Our Bolero? It would be banned: Torvill and Dean says skating is now more technical than creative as they prepare to perform routine in Sarajevo on 30th anniversary

• Christopher Dean and Jayne Torvill entered record books for dance
• Routine to Ravel’s Bolero scored a row of perfect 6.0s for artistic merit
• But the pair claim their performance would probably be banned today

It is regarded as the routine that defines their magnificent careers on ice and earned them gold Olympic medals in Sarajevo. 

Christopher Dean and Jayne Torvill entered the record books for their passionate and moving dance to Ravel’s Bolero scoring a row of perfect 6.0s for artistic merit. 

But on the eve of this year’s Winter Olympics at Sochi the pair claim their performance would probably be banned or would fail to make the grade because ice skating is now more technical rather than creative.

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Christopher Dean and Jayne Torvill entered the record books for their passionate and moving dance to Ravel’s Bolero scoring a row of perfect 6.0s for artistic merit

February 14th marks the 30th anniversary of Torvill and Dean’s Bolero and the pair have been invited to return to Sarajevo and perform a rendition of the dance in the city’s Olympic Hall. 

Dean, now 55, has said he will still perform the splits and the routine will be almost identical to the original. 

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However if they were taking their dance to Sochi the outcome would be rejection rather than applause. 

‘Nowadays, with the rules of the competition, it’s quite a technical thing rather than a creative thing.

‘The skaters have to include certain types of lifts, certain types of steps – none of which are contained in Boléro. So I don’t know how it would go down – we’d probably be breaking the rules,’ said Torvill.

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But on the eve of this year’s Winter Olympics at Sochi the pair claim their performance would probably be banned or would fail to make the grade because ice skating is now more technical rather than creative

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View gallery

February 14th marks the 30th anniversary of Torvill and Dean’s Bolero and the pair have been invited to return to Sarajevo and perform a rendition of the dance in the city’s Olympic Hall

Asked during their Radio Times interview if Bolero would be banned from Sochi, Dean adds: ‘Well, yeah, you wouldn’t get to Sochi. Because going through your national championships, then your internationals, it would get marked so low that you wouldn’t even qualify, most probably.

‘We did a lot of long lines and lyrical movements, and it was more about a passion than about being a technical exercise.

‘Everything moves on. But at the time, it [Bolero] was definitely the pinnacle. And a lot of people still hold that to be true of it as an artistic piece, a passionate and emotional piece.’

Even in 1984, Boléro pushed Olympic rules to the limit. The music was 18 seconds longer than was allowed – so Torvill, now 56 and Dean, 55,  knelt down for the beginning of their routine, knowing that the clock only started when their blades touched the ice.

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Even in 1984, Boléro pushed Olympic rules to the limit. The music was 18 seconds longer than was allowed ¿ so Torvill, now 56 and Dean, 55, knelt down for the beginning of their routine, knowing that the clock only started when their blades touched the ice

The pair will headline a final Dancing on Ice arena tour from the end of March – they are currently co-presenting their last TV series of the show – and said ultimately they would like to put on a Cirque du Soleil-style show in Las Vegas, with an unlimited budget to put on a spectacular show with skaters.

Team GB’s best hope of an Olympic figure-skating medal in 2014 rest with Penny Coomes and Nick Buckland who are being coached by Russian figure skater Evgeny Platov. 

With his partner Oksana Grishuk, Platov beat Torvill and Dean when they returned to Olympic competition at Lillehammer in 1994.

And for Platov, Torvill and Dean will in his heart ‘be above everyone else’.

Commenting on the chances of Coomes and Buckland, Torvill said: ‘When you get to the Olympics, you’ve got the Canadians and the Americans, who I believe are the front-runners at this point. Penny and Nick will have stiff competition – but I’m sure they’ll hold their own.’