It depends on the program. In her FS "O", Akiko used the music from Cirque du Soleil, but the program had an original story of a little blue bird surviving in nature. She had to be able to tell the story to the audience who had absolutely no idea what to expect. This particular performance at NHK Trophy was my third time to see the program after Japan Open and Skate Canada, and it was when I finally understood what she and Pasquale Camerlengo were trying to tell.
You wordy reply does not negate the fact ice that dancing has very little to do with actual sport. It can be lovely to watch but it is too subjective. More importantly it has been this way since the beginning, and it is only getting worse.That's like saying rockers and counters shouldn't be in the OlympicsTechnique is really important to ice dance too, not just interpretation (a.k.a. 'acting').
There may be a few ice dancers who try to cover up poor technique with theatrics, but on average they have better skating skills than singles skaters. Unlike the dancers, singles skaters can get away with unclear edges and scratchy turns as long as they have a couple of quads and a dramatic facial expression.
I can understand if your objection to ice dance in the Olympics is based on judging issues - the fact that they've dropped real technical stuff like patterns in favour of wantonly scored choreographic elements, the existence of a pecking order etc... It obviously needs improving. But just because something is subjective/unfairly judged doesn't mean it's not a sport, otherwise we might as well ditch the other skating disciplines too (do you believe Cohen/Zagitova/Candeloro/Yagudin never experienced score inflation?), plus gymnastics and synchronised swimming while we're at it.
It has much to do with "actual sport." It's quite obvious that you've never attempted to ice dance in your life b/c it's the hardest of the 4 disciplines (I know, I've done it and singles at an elite level and now pro).
