Ice dancing is commonly thought of as a mix of skating expertise, glamour, glitz, ice and celebrities, but it’s more than that. To be an Ice dance star, you not only need frosty talent but also tremendous dedication. Your reputation is always at stake when you are an Ice dance star and you are always needed to perform up to people’ expectation. A minor slip can permanently cause a dent on your reputation and you could become a laughing stock. This case was witnessed in the opening day of Torvill and Dean’s third live UK tour of Dancing being held in Sheffield, when the wardrobe malfunction hit in the very first number and Todd Carty’s send up of his own skills, or lack of them had the audience creased with laughter by the second. All the awesome lifts and rocking rhythm of Todd Carty that had everyone out of their seats was soon forgotten by the people and their applause turned into laughter. This is the reality of Ice dance stars when they perform well they get claps, cheers, but their one single mistake can have grave consequences.
This year’s tour celebrates the 25th anniversary of Jayne Torvill and Christopher Dean’s Olympic Gold medal win at the Sarajevo Winter Olympics in 1984 for their Bolero routine. They participated in this tour as well and showcased their expertise of making the most difficult moves look flawlessly simple even after a quarter of century. Their hardwork and dedication has made them the star. They rehearse hours to make sure that their every move falls in perfection. This is the difference between the stars like them and people like Todd Carty who should only be viewed on a good quality HDTV screen, like on the Sony KDL-40Z4500, as long as he is not ice dancing. Ideally, it would be better to watch Carty perform on a small and grainy TV screen, since it make will his abhorrent performance less visible. The flawless performances of the real stars in this event really showed that it takes something to be a star and not everyone is willing to put in the work, or is capable, of taking their performance to new heights.