T&d

What technical elements are they most known for and why? How was their speed? And if you say they were an innovative dance couple, what made them innovative? What Kind of dances did they excel in? Like say, A&P are really good in tango, paso doble and waltzes, but they can't quite pull samba and salsa off.

I've seen only three performances of T&D: Bolero, and two performances on Stars on Ice. Well, I have also seen their performance in an ensemble, "The Red Hat" in particular which I really enjoy watching.

I'll answer as much as I can for you...

"What technical elements are they most known for and why?"

I'm not sure if they were known for certain elements, as such. (You mean like Anissina & Peizerat are known for the reverse lifting?) Ice dance was very different back when they were competing. There weren't any required elements in the free dance, as there are now, so each dance had more of a "whole" feeling to it rather than being element-to-element. They seem, to me, to just be known for the whole of their skating, not one or two elements imparticular.

"How was their speed?"

To be honest - I don't know how it compared to their competitors in the 80s, but I'm sure they were at least comparable. I know they were known to have great speed and smoothness on their compulsories. In 94, Grishuk & Platov were known for their breakneck speed so in comparison, I believe a lot of the skaters (including T&D) may have looked slower. They weren't snails though, by any means.

"And if you say they were an innovative dance couple, what made them innovative?"

Many things. Firstly, they pushed the artistic boundaries to a great extent. Before them, ice dancing typically consisted of certain rhythms being performed to, cuts in the music as a couple went from one style/beat to a completely different one (even if they had no relation whatsoever), in order to show different strengths. Many skaters today still do this, although not to the same extent. It was also almost all ballroom-dance style, as far as I know. In 1982, when T&D won their second World title, their free dance used music taken from "Mack and Mabel" - 4 minutes taken from the show, unaltered. They still had the changes in pace, but the dance was very much "one" piece, and flowed from beginning to end, perfectly. Their OD that year, defined as "blues", was to "Summertime". The rhythm of the music was the slowest tempo allowed by the rules, and along with the choreography really captured the essence of a blues and the sensuousness of it.
In 1983, when they won their third World title, their free dance was set to a circus theme, "Barnum". This took ice dancing into another area completely.
In 1984, when they won the Olympics, their OD was probably the most innovative OD of all time. The rhythm was a "paso doble", and they choreographed the routine to portray a bullfighter. Jayne was the cape. It may sound strange but it really worked exceptionally well, the costumes set it off, and the choreography was powerful and very intricate.
Their free dance that year was Bolero, as you said you've already seen. This was again different because the tempo didn't change throughout - there were no "sections". Instead, it built and built towards the climax, with the music becoming fuller and more layered.
They continued to blossom as professionals, creating so many different programmes in so many different styles and moods that they are probably among the most versatile skaters ever. Lots of their work was seen as incredibly innovative. One of them, "Oscar Tango", had no music at all for the first minute and a half - instead, they skated in complete silence. They didn't even touch - instead they mirrored each other's movements, even when they weren't facing each other.
Besides this, one of the things that really marked them out was their choreography (which, incidentally, they did themselves). They used a minimal number of crossovers/progressives (steps that are just used between other steps/elements). Encounter, a beautiful routine that lasts about six and a half minutes, only has TWO backward crossovers in the whole thing. Their routines were choreographed with the music and the mood in mind - they really skated to the music, not just through it. They used different levels - moves where one of them was at a much lower or higher level than the other (e.g. one being almost horizontal), rather than both staying at the same height all the time. The choreography was intricate and detailed, and they have said in interviews etc that they never wanted to waste a step, it was always put there for a reason.
They also had both of them being at the forefront, so to speak. A lot of dance couples have the man as basically the background, presenting the woman. T&D didn't do that. Chris had just as much to do as Jayne, and in some of their programmes he was actually made more the focus of it. They were very equal in their abilities and in how they choreographed their programmes. They were also kind of the prototype for A&P's her-lifting-him moves = Jayne took Chris's weight a number of times, although she didn't hold him like Anissina holds Peizerat (Jayne's only 5ft!).
They also showed innovation on the technical side, such as performing a lift where Jayne's head swooped down towards the ice (Barnum), and doing moves requiring terrific edge control, balance and strength (like in Bolero when Jayne had almost all her weight resting on Chris's outstretched leg as he leaned right backward), and filling their programmes with difficult moves and turns, highly difficult lifts, changes of hold, intricacy and complexity, etc. They were also (I believe) the first to perform the move that Berezhnaya & Sikharulidze did in their "The Kid" exhibition at the Olympics, when Anton bent down, put his head through Elena's legs and flipped her over his head to land behind him. T&D did that at the end of Barnum.
Basically, they completely pushed and changed the boundaries of ice dance.

"What Kind of dances did they excel in? Like say, A&P are really good in tango, paso doble and waltzes, but they can't quite pull samba and salsa off."

The thing about T&D was that they could seemingly pull off any style, as far as I can tell anyway. They've done passionate (e.g. Bolero); sensuous and slow (e.g. Summertime); powerful & almost violent (e.g. Paso Doble, Revolution); slapstick humour (e.g. Diablo Tango); ballroom (e.g. Fred & Ginger, Face The Music); Irish folk (e.g. Echoes of Ireland); playful (e.g. Hat Trick), jazz (e.g. Take Five), emotional (e.g. Missing), etc.

"I've seen only three performances of T&D: Bolero, and two performances on Stars on Ice. Well, I have also seen their performance in an ensemble, "The Red Hat" in particular which I really enjoy watching."

I believe the Red Hat ensemble was adapted from their "Hat Trick" routine (although I haven't seen Red Hat myself). They've had several videos out to buy, which you could get if you're interested in seeing more of their programmes. They are probably available on things like ebay or amazon.

"Torvill & Dean with the Russian All Stars" - tour from about 1988 when they performed with the Russian skating company, which was run by Tatiana Tarasova at the time. T&D routines - Snow Maiden, Bolero, Missing, Fred & Ginger (plus group number)

"Face The Music - the tour" - video from their World tour in 94-95. T&D numbers include FTM, History of Love, Bolero, Mack & Mabel/Barnum/Paso Doble medley, Encounter, and more.

"The Story So Far" - released in 1996. Narrated by themselves, a kind of compilation of a lot of their programmes. Includes Mack & Mabel, Summertime, Barnum, Paso Doble, Bolero, Diablo Tango, Encounter, Song of India, Missing, Oscar Tango, History of Love (rhumba OD from 94), Face The Music (FD from 94), and more. I would highly recomment it.

"Ice Adventures" - their tour from about 1998. Set around four themes, highly entertaining and enjoyable and T&D do a lot of skating in it, including in ensembles. Only T&D number included was Take Five, but there is also a humourous "Only You" and lots of other duets (including the romantic "Something Stupid" and an 'underwater' one).

Hope that helps (and isn't too long, lol)

WOW What a great analysis of T&D, icenut!!!

There are some other ice dance rules that were in effect when T&D were skating that makes it hard to compare today's dancers/routines to them:

a) The amount of seconds they could be separated was limited. Most SL twizzle sequences today would have been illegal in their time.

b) They couldn't separate by more than an arm's length. Averbukh's single axels from the '03 FD wouldn't haven been legal in 1984.

c) The Original Set Pattern was a single rhythm, not the pick -wo-or-three-of-five that is in effect today. That's why they could do an integrated Paso Doble program

I'm not sure if they had a lower point above which she could be lifted in the 80's.

But if you have Bolero on tape and can re-watch it, notice the constant weaving in and out of their holds. And with the exception of one lift, they maintain their upper body holds in their dance spins and lifts.

I believe the Red Hat ensemble was adapted from their "Hat Trick" routine (although I haven't seen Red Hat myself).

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you're correct... it's one of my favorite Stars on Ice ensembles... Chris Dean choreographed a whole program for Kurt Browning specifically for that... with the hat... I believe Kurt referred to it as the hardest routine he had ever done(granted that was before Antares, and Nyah, but still)

Icenut - just wanted to compliment you on your overview of Torville & Dean. It was almost as smooth flowing and lyrical as their skating has been. You certainly captured their essence and it was a pleasure to be reminded of those wonderful programs.

I am not as much a fan of the dance pairs today, in part because some of the elements you mentioned seem to be missing (e.g., the flow from hold to hold). T&D always seemed to be woven together, even when they were apart. And they never seemed "frantic," which is a complaint I have often of the choreography of today.

Thanks for such a great review!

A characteristic of Dean's choreagraphy was repeating (sometimes 3 or 4 times) an interesting move. I always liked that because so many of his "tricks" were so cool I wanted to see them again.

zilam98:

What technical elements were they most noted for?

- their deep edges and their dance holds. The looked like Fred and Ginger on the ice.

- Also their intricate footwork. It was unbeatable. Their speed was awesome and they always new where each other was in the program. There was no hesitation on each others part.

- They were also like Kurt Browning - no telegraphing moves; their inventive choreography would come out of nowhere and seem effortless.

They gave ice dance a whole new look and made people fans of ice dance who had never enjoyed this discipline before.

There probably will never be another dance team quite like them.

Great analysis IceNut.

Chris Dean is one of the best choreographers IMO. Many of the skater who have worked with him have said that they almost worry more about the footwork than the jumps. He really makes the skaters use their edges on their footwork and other in-betweens.

T&D are the reason I began to watch Ice Dance. B&K had me continue to watch and now I enjoy Belbin/Agosto.

With regards to the Hat Trick, the cast had a pool. Whoever dropped that hat during a performance had to put in a $1/incident. The money went towards a party.

If you haven't seen ENCOUNTERS, make sure you do. It's an entrancing routine. Absolutely my favorite of theirs.

heyang said:

If you haven't seen ENCOUNTERS, make sure you do. It's an entrancing routine. Absolutely my favorite of theirs.

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Mine too. It's just beautiful, I love it. I love the choreography, the shapes they make, the whole feel of it, everything.

P.S. Another point - T&D were also known as having a lot of respect from the Russian skaters (who were pretty dominant apart from T&D) - I remember reading once about how T&D were the only skaters who the Russians would "cross the road to see". If you watch T&D's Bolero from 1984 Europeans, Natalia Bestemianova (who with Bukin won the silver behind them and after T&D retired went on to win the 88 Olympics) stayed and watched their performance with her coach. You can see her in the background if you watch carefully. Tatiana Tarasova, who coached many of their competitors, also sung their praises and I've read a quote from her that said, in effect, that T&D were untouchable and in a league of their own, both technically and artistically. Which is a huge thing to come from the coach of your Russian competitors!