Great Interview with Christopher Dean- Done by Chock & Bates

[dorispulaski]

Unlaced with Chock and Bates: Episode 11: Unlaced with Christopher Dean

Madi and Evan welcome their very first guest on Unlaced: 1984 Olympic Gold Medalist, Christopher Dean.

bleav.com

I thought I knew everything there was to be known about Torvill & Dean's career, but I was blown away by Madison & Evan's 38 minute podcast interview of Chris Dean. They asked him questions no journalist would think to ask, but should have asked.

They started with the very beginning of Dean's career, including his time as a police cadet, and asked really wonderful questions about how Dean approaches ice dance choreography today.

I learned things even about their iconic Bolero program I never knew!

I am not going to give the content away, but if you are interested in Torvill & Dean, or ice dance in general, or in how to approach choreography, you should definitely listen. You don't need to be a Maddy and Evan fan, because this particular podcast episode is not about them.

 

[Lamente Ariane]

Will definitely been listening when I can set the time aside, this sounds great!

 

[ManyCairns]

The interview felt very short, it was so interesting. I am glad Chock and Bates have started their podcast.

 

[Seven Sisters]

As a result of Doris’ recommendation, I gave this a listen just now. IMHO the best part is the genuine excitement that creeps into Chris’ voice when he discusses the Bolero music and their discovery of the potential it had for use in their Olympic season. How many years has it been? Yet he is still as excited as a kid on Christmas Eve!

 

[el henry]

This was a great interview, thanks Doris for the link.

And I am going to play a little bit of a spoiler: T& D were supposed to be throwing themselves into a volcano? Who knew

 

[rollerblade]

Police dog > police cadet!

 

[dorispulaski]

This was a great interview, thanks Doris for the link.

And I am going to play a little bit of a spoiler: T& D were supposed to be throwing themselves into a volcano? Who knew

me
But I did not know or recognize the layout of the dance was supposed to be them doing a circular path up the volcano mountain, and I saw the program live at Ottawa World's.

And I certainly did not know it grew out of their daily 20 minute warmup to Bolero as one piece of orchestral music to do skating drills to.

 

[BlissfulSynergy]

This is a great interview. I listened to a few of their other podcast episodes too. Maddie & Evan have a nice, conversational, bantering style. The episodes aren't too long either, and they provide some interesting details about their relationship, their programs, costumes, past seasons, current season to date, and off-ice excursions (when it was possible) during competitive events. Chris Dean is their first guest interview, and he was a great choice. I particularly enjoy how Chris responded to the final question posed by Maddie.

 

[BlissfulSynergy]

me
But I did not know or recognize the layout of the dance was supposed to be them doing a circular path up the volcano mountain, and I saw the program live at Ottawa World's.

And I certainly did not know it grew out of their daily 20 minute warmup to Bolero as one piece of orchestral music to do skating drills to.

Yep, that description of the genesis of creating Bolero is quite fascinating. It makes me want to go back and watch again. And wow, the enduring theme of Romeo & Juliet strikes again. I don't recall hearing any of this about the program back then, but they may not have talked about their creative process at the time. While it is certainly an iconic phenomenon, I don't think Bolero is T/D's best program ever. It was just unusual, well-executed and to music that was one piece, instead of spliced medley. Plus, as Chris relates, "We were in-the-zone." ETA: And, of course it happened at the Olympics, which sheds an enduring spotlight...

It was also revealing how Chris said he looks back but can't really remember what he was feeling because he's on the outside of that experience now. Plus, the fact that when you are in-the-zone during athletic performance, you are present in the moment and going with the flow. While contained within such a moment, it is not possible to be thinking about how you feel. You are enveloped within a higher plane of existence.

 

[MCsAngel2]

I knew all that stuff about Bolero.....

My favorite part was when Evan asked Chris if the professional tours weren't harder physically than amateur competition and Chris very emphatically said, "YES.....yes....yes..."

 

[WeakAnkles]

This was a great interview, thanks Doris for the link.

And I am going to play a little bit of a spoiler: T& D were supposed to be throwing themselves into a volcano? Who knew?

I knew this also, but then I love reading (and now listening!) to skaters talk about their programs.

Thank you so much Doris. This was just a total holiday gift!

 

[La Rhumba]

me
But I did not know or recognize the layout of the dance was supposed to be them doing a circular path up the volcano mountain, and I saw the program live at Ottawa World's.

And I certainly did not know it grew out of their daily 20 minute warmup to Bolero as one piece of orchestral music to do skating drills to.

I agree it was a fabulous interview, Chris & Jayne did a lot of zoom interviews during the Pandemic Lockdown last year with our Federation, and Chris is a very good talker and clearly loves it, unlike their Amateur days when both were painfully shy!

So Doris, you saw the 4th version of Bolero that season at Ottawa Worlds. I would love to ask Chris about the changes made to Choreo, sometimes subtle, but the biggest change was from Euros to Olympics.

 

[MCsAngel2]

I agree it was a fabulous interview, Chris & Jayne did a lot of zoom interviews during the Pandemic Lockdown last year with our Federation, and Chris is a very good talker and clearly loves it, unlike their Amateur days when both were painfully shy!

So Doris, you saw the 4th version of Bolero that season at Ottawa Worlds. I would love to ask Chris about the changes made to Choreo, sometimes subtle, but the biggest change was from Euros to Olympics.

You know, Chris strikes me as a nervous interviewee, at least when it's by phone/Zoom. He clears his throat a lot, seems like a nervous tic. I've noticed it in all of the ones he's done in the last couple of years.

I only just in the last year picked up on a choreographic change to Bolero between Olympics and Worlds. It's at the very end, when the key changes back to the original key, just before Chris swings Jayne around frantically. It's a step I thought looked really cool, I wonder why they changed it.