Ruth Leon recommends… Torvill and Dean – Ravel’s Bolero
Ruth Leon recommendsTorvill and Dean – Ravel’s Bolero
I have always loved figure skating, especially ice dancing. It seems to me the closest experience to flying that a human can have, this lack of connection to the earth, precise and almost unworldly in its combination of freedom and specificity.
This week, quite by accident, while looking for something else, I watched Torvill and Dean’s gold-medal winning performance in the 1984 Winter Olympics in Sarajevo where their interpretation of Ravel’s Bolero won, and deserved, a perfect score.
Today’s skaters are expected to do more by way of spectacular moves, higher jumps, faster spins, more contortions, in flashier costumes, but this Torvill and Dean dance, and it is dancing, can never be bettered for technique, musicality, confidence, and that indefinable something that separates talent from genius. It deserves to be watched again and again for its sheer artistry.
This year the talented but very controversial Kamila Valieva danced on the Bolero at the olympics. I think she made a points world record with that before also.
Torvill and Dean are the absolute best pair skaters EVER.
I saw that jaw-dropping Bolero as it happened at the ’84 Olympics, and I couldn’t believe how sensual and erotic it was (not to mention the flawless skating). It was truly miraculous.
I’ve seen some superb singles skaters in my day, but no pair has ever come close to T and D.
Do yourselves a favor, SD readers, and watch this vid. You’ll be glad you did!
I haven’t watched it in a long time (I will now) but it was extraordinary, one of the all-time great competition performances. And yes, it’s ice DANCING, so no jumps allowed.
I remember watching as they skated at the Olympics, it was mesmerizing. It’s been almost 40 years and I still remember being awestruck. Many skaters have demonstrated higher speed and faster spins, but nothing in those last 40 years has approached their artistry and ensemble.