Last year Chris Fountain took a lot of stick for not always skating close to Frankie. He's partnership with Frankie was often called into question and the judges were always picking up on it.

I couldn't help but notice that last night Ellery did a lot of solo skating. Yet the same criticism was not leveled at him. I think that perhaps Ellery is better at conveying the connection over a distance and the moves they did do together were very believable.

Its just an observation. What does everyone else think?

I think a lot of the celebs were given sections alone to show that they can do it or poss cause they don't have many tricks yet ?

Oh I know that. I just think Frankie seems to spend less time in the hold position then the other female professionals.

It's not a criticism of Frankie by the way I love her.

Me too can't say that I noticed that tendancy but will be looking out for it in future weeks .... may just be initial nerves of having a new partner, have noticed Kristina always seems rather reluctant to do lifts with her partners initially

I recognised that tendency with Chris and Ellery, but don't remember it affecting Frankie's partnership with Lee Sharpe - hmm, may be time for some Youtube research!

And I think Kristina is probably reluctant to get lifted because her partners are usually a bit rubbish to start off with

You may have a point there but I meant that maybe thats how Frankie deals with her unease by doing more alone? Tho I didn't think it was that obvious in this first week

I've already said on a previous thread I hope the choreographers give Frankie & Ellery routines where they will be dancing TOGETHER. As you said Chris got a lot of stick for not dancing close to Frankie, he just did what he was told to do & I hope they don't make the same mistake again

I thought that Chris got stick because of a lack of partnership, not for not dancing close. You don't have to touch your partner to have a partnership with them, its more about eye contact and keeping time with each other.

Isn't Frankie a solo skater, anyway? Maybe she feels more comfortable skating solo but in sync with her partner.

Chris Fountain's presentation skills were not the best and I think that Chris Dean and Jayne were so enjoying having a contestant that they could give more advanced moves to, that they sometimes focused too much on showcasing what Chris F could do instead of showing what Chris F & Frankie could do together.

Plus Chris F was so enthusiastic that he tended to rush from one move to the other without finishing the first cleanly and so it often looked he and Frankie were out of time with each other.

I actually thought that Frankie had a good connection with Ellery, like she did with Lee Sharpe. I think the first time I actually saw Chris F and Frankie look each other in the eyes during a performance was when they were down on their knees opposite each other at the beginning of Bolero, whereas Frankie & Ellery had good eye contact during their routine.

The professional skaters are all used to having to accommodate different skating styles, from skating with different partners and in group numbers. The celebs aren't so experienced with that. Frankie and Kristina, for example, are both fabulous but they have very different styles. (Kristina is an ice dancer, which is more interpretative; Frankie's an adagio skater, which is more about spectacular moves.) If the opportunity arose, I'd like to see Chris F skate with Kristina to see if having to adapt to skating with a partner who has a different style to what he's used to might help rub some of the rough edges off his presentation and performances.

I felt a comfortable partnership developing between Frankie and Ellery and enjoyed watching them. I often got the impression with Chris F that he saw Frankie as a vehicle to showcase himself and their partnership often looked disjointed. I feel there is a difference in Frankie and Ellery skating solo sections and the "keystone cops chase" that often featured when she skated with Chris F.
Last edited by eunicelouise658 : 14-01-2009 at 23:29

Frankie is an "adagio skater" i.e. she is used to skating with a combination of apart pair skating and in-hold dance moves within a single routine. I think this is also the approach that T&D are aiming for for the couples within DOI.