor Bonnie is left with spectacular lifts and not much else. It's a pretty 'one-note' performance.
When I watch ice skating, I want to be carried away (pun not intended!), with the beauty and the romance (or the humour!), of it all - and whilst that has happened with others (Gaynor, Stefan, David, John (of course!), even Kelly), that has not happened to me when watching Bonnie. I gasp in awe at her lifts, of course, but that's all there is. Which is a shame because she could do so much more.
And 'Bolero' is not just about the moves. It is also (importantly!), about the 'story' of the two lovers who climb up a volcano to throw themselves in (dumb thing to do, in my opinion! But at least it would be quick!) - and at the moment, both Gaynor and Stefan and their partners are more capable of getting this across than Bonnie and her partner.
It's a shame there are so many threads attacking poor Bonnie - I'd like to see some of these people try what the celebrities are doing ! It's always easy to be an armchair critic. Part of this has, of course, been engendered by the judges' somewhat biased marking but there are always those who will verbally attack the people taking part in this without reason. I don't see any need for it at all. It seems very immature and pointless. Unfortunately it then makes some of the Bonnie supporters turn on the other contestants - which is patently unfair as it's hardly their fault that forum members are carping about one of their number!
They've all done extraordinarily well. Let's remember that and stop attacking *all* of them.
Those that can - do. Those that can't become critics!
He probably realises the air acrobatics will bring the marks from the judges. He is using Bonnie to get to the finals and it's worked, he should have helped her improve her ice skills on the ground more. I am sure she could have managed if she had been helped more in the groundwork.
