I do agree that Kristi has had the advantage, she said that wasn't true because that floor is different than her ice skating rink but as someone pointed out she has the upper body moves for one and the 'graceful' thing going on. My sister always picked on Emmit because football players sometime take dance, but sticks up for Kristi.
I absolutely adore Kristi and really want to see her win this (partly because we haven't had a female winner since season1!!!!), but I will concede the point that she does have a bit of an advantage because of her figure skating. She has beautiful upper body lines, she's used to learning choreography, and working under pressure is nothing new to her. On the other hand, the skating can also be a liability.
First, she was never a pairs skater so she's used to working by herself. If you've ever watched So You Think You Can Dance, they stress on that show how partner work takes time to learn to do well. I think Kristi has done an outstanding job of partnering with Mark.
The feet can be a real challenge for her too, because in figure skating, there's no such thing as a pointed toe. You can't point with those boots on. And she's also used to working flat footed, keeping her weight toward the center/back of the boot so that she doesn't trip on the toe pick (remember the movie Cutting Edge?? Toe Pick!
). In ballroom dancing, flat feet and heel leads are a big no-no.
Finally, in figure skating, her turned in feet (she was born with club foot) aren't such a liability. The skate blades almost automatically correct her foot position which is one of the reasons she started when she was small. In ballroom dancing, she often has to turn feet out to be in the correct position and there's no blade to hold her foot the right way.
So yes, she does have alot of things going for her, but she also has a number of challenges to overcome.
I know she was only in 2nd place last night, but I just don't want one bad week to boot her off the show!
