I know that some ballroom dancers also skate and vice versa, but it seems that some don't have much respect for skaters and their work....please elaborate....because when I compare ice dance to ballroom I see huge difference especially in the upper body work and presentation.
Also there is not much resemblance between ballroom and ice dance anymore.

As a former professional ballroom dancer, I have "gone over to the other side" and am now addicted to ice dance. It has taken 10 years to reach halfway thru the pre-gold level, whereas it took only 3 years to reach the same level in ballroom. (Of course, I was much younger then!) I must say that ice dance is WAY more difficult (and dangerous!), and I have found that some of the ballroom experience gives me an advantage, especially in musicality and posture. On the other hand, certain techniques learned in ballroom cannot be transferred to the ice, and sometimes I find it to be a disadvantage, as there are certain techniques "trained" into me that my coaches have not encountered before, that will simply not work on the ice. I do think that the feeling you get from ice dancing is the closest thing I have found to ballroom dancing. It is definitely more thrilling, because of the speed, and you can and need to practice more by yourself, but you cannot relax into it as you do on a dance floor, because one second's inattention can cause a catastrophe!!!!!