So the assumption is that if you do different things you'll by default do them poorly? Besides, trying different things makes you a better and more well-rounded performer. It's learning experience.
No, that wasn't my assumption, it was yours. The word "poorly" never made an appearance in my remarks.
When one experiments laterally with a broad range of styles, that creates one sort of experience, for the skaters (or artists, or musicians, or writers), as well as for the observers/appreciators/fans. When one chooses to deepen their own understanding of one particular genre or style, then it creates another sort of experience for participant and audience members alike.
Just as one artist will choose one method and another artist will choose another, different fans/audience members will prefer one mode of experimentation and development.
What I and others were responding to, is the idea, expressed very often on the forum. (not just in regard to ice dancers). The idea that every skater must expand their repertoire to prove that their versatility, or their interest in versatility, makes them better artists ... that idea is expressed across the board about singles skaters, pairs, dancers. I don't think it automatically makes them better artists. In some ways, skaters who choose to explore one style and try to advance their understanding and their art through one genre or exploration are doing something quite more difficult. In any case, it's a choice. Papadakis and Cizeron are perhaps the best example, or the easiest example to point to, as skaters who choose to have this different sort of learning experience.
