Torvill and Dean to recreate Bolero magic 30 years after their sensational Olympic gold
For the Dancing on Ice judges, returning to Sarajevo has been a longstanding ambition - the place they made history in the Winter Olympics figure skating
As the familiar fanfare of the Bolero blasts from a giant PA system, Jayne Torvill and Christopher Dean slide quietly on to the ice where they made their name.
Gliding effortlessly across the glinting new rink in Sarajevo, Britain’s favourite skating couple are quickly into their favourite routine - 30 years after they made history in the city with a gold medal in the Winter Olympics figure skating.
Back then 24 million people in Britain watched on TV and today, after a long wait Torvill and Dean will once again recreate the Bolero magic for an adoring Bosnian crowd.
And despite the passing of years – Jayne is now 56 and Christopher, 55 – they still look to be in incredible shape during their warm-up session at the rebuilt Olympic Arena in Sarajevo.
Workers at the cavernous arena did a double-take as skating’s most famous pair rolled back the years to 1984 all over again.
For the Dancing on Ice judges, returning to Sarajevo has been a longstanding ambition.
“Going back to Sarajevo means it has come full circle for us,” says Christopher, remembering the hypnotic four minutes and 28 seconds of that day’s performance.
It’s a nice moment of symmetry.
“Thinking back over our careers, that day in Sarajevo would be the big one. Sarajevo was where we won the Olympics; that was our future planned right there.
"Who would have thought that 30 years later we would be going back to actually skate? We never thought we would be skating and performing for so long.”
Tonight’s Bolero celebration is sure to be an emotional night not only for Nottingham-born Torvill and Dean, but also for the local spectators.
The original ice skating rink was annihilated in the bloody siege of Sarajevo during the 1990s Bosnian War.
Only recently was it finally rebuilt, a replica of the original, and the mayor knew he wanted the British skaters who charmed his country with their romantic routine back on the ice.
“Jayne and I went back in the late 1990s but it had been destroyed,” Christopher recalls.
“There was no ice! So we were delighted when the mayor asked us back.
“When we left here at the end of the night after winning the medal we were among the last to leave so it felt like closing a door on a life-changing day for us.
"So it is absolutely mind-blowing to be back here skating when you think about it.
“I will never forget the roar of the crowd here when we had been awarded sixes by all the judges,” says Jayne, chipping in.
“That was the perfect score. I remember looking up at the scoreboard.”
The pair met at an ice rink in Nottingham when they were only ten.
So after a relationship spanning 45 years, it is no surprise that people still talk about their astonishingly close bond.
Both frequently finish off each other’s sentences and neither complains.
As their breathtaking Oympicroutine took place on Valentine’s Day, it seemed like theirs was a fairytale childhood romance brought before a world stage.
But despite the lifelong chemistry on the ice, it is only recently they admitted a “dabble”.
However both went on to marry other people and Jayne lives in Surrey with her husband Phil Christensen, and their son Kieran and daughter Jessica, who they adopted when they were babies.
Christopher lives permanently in the US, where he has two children from his second marriage, to American skater Jill Trenary.
He is currently in a relationship with fellow Dancing on Ice judge Karen Barber.
“We’ve always been private about it,” Christopher says.
“Our relationship then was as you see it now . We’re very just close best friends. We took to each all the time by Skype and by phone.
“We’ve found a relationship which means we’re just passive with each other, very easy-going.”
Jokingly, he calls Jayne his “bestie”.
“We disagree some times, but it doesn’t last very long,” agrees Jayne.
“We just get on with it. It’s usually about a step on the ice!”
These days Torvill and Dean keep in shape on the rink and in the gym, but before their TV return they had taken nine years away.
“I kicked back more than Chris,” Jayne says.
“For me it’s hard to have that motivation. As soon as I knew I was doing Dancing on Ice I knew I had to get fit.”
It was when they came back from the Balkans after the Olympics they realised it would remain their “signature tune”, Christopher tells me.
This emotionally-charged Sarajevo show, however, will be one of the last times they do the famous routine.
The pair will, of course, keep the crowds happy when the Dancing on Ice tour goes out on the road.
“We are not retiring,” Jayne, who has travelled over with her children, insists.
“We will still be performing the Bolero on tour. There has never been a question of not doing it; it would be like a pop star not singing his hit!
“What we are saying is that when that tour is finished it will be the last one.
"We want to leave the Bolero in a good place.”
For Christopher, it is simply a question of “retiring” the Bolero in Sarajevo.
“It’s always been a part of us,” he adds. “It’s become a good friend. It’s always around.
"Because of the 30 years we felt like it was the right time for us to slow down a bit.”
As they take a final seamless sweep of the rink, Torvill and Dean appear fit enough to continue skating the Bolero for another decade.
http://www.mirror.co.uk/tv/tv-news/torvill-dean-bolero-sarajevo-dancing-3139450#ixzz2tD187mne
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