BBC ON THIS DAY | 14 | 1984: British ice couple score Olympic gold About This Site | Text Only 1984: British ice couple score Olympic gold Jayne Torvill and Christopher Dean have been crowned the Olympic ice skating champions after scooping gold in Sarajevo, Yugoslavia. More than 24 million people watched the British couple score maximum points at the Zetra Stadium for their slow, sensuous free dance performance of Ravel's Bolero. It was an overwhelming St Valentine's Day victory for the duo in an event traditionally dominated by Soviet skaters. The couple from Nottingham received a standing ovation from the 8,500 spectators in the arena and flowers rained onto the ice after they completed their stirring four-minute performance. They scored 12 out of 18 possible sixes for their free dance and the maximum possible of nine sixes for artistic impression. I think it was the most emotional performance we have ever given.

What just happened out there - getting the medals - that is what we've worked for so hard for so long Christopher Dean Torvill smiled as the gold medal was hung around her neck and Dean had to fight back tears as he stood on the Olympic podium to receive his award. "Tonight we reached the pinnacle. I don't remember the performance at all. It just happened," Dean said. "But I think it was the most emotional performance we have ever given. What just happened out there - getting the medals - that is what we've worked for so hard for so long." Torvill added: "I just don't believe it. I don't think we'll get to bed tonight at all. I just want to say hello and thank the people of Nottingham." Natalya Bestemianova and Andrei Bukin, from the Soviet Union took the silver medal while the American skaters Judy Blumberg and Michael Seibert picked up the bronze. Princess Anne, who has been in the front row for all their Olympic performances, congratulated the pair on their victory. The Queen also sent a telegramme commending the British couple on their outstanding achievement.

Throughout the Olympics they have picked up three sixes for the first time in the tournament's history and another four for their Original Set Pattern Dance which, with their gold finish, gives them a career total of 107 perfect marks, more than any previous skaters. Torvill and Dean now have only their world championship to defend before starting a lucrative professional career. TORVILL-DEAN WIN GOLD WITH RECORD SCORE - SEIBERT DUO OF U.S. IS FOURTH - NYTimes.com TORVILL-DEAN WIN GOLD WITH RECORD SCORE TORVILL-DEAN WIN GOLD WITH RECORD SCORE; SEIBERT DUO OF U.S. IS FOURTH By FRANK LITSKY Published: February 15, 1984 SARAJEVO, Yugoslavia, Feb. 14— - The scoreboard lighted up with the marks of the nine judges, and the numbers made history. Jayne Torvill and Christopher Dean of Britain won the ice-dancing gold medal in the XIV Olympic Winter Games tonight, and every judge had given them a perfect score of 6.0 for artistic impression.

The couple also received three 6.0's and six 5.9's for the technical merit of their program, a slow, sensuous interpretation of Ravel's ''Bolero.'' Their 12 scores of 6.0 tonight gave them 19 in these Games. Soviet couples won the silver and bronze medals with Natalya Bestemyanova-Andrei Bukin second and Maryna Klimova-Sergei Ponomarenko third. Judy Blumberg and Michael Seibert, who live in New York City and train in Monsey, N.Y., finished fourth among the 19 couples. The American couple had been third until tonight's four-minute free- skating program, and they were beaten for the bronze medal by the slightest of margins. If Cia Bordogna, the Italian judge, had marked them a 5.7 instead of a 5.5 for artistic impression, they would have won the bronze. The 5.5 was their lowest score. Carol Fox and Richard Dalley of Wilmington, Del., finished fifth, and Elisa Spitz and Scott Gregory, also of Wilmington, were 10th.

Three-Time World Champions All 8,500 seats of the Zetra ice arena were filled, mainly because of the lure of Miss Torvill and Dean. She is 26 years old and he is 25. They come from Nottingham, England, and they have won the world championship the last three years. The judges give two sets of scores - the first for technical merit (how difficult the program was) and the second for artistic impression (how well it was performed). Only once before in figure-skating history, at the 1983 world championships at Helsinki, had competitors in singles, pairs, or ice dancing achieved nine 6.0's. Torvill-Dean did it then for their free-skating. No couple had ever received a 6.0 in the free-skating portion of Olympic ice-dancing. But perfect scores had become commonplace for Torvill- Dean here with three in Friday's compulsory dances and four in Sunday's original set pattern. 'Reached the Pinnacle' Their 19 perfect scores here easily surpassed the highest previous total for one competition, the 11 they received in last January's European championships in Budapest.

In all, they have received 107 perfect 6.0's in 11 competitions. Torvill-Dean were ecstatic after their victory. ''I think tonight was the best performance of that particular program so far,'' Dean said. ''It was the ultimate of our career. We've reached the pinnacle.'' Until the last two years, ice dancing had been an extension of ballroom dancing. Torvill-Dean and Blumberg- Seibert have tried to break the mold with classical and modern programs. Blumberg-Seibert skated tonight to Rimsky-Korsakov's ''Scheherezade.'' ''We know it's a gamble,'' Seibert had said. ''We know we are pushing boundaries.'' Blumberg-Seibert had just left the ice when Klimova-Ponomarenko came on. The Soviet pair's program was attractive, busy and traditional. Under the complex scoring system, the free-skating is worth 50 percent of the final score. As the leaders stood going into this final night, Blumberg- Seibert could have won the silver medal had they beaten Bestemyanova-Bukin.

They could have won the bronze medal by finishing ahead of Klimova-Ponomarenko. They did neither. Because Klimova-Ponomarenko finished third and Blumberg-Seibert fourth in free dancing, those couples tied for third place over all. Such ties are broken in favor of the couple that defeated the other in free dancing, and that left Blumberg-Seibert without a medal. Eight minutes after Torvill-Dean finished their program, the first three teams were called to the victory stand to receive their medals. Cheers rose from the British spectators, including Princess Anne. Americans Disappointed At that moment, Miss Blumberg and Seibert stood in a tunnel leading from the ice and embraced. Seibert patted his partner on the back. As the flags of the medalists were raised and the public-address system played ''God Save the Queen,'' the four-time American champions remained in the tunnel, hands on hip. They seemed to think it was almost incredible that they were not on the victory stand at that moment. Later, Seibert made no secret of their disappointment. ''I feel we skated very well,'' he said.

''We felt we came in with a silver-medal program.'' ''I thought we skated well,'' Miss Blumberg said. ''We felt our program was good skating, it was theatrical, it was showing what we do best. I guess that wasn't appreciated here tonight by the judges. What are you going to do?'' Ice-Dancing Pioneers Like Torvill-Dean, Seibert and Miss Blumberg have been pioneers in ice- dancing, and Seibert said they did not regret their roles. ''I feel like what we've done is important,'' he said. ''It is the correct way ice dancing should be going, whether the Italian judge questions it or not. She's never been a supporter in the past, so she's not a supporter now. That's nothing new. Change happens slowly. It takes somebody to be forward and take the risk before it expands and opens up.'' ''We're interpreting, not only skating,'' Miss Blumberg said. Ice-dancing rules allow four segments of music in each program, and ice dancers traditionally have utilized four. Torvill-Dean and Blumberg-Seibert use only one piece of music throughout, which disturbs some traditionalists.

It was suggested that the lower scores for Blumberg-Seibert were a message from the judges. Miss Blumberg looked up, tears welling in her eyes. ''If that's a message,'' she said, ''how can you expect to get higher in the world?'' photo of Jayne Torvill and Christopher Dean Torvill and Dean perform Bolero routine from 1984 Olympics... 30 years later | Daily Mail Online comments It is 30 years since the world’s most famous ice-skating duo entranced the nation with their gold medal-winning Olympic performance. But it could have been just yesterday for Jayne Torvill and Christopher Dean as they were pictured retracing their steps ahead of their final dance together. On Thursday, the pair revisited the incredible routine that won them perfect scores from the judges.

Still smiling: Jayne Torvill and Christopher Dean recreated their famous purple Olympic costumes for the photocall Reaching for gold: the duo are in Sarajevo to recreate the routine that won them gold at the 1984 Olympics Carefully does it: The pair's performance was every bit as perfect as their original On Valentine’s Day in 1984, the nation watched as the pair danced and twirled across the ice to Ravel’s Bolero at the Sarajevo Winter Olympics. They may be a little older - and they stuck to their purple but now updated outfits - but the dance was unmistakeable. The pair will recreate their performance in the Bosnia and Herzegovina capital after accepting an invitation from the Mayors of Sarajevo and East Sarajevo.

Purple rain: The skaters still looked magnificent in the recreations of their original purple costumes Skating success: The pair have enjoyed a long and triumphant career as professional skaters Carefully does it: The pair didn't seem worried about attacking tricky moves on the ice Back in the day: The pair won gold back in 1984 for their routine which they were seen practicing on Wednesday Going for gold: The performance won them gold at the 1984 Olympics They will perform at the Olympic Hall Zetra which has now been renamed the Olympic Hall Juan Antonio Samaranch after the former International Olympic Committee President. The judges gave them 12 perfect scores of 6.0 out of a possible 18, with sixes from all nine judges for artistic impression, something which had never been seen before. It will be yet another climax in a career that began when two young teenagers met at their local Nottingham Arena and started skating together.

Elegant: The pair were every inch as polished as their original medal winning performance Picture perfect: The skaters looked poised and polished during their routine Recreate: The Olympic duo plan to recreate the routine that won them the gold medal 30 years ago during the 1984 Winter Olympics Swan song: The pair's show Dancing On Ice will end this year Getting ready: Jayne Torvill and Christopher Dean were seen rehearsing the old Olympic Park in Sarajevo, Bosnia-Herzegovina on Wednesday After years of speculation, Torvill finally admitted that the pair had ‘dabbled’ in romance at one stage of their career. They have skated together competitively since 1976 and had a successful career before becoming creative directors of ITV’s Dancing on Ice. As the programme’s final series begins, Dean, 55, who lives in the US, and his partner Torvill, 56, who lives in Surrey with her husband, said they wanted to be remembered as a couple like Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers.

Standing ovation: The performance was met with huge applause Sharp skill: Dean balances his parter carefully off the ice using one leg I've got you babe: The pair are known for their impressive partner work His and hers: Torvill and Dean were dressed in similar purple ombre outfits They've still got it: The skaters showed they still have what it takes to impress Torvill said: ‘We didn’t want to wake up and be told we weren’t wanted. To end on a high is an important personal thing for us. ‘It’s like Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers - when the movie finishes the enduring image is of them as a couple.’ ITV announced that Dancing On Ice will finish nine years after the pair became creative directors and coaches for the programme following the current series.

Baby it's cold outside: The pair looked like they were feeling the temperature as they lay on the ice as part of their routine Lift off: The pair effortlessly performed one of their famous lifts Perfect partner: The professional partners have seldom skated with anyone else Keeping the passion alive: The pair have helped make skating more mainstream with their participation in Dancing On Ice Olympics-Figure skating-Torvill & Dean celebrate 'Bolero Day' Olympics-Figure skating-Torvill & Dean celebrate 'Bolero Day' Share By Pritha Sarkar and Daria Sito-Sucic SOCHI, Russia/SARAJEVO, Feb 14 (Reuters) - It was a Valentine's Day performance that began with an ex-policeman and a former insurance clerk kneeling on the ice for 18 seconds as they slowly swayed to the strains of Ravel's Bolero with their arms outstretched. That start, the two bodies flung across the ice in the dramatic finale and the captivating storytelling that went on in between for four minutes and 28 seconds at the Sarajevo Olympics left a worldwide audience awestruck.

As Britain's Jayne Torvill and Christopher Dean celebrate the 30th anniversary of what they call 'Bolero Day' on Friday, they have returned to the venue of their triumph to recreate an Olympic moment that earned them a row of perfect 6.0s in 1984 and that still gives goosebumps to everyone watching. "We didn't realise that it was going to be so special at the time," Dean, still looking fit and toned at the age of 55, told Reuters in an interview on Thursday. Torvill, 56, added: "It was special for us, it was different from anything we've ever done before but we didn't realise we'd still be talking about it 30 years later." "Or even performing it," quipped Dean. Just as masterpieces by Leonardo Da Vinci, epics by Leo Tolstoy and Beatles songs have stood the test of time, Torvill and Dean's Bolero set a benchmark for skating perfection and is still one of the most iconic Olympic images three decades on.

"In our heads we really believed in it and we thought that it was going to be unique because at that time nobody had really used classical music in this way," Dean said. "We were very sure that would bring people along this journey that we were trying to create." Torvill added: "I think that music build and builds, and that's how with the choreography we tried to start very slowly, very simply, and then it got more intricate, more speed, more power building to the end and also lots of eye contact and emotion." It is hard to believe that a routine that stirred so many emotions could not have been created if the duo were competing at this year's Sochi Olympics. A change in the rules and judging format over the past decade would have meant the routine being, as Torvill exclaimed, "Totally illegal and we'd have been disqualified!" Luckily for them, it was a different time and a different place and on Thursday they took a nostalgic audience on a trip down memory lane at the rebuilt Zetra Hall, which was destroyed by the bombings during the 1992-95 Bosnian war.

CREATING MAGIC Wearing more up-to-date versions of the flowing purple costumes that have become as memorable as the music and routine, they had the crowd on their feet as they glided around the ice. It is a routine that is still admired by the skaters competing at this year's Olympics in Russia, the majority of whom were not even born in 1984, although recreating that magic seems to be beyond the current generation. "There are certainly a lot of rules and regulations now within the sport that everybody has to do and therefore everybody starts to look similar," said Dean. "There is not always time for an emotional part of the routine, it's always kind of like doing business, we got to get this done, we got to get that done. The difficulty is putting that emotion into all of these regulations." Torvill added: "I think it stops a little bit of creativity because of having to contain certain rules and steps which may not necessarily fit with the music that skaters chose.

"But I think maybe that's a challenge for one couple to come up with something that has all of that." Sochi ice dance gold medal favourites Meryl Davis and Charlie White of the United States have tried to experiment by creating out-of-the-box programmes, with their Bollywood-themed short dance from four years ago winning rave reviews. But Davis acknowledged that the British couple remain untouchable. "It is a programme that we watched many times - I think every dancer has. Even now their innovation, it stands to this day and it is just so impressive so we are all kind of still in awe of them," she told Reuters. However, there are some people closer to home who are not as enamoured. "My kids... live in America and I don't think they understand the impact that it had," grinned Dean. "You know, daddy was a skater and won an Olympic medal and that's what he does." (Writing by Pritha Sarkar, editing by Ken Ferris) Reblog Torvill & Dean - Timeline Welcome to our skating timeline. We hope you find this both informative and fun. Use the date bar at the top to click through the years.

Look out for the icons on the media bar at the base and click for more pics, videos, facts and rollover our medals to record the victories. Britain was just recovering from the “three day week” and there was little in the way of green shoots of recovery. Harold Wilson was prime minister and Margaret Thatcher became leader of the Conservative Party. The average house price in the UK was £12,000, a gallon of petrol cost 72p and the male working population received an average salary of £4,000. Tiger Woods, Angelina Jolie and David Beckham were born. Bill Gates and Paul Allen founded Microsoft. In Nottingham, England, two teenagers who had met seven years earlier, danced together on ice for the first time. They were to become the ying and the yang of their sport, their names linked in immortality: Torvill and Dean. Jayne worked as an insurance clerk; Chris was a trainee policeman. But under the watchful eye of their coach, Janet Sawbridge, they won their first competitions in Sheffield and Bristol, and then in St. Gervais, France. They were on the way to becoming sporting legends.

In Oberstdorf, Germany, they came 2nd at an international competition, followed by a 4th place finish at the British Championships. That same year at the Winter Olympics in Innsbruck, Austria, Ice Dancing was introduced for the first time and the British skater John Curry took Gold in the men’s event. Unlike some Eastern European competitors, there was no likelihood of Jayne and Chris giving up their jobs and committing full-time to skating. Every morning and evening they would practice, until Chris left the area to continue his training as a policeman. Dedication was called for. And it paid off when they came 1st in Oberstdorf and 3rd at the British Championships. This meant they qualified to compete at the European and World Championships the following year. Steady progess. At the European Championships in Strasbourg, France, Jayne and Chris ended up in 9th place and 11th at the World Championships in Ottawa, Canada. They returned to Nottingham with renewed determination. The highly respected coach, Betty Calloway, agreed to oversee their training and they began taking ballet classes.

In November, they won the British Championships for the first time, an achievement that repeated itself for the next 6 years. They were placed 6th at the European Championships in Zagreb, Yugoslavia (now Croatia) and 8th at the World Championships in Vienna. The main focus was skating and working. There was little time for a social life. Early mornings and late into the night were spent at cold ice rinks. They became British Champions again. A major breakthrough. After coming 4th at the Europeans Championships in Gothenburg, Sweden, Jayne and Chris participated in their first Winter Olympic Games, held in Lake Placid, USA. They came a respectable 5th but it was Robin Cousins who stole the show with his Gold Medal in the men’s event. At the World Championships in Dortmand, Germany, they moved up to 4th position. It was now to be all or nothing. Chris resigned from the police and Jayne left her job soon afterwards. Faced with no income, Nottingham City Council came to the rescue with a grant, which raised eyebrows in some quarters. They began training more and more on the Continent, where they were given far more time on the ice, particularly in Oberstdorf, Germany.

British Champions for a third time. They were not expected to win the European Championships, in Innsbruck, Austria. The Russians had dominated the sport for the past 12 years. But on a glorious night for British skating, Jayne and Chris became European Ice Dance Champions and six weeks later in Hartford, Connecticut, USA they achieved their 1st World Championship Gold medal. Suddenly, Jayne and Chris were the new darlings of the British media, their relationship off the ice a subject of continued speculation. Ice Dance at that time comprised three sections: Compulsory Dances, Original Set Pattern Dance (now called the Original Dance) and the Free Dance. The nine judges would give marks out of 6 for Technical Merit and another for Artistic impression. The marks for each section were then added together to achieve a total score at the end of the competition. The music for the compulsories was chosen by the International Skating Union and made up of traditional ballroom rhythms, such as waltz, foxtrot, tango. The Original Set Pattern Dance SP was a set tempo chosen by the ISU for which you could chose you own music: for example, blues, paso doble, rock and roll.

For the Free Dance, you were ‘free’ to use any music of your choosing as long as there were no vocals and it was no longer than 4 minutes 10 seconds. Most ice dancers chose a medley of music, edited together, featuring different tempos to show off their skills. Jayne and Chris had always followed this style of presentation but yearned for more ways to express themselves. Click here for Page 2. After much deliberation and consultation, they opted for the Overture from the stage musical, Mack and Mabel, as their Free Dance. It would be the first time a single piece of music had been used to tell a complete story. For the Blues OSP, they chose a version of Summertime performed by the American harmonica virtuoso Larry Adler. They triumphed at the British Championships and to complete a perfect year, they went to Buckingham Palace to be awarded an MBE by HRH Queen Elizabeth. They were also named ‘Team of the Year’ by BBC Television. Click here to return to page 1.

At the European Championships in Lyon, France, Jayne and Chris retained their Championship title and scored their first sixes in overseas competition, three for Summertime and 11 for Mack and Mabel - a total of 14 out of 18, which was a record for an International Championship. They were also triumphant for the second time at the World Championships in Copenhagen, Denmark. This was the year when Jayne and Chris went for a night out at the theatre, to see a performance of the musical ‘Barnum’ at the London Palladium starring Michael Crawford. They met him backstage and a formidable partnership was formed that would prove to be unbeatable. With Barnum for the Free Dance and a rock ‘n roll OSP based on Paganini’s Variations, adapted by Andrew Lloyd Webber for his musical ‘Song and Dance’, Jayne and Chris prepared for the British Championships and the International season ahead. They won the British Championships and again were voted BBC Television’s Team of the Year. Crisis. A fall in practice just days before the Europeans in Dortmund, Germany, left Jayne unable to compete. They withdrew from the competition.

Jayne and Chris arrived in Helsinki, Finland, for the World Championships only weeks later and, with Michael Crawford looking on, they retained their international crown. The judges’ marks surpassed those of the previous year with 6 sixes for their OSP and for Barnum, a row of 5.9’s for Technical merit and an unprecedented 6 from every judge for Artistic impression. Breaking all previous records, they had dominated the event. The Winter Olympics were less than 12 months away. Jayne and Chris were redefining ice dancing. In particular, they had devised a plan to use music during which the tempo remained constant but the intensity and drama increased. They had been dancing to Ravel’s Bolero in training to warm up. The overture was 17 minutes long but competition rules stipulated that the dance routine in the Olympics must be no more than four minutes long, give or take 10 seconds either way. Composers Richard Hartley and the late Bob Stewart shortened it, rearranged it and shortened it some more but it was still too long by 28 seconds. Jayne and Chris, who always choreographed their own dance routines, came up with an ingenious solution.

They would make sure their skates did not touch the ice for 18 seconds once the music started. Six months of hard training in oberstdorf followed and then the British Championships. Victory secured them their 5th title. The European Championships came first. The OSP for this year was the Paso Doble and the Torvill and Dean performance is remembered as being their best ever, scoring six 6’s for Artistic impression. Bolero gained them a further 11 and the stage was set for the Winter Olympic Games in Sarajevo, in the former Yugoslavia, now Bosnia and Herzegovina. Leading the competition from the outset, their Paso Doble scored sixes again. On February 14th, more than 20 million people in the UK and millions more worldwide, watched on television for 4 minutes and 28 seconds as Jayne and Chris delivered a flawless performance of their Bolero. It was Valentine’s Day. Passions were running high. Some people worried that the judges might think the routine too radical, Ravel’s haunting score too extreme, their costumes too whimsical. Nothing of the kind. The nine judges reached for the sixes and awarded Jayne and Chris maximum points.

It had never been achieved before – and never since. They had won the gold medal in emphatic fashion. Then, at the World Championships in Ottawa, Canada, they took gold again. They had achieved every accolade possible. They returned to Nottingham and tens of thousands turn out to greet them in a victory parade. Click here for Page 2. All this time, Jayne and Chris had relied on grants. Their financial future was far from certain. There were options to join a number of ice shows as guest performers, but they harboured a desire to put together their own company of skaters and bring their style of ice dance to the millions who had supported them over the years. Jayne and Chris flew to Sydney to perform alongside the Russian Olympic team in a series of shows. This introduced them to an events promoter, Michael Edgley, and to the Sydney Dance Company, whose artistic director was Graeme Murphy. The show was taken to other Australian cities and then Graeme agreed to fly to Europe, to assist with the choreography of two new routines for their first World Professional Championships in the USA. They performed at the Royal Variety show in front of the Queen Mother and Prince Charles at the London Palladium.

A new routine, Song of India, had been filmed and was played on a huge screen, at the end of which Jayne and Chris appeared to tumultuous applause. They competed for the first time at the World Professional Championships – and won with ease. And they were awarded the BBC Sports Personality of the Year trophy, the first time it had been given to two people. Click here to return to page 1. They returned to Australia to prepare for Torvill and Dean: The World Tour. Graeme Murphy became co-artistic director and after assembling a company of top international ice skaters, rehearsals were held in a disused warehouse in downtown Sydney. Three months later, a few try-out shows were performed in New Zealand and Australia, then the entire company was transported to Oberstdorf for final rehearsals before the opening at Wembley Arena, London, England in the summer. Capacity audiences for eight shows a week with a run of seven weeks ensured that almost half a million people watched the show. They also performed in Nottingham – in a specially designed circus tent - where they were given the Freedom of the City. It had been a busy year, at the end of which they won the World Professional Championships in America for the second time.

Torvill and Dean: The World Tour went to North America, opening in St Johns, Newfoundland in January and toured throughout Canada, performing in enormous ice hockey arenas. After a short break, the show moved to the southern hemisphere and Australia, including performances in Tasmania in the circus tent, last used in Nottingham a year earlier. In the summer, Jayne and Chris filmed an hour long television special called Fire and Ice. Rehearsals and filming took place in Germany. The music was composed by Carl Davis, the director was Tom Gutteridge and Graeme Murphy once again assisted with the choreography. It was the highlight of the Christmas viewing schedule in the UK and won the Bronze Rose at the Montrose Film Festival. Then the company went back on the road for the North American leg of the tour. But Chris broke his wrist after only a few weeks. Some 50 dates were still left on the schedule. The company was disbanded. With nothing they could do on the ice, Jayne flew to Australia for a well earned holiday. Chris headed for London to try out tap dancing and singing lessons. Filling in the time until he and Jayne could get back to work.

Wrist healed, the most famous of American ice skating shows, The Ice Capades, offered Jayne and Chris a place on its tour. They performed without the responsibility of running their own show – but the dream of rebuilding a company once more was never far from their minds. Chris found the time to work with the French/Canadian ice dancing brother and sister, Isabelle and Paul Duchesnay, and choreographed their Jungle routine. Jayne and Chris officially opened the first outdoor skating rink at Broadgate, in the City of London and appeared at the Prince of Wales Theatre as part of a charity event, performing a scene from Noel Cowards ‘Private Lives’. Jayne and Chris began working with their second company of skaters, the Russian Allstars, whose artistic director was Tatiana Tarasova. Tatiana had been a rival for many years at European, World and Olympic competition. After months of rehearsals, the first performances of a show that was destined to run longer than the World Tour began in Moscow, followed by St Petersburg. It then went to Australia and New Zealand.

Chris had again found the time to work with the Duchesnays and passed on to them a routine that he and Jayne had been performing regularly on the tour, Eleanors Dream. The Duchesnays won bronze medals with it at the European and World Championships. Torvill and Dean and the Russian All Stars continued in Australia. Things came to an abrupt halt when Chris, invited to participate in a celebrity NASCAR race in Melbourne, crashed and tore a ligament. After an operation, he spent the next two months in plaster which led to perhaps the oddest Torvill and Dean duet. They were persuaded to make a CD by Australian music producer Kevin Stanton, singing 14 cover songs by artists such as the Mamas and Papas and Sonny and Cher. ‘Here we Stand’ was released only in Australia in June of that year. Jayne and Chris returned to England and then went to Oberstdorf to choreograph new dances for the delayed American leg of their tour, which began in September. They also worked with the Duchesnays again. This time passing on Missing, a routine that had been a particular highlight of the Australian tour.

Jayne met Phil Christensen, an American from Chicago and Chris began dating Isabelle Duchesnay. Within a year, both couples would become engaged. A leading UK impresario, Phil McIntyre, brought the tour to the UK and it played all over England, Scotland, Northern Ireland and Wales. It was the longest running tour they had ever done. All the Russian skaters could speak English by the end of it – and some of the British skaters had learnt some Russian. Jayne and Phil were married in Sacramento, USA on September 21st. Chris worked again with the Duchesnays and choreographed Reflections, which would be their Free Dance for the new season. After an absence of 5 years, Jayne and Chris decided to compete at the World Professional Championships in the USA once more and secured victory for the 3rd time. They also took part in the inaugural, Challenge of Champions, competition being held in Barcelona, Spain. They won that, too. Having been approached by the BBC to film a documentary for their Omnibus series, a piece of music was commissioned, named Tilt.

After weeks of rehearsals at Alexandra Palace in London, it was filmed and aired under the title Bladerunners later in the year. As the Duchesnays’ Reflections had not attracted enough marks from the judges at the European Championships to improve their position in the competition, the decision was made to choreograph a new routine, Missing 2, for the World Championships a mere 6 weeks later. The gamble paid off: Paul and Isabelle were crowned World Champions. Chris and Isabelle were married in Quebec, Canada on May 18th. Jayne and Chris flew to Australia to be guests in an ice show conceived by the Edgely Corporation, the main body of which featured a Ukrainian ice skating company, interspersed with Circus acts. It was performed in Sydney, Adelaide and Melbourne. Such was its success that it was decided to create a new show for Britain. Chris choreographed again for his wife and her brother in preparation for the Winter Olympic Games the following year. Their Free Dance would be skated to music from the musical West Side Story. The Duchesnays won the silver medal at the Winter Olympics in Albertville.

Rehearsals began in Kiev for the new production The Best of Torvill and Dean, which would also guest star Robin Cousins. During rehearsals, Jayne and Chris were invited by the International Skating Union, the governing body of their sport, to a dinner in Davos, Switzerland as part of the organisation’s 100th Anniversary Year celebrations. They were to learn of rule changes that meant professional skaters would be accepted back into the Olympics if they relinquished their professional status. Jayne and Chris performed in the Tom Collins Tour of Champions across North America. They choreographed a new piece entitled Drum Duet to the music of Phil Collins. Chris and Isabelle separated and were divorced shortly afterwards. Jayne and Chris were awarded Honorary Master of Arts degrees by Nottingham Trent University for services to ice dance and contribution to its development as a creative art. They travelled to Boston, USA to take part in Skates of Gold, featuring performances by 24 Gold medal winning ice skaters. Jayne and Chris announced that they would compete as amateurs once again – 10 years after their Olympic success with Bolero.

At the British Championships held in Sheffield, Jayne and Chris led after the Compulsories, their Rumba Original dance scoring all 5.9s and 6s, bar one judge. The Free dance, skated to a specially arranged, orchestrated and recorded version of Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers’ Lets Face the Music was a triumph. It scored eight 5.9s and a 6 for technical performance and all 6s for artistic impression. Two weeks later at the European Championships in Copenhagen, Jayne and Chris faced their Olympic rivals in competition for the first time. They won - but only just. Back home, they changed their free dance from an intricate, clever and intensely technical programme to a much more athletic, joyful dance. They added steps that had been memorable from older dances such as Mack and Mabel and Barnum and hoped that the judges would look more favourably upon them a couple of weeks later. At the Winter Olympics in Lillehammer, Norway, they came a disappointing 3rd after the Compulsories, but no-one could touch Jayne and Chris’ Rumba and they won the Original dance section. They took to the ice for Lets Face the Music and treated the audience to an exceptional display of ice dancing.

As the music finished, the crowd rose as one cheering, stamping, whistling. The judges had other ideas and awarded them the Bronze medal. Click here for Page 2. Seven weeks after the Olympics, their new show, Face the Music, opened in Sheffield. The response was overwhelming and went someway to make up for the disappointment at the Olympics. After it’s UK debut, the show travelled to Australia and North America. Chris married former U.S and World Ladies Figure Skating Champion, Jill Trenary, in her home town of Minneapolis, USA on October 15th. Torvill and Dean were part of the European Team, alongside Robin Cousins, in the inaugural World Team Championships held in the USA. Europe finish 3rd, behind the USA and Canada, with Russia in 4th but Jayne and Chris won the Dance section. The Face the Music tour returned to the UK and finally finishes its run on August 1st. It had been seen by more than one million people. Jayne and Chris’s official autobiography, Facing the Music, was published by Simon and Schuster. They were honoured by the German Figure Skating Union for their contribution to the sport.

In December, they competed in the World Professional Championships and the Team Championships in the USA and the Challenge of Champions in London, England. They won all three competitions. Jayne and Chris were invited to perform with Stars On Ice, which was managed by IMG. This was in Tokyo, Japan and featured a cast of past Olympic, World and National Champions. Chris was commissioned by Derek Deane, the Artistic Director of the English National Ballet, to choreograph a dance for their new season. Using the music of Paul Simon, Chris’s ballet was called Encounters and premiered in Cambridge in June. The piece was well received and toured the UK as part of a triple bill before opening at the Royal Festival Hall, London, for a short season. World renowned cellist, Yo Yo Ma, invited Jayne and Chris to work on a project he had begun with Rhombus Films (Canada) to record all six of Johan Sebastian Bach’s cello suites, each alongside a different art form. It was to be series filmed in Canada and titled ‘Inspired by Bach’. Jayne and Chris’ piece was called Six Gestures.

Yo Yo Ma had long wanted to work with Torvill and Dean because he believed ‘they did for ice-skating what Bach did for the cello’. They competed again in the Team Championships, the World Professional Championships and the Challenge of Champions and again won all three. Torvill and Dean performed again with Stars on Ice, touring the USA and Canada. Jayne and Chris began planning a new show, collaborating with Robin Driscoll, who wrote the Mr Bean film scripts, starring Rowan Atkinson. What would be their last touring show, Ice Adventures, premiered in Birmingham, England. Ice Adventures was performed for the last time, closing at the Sheffield Arena. Jayne and Chris flew to the US to perform once more with Stars on Ice. They choreographed a new routine especially for the show to Paul Simons’ Still Crazy After All These Years’. Secretly, they had decided that this would be the last time they would skate together, bringing to a close a 23 year ice dance partnership that was the most successful of all time.

1984 Sarajevo Winter Games | Olympics at Sports-Reference.com 1984 Sarajevo Winter Games Host City: Sarajevo, Yugoslavia (February 7, 1984 to February 19, 1984) Opening Ceremony: February 8, 1984 (opened by President Mika Spiljak) Lighter of the Olympic Flame: Sandra Dubravčić Taker of the Olympic Oath: Bojan Križaj (athlete) Closing Ceremony: February 19, 1984 Events: 39 in 10 sports Participants: 1,273 (996 men and 277 women) from 49 countries Youngest Participant: Ong Ching-Ming (15 years, 124 days) Oldest Participant: Carl-Erik Eriksson (53 years, 273 days) Most Medals (Athlete): 3 athletes with 4 medals Most Medals (Country): Soviet Union (25 medals) Overview With the award of the 1984 Olympic Winter Games to Sarajevo in 1978, the IOC was bringing the Winter festival

 to the Eastern Bloc for the first time.

Sarajevo might have seemed a surprise choice but the other two candidates had problems. Göteburg planned events to be spread so widely that air transport would be necessary, while Sapporo had hosted the [Winter Olympics in 1972], only six years before the bid for the 1984 Olympic Winter Games. » Click to show/hide rest of overview After the controversy, problems, and excitement in [Lake Placid], Sarajevo's Winter Olympics were much quieter. The only difficulties were weather problems. An initial concern about lack of snow was alleviated when a blizzard hit shortly after the opening ceremonies, forcing the [men's downhill] to be postponed three times and delayed an entire week. All [Alpine skiing events]) were postponed for the first four days. In skiing, the IOC was making a last stand to keep the Olympics amateur. The IOC upheld the ski federation (FIS) when it banned ski champions [Ingemar Stenmark] (SWE) and [Hanni Wenzel] (LIE) shortly before the Olympics. The FIS charged them with having accepted appearance money.

There were also problems concerning the eligibility of ice hockey players who had competed in the National Hockey League (NHL). Shortly before the ice hockey tournament, the IOC reached a compromise in which five skaters who had played in the NHL withdrew from the Olympics, while players who had signed contracts but played only in the minor leagues were allowed to play. In nordic skiing, [Marja-Liisa Hämäläinen] (FIN) won three cross-country skiing gold medals. But nordic skiing rarely captures the press notices of figure skating, alpine skiing or ice hockey, and Hämäläinen's feat was noted with little fanfare outside Finland. In ice hockey, the Soviets restored the status quo when they easily won the gold medal. The Canadians, having returned to Olympic ice hockey in 1980, were thought to have a chance as some professionals could now be used. But the U.S.S.R. played seven games, won seven games, took the gold medal, and went home happy. Figure skating produced the closest thing these Olympics had to media heroes. In ice dancing, the British couple, [Jayne Torvill] and [Christopher Dean], was heavily favored based on past performances.

Their final program was quite controversial, however, as it probably violated ice dancing protocol by being based on a single piece of music, Ravel's )Bolero). Their performance to )Bolero) was mesmerizing, building to an almost orgiastic finish that brought the crowd to a frenzy. The judges awarded the Brits the highest scores ever seen in figure skating, with 12 6.0s out of 18 marks. In singles figure skating, [Scott Hamilton] (USA) and [Katarina Witt] (GDR) won gold medals. Hamilton was expected to win as he had been nonpareil since the 1980 Olympics. Witt was not as well known and was not favored, but her stunning beauty made her a crowd favorite. Sarajevo held a beautiful Winter Olympics. But the beauty would fade. When Yugoslavia split into the various republics in the early 1990s, civil war ensued in Yugoslavia over ethnic cleansing, much of it fought in Bosnia & Herzegovina. Many of the Olympic sights were destroyed by the war, and the peace and tranquility of the 1984 Winter Olympics seemed but a dream.

Country Medal Leaders A Sports Reference Site : About SR/Olympics | Privacy Statement | Conditions & Terms of Service | Use of Data Data provided by OlyMADMen , led by Hilary Evans, Arild Gjerde, Jeroen Heijmans, and Bill Mallon. Members: David Foster, Martin Frank, Jørn Jensen, Carl-Johan Johansson, Taavi Kalju, Martin Kellner, George Masin, Stein Opdahl, Wolf Reinhardt, Ralf Regnitter, Paul Tchir, Magne Teigen, Christian Tugnoli, Morten Aarlia Torp, and Ralf Schlüter. Sports Reference LLC and are not sponsored by or affiliated with the Olympics, the United States Olympic Committee or the International Olympic Committee. Trademarks featured or referred to on this website are the property of their respective trademark holders and not Sports Reference LLC or . Part of the

Question: What piece of music was used by Jayne Torvill and Christopher Dean when they won Olympic gold medals at Sarajevo in 1984?
Answer: Ravel's "Bolero"