Torvill and Dean’s figure skating performance to Boléro tops every list of the best and most well-known British Olympic performances of all time.
The well-known couple performed their incredibly beautiful and sappy routine on Valentine’s Day while competing at the 1984 Olympics in Sarajevo.
They were slated to perform last in their category, so the wait was nerve-wracking. For a while, the pair had been causing a stir in contests for figure skating.
They had finished fifth at the previous Olympics, but ever then, they have won the British, European, and World Championships.There were tremendous hopes.
In the UK, a record-breaking 24 million people tuned in to see their duo perform. As Torvill and Dean struck their opening positions on the ice, all eyes in Sarajevo and throughout the world were on them.
Boléro by Maurice Ravel opens with a captivating percussion beat. According to legend, Ravel told a friend as he was composing the music:
This theme seems to have a persistent quality, don’t you think? I’m going to try to play it repeatedly without changing anything while doing my best to gradually build the orchestra.
This escalating ferocity contributed to the performance of Torvill and Dean being so wonderful.