26 years ago the BBC as part of the documentary series Horizon broadcast ‘Facing the Music: The Return of Torvill and Dean’. The film followed Jayne and Chris’ return to competitive skating as they prepared to take part in the 1994 Lillehammer winter Olympics hoping to scoop a second gold medal.
Despite hours of footage of a partnership which at that point had already lasted almost twenty years (and has now lasted in excess of 45 years), one scene made all the headlines.
Aside from being the best male ice dancer not only of his generation, but possibly of all time, it was largely Chris who took on the role of choreographing their routines and therefore had the responsibility for imparting his vision to Jayne. It goes without saying that returning to the Olympics was a massive gamble due to their previous success and the expectations that set on them, as well them by then being in their mid-thirties.
For ONE minute in ONE training session, Chris voiced his frustration that Jayne wasn’t translating his vision in the way her foresaw it & a jet-lagged and exhausted Jayne became tearful. Despite being the best female ice dancer of her generation if not all time, being tired and stressed even gold-medal winning Jayne Torvill herself in that moment felt a bit overwhelmed.
HOWEVER, they carried on, they went to the Olympics, they won a medal (anyone who watched the routine and every comment I’ve ever read on their free dance admits it should have been gold, but that’s for another post). Chris’ (& Jayne’s) hard work, ‘nit picking’, precision, ‘perfectionism’, ‘pedantry’ call it what you will, paid off!
Could Jayne have sacked Chris off and found a partner that wasn’t a ‘perfectionist’? Yes but they wouldn’t have achieved those perfect 6.0s.
So why am I telling you this? If reports surrounding the current series of Dancing on Ice are to believed, it seems that sadly some of the public are still not getting this. Hamish and Caprice’s week one performance was one of my favorites of the season so far. Why? It was skated at the correct speed, the finishes were clean and precise, the emotion was controlled and each move measured. You don’t get this without ‘nit picking’, precision, ‘perfectionism’, ‘pedantry’ call it what you will.
Caprice is clearly a capable ice dancer but her new partner appears to have 2 choices. Firstly, go easy, don’t push too hard lest she get teary’. This seems to be the option she desires. However rest assured week one’s success will only be repeated with ‘nit picking’, precision, ‘perfectionism’, ‘pedantry’ call it what you will and accepting this might lead to tears.
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