The British team Torvill and Dean revolutionized Sarajevo ice skating 40 years ago on Wednesday. Nobody celebrates Valentine’s Day there. Christopher Dean stated, “For us, it’s Boléro Day,” referring to his and Jayne Torvill’s 1984 winning dance to Maurice Ravel’s score. “We give each other a call to wish each other a happy Boléro day if we are apart.”
They commenced their performance by swaying on their knees while donning matching purple ensembles, and they soon became well-known in Britain.A year after retiring, they are back in the city to amuse neighborhood kids, many of whom are still learning to skate.
Dean added, “It’s such a wonderful feeling to be able to come back to Sarajevo 40 years after such a momentous event as winning the Olympics.” Just thinking about it makes us shiver.
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Sarajevans still consider the 1984 games one of the city’s most ecstatic occasions, even though Bosnia remained part of Yugoslavia, the Berlin Wall stands, and the iron curtain divides Europe. Winter sports hopes were dashed by the 1990s war. The city’s 43-month siege killed thousands of Bosnians and destroyed Olympic infrastructure.
The war and Zetra Stadium’s bombing and destruction saddened 66-year-old Torvill. Sarajevo doesn’t have a year-round ice rink, although Zetra, the Olympic ice skating facility, was renovated in 1999.
After 50 years, Torvill and Dean will retire next year. Ravel’s Boléro has inspired hundreds of dances. Ice fascinates them. On Tuesday in Sarajevo, they trained alongside kindergarteners and ice skaters.
“It’s a lovely motion; when you glide and skate on that white ice, it feels like you’re flying,” Dean adds. Torvill says, “It gives you a sense of freedom.”
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