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Christopher Dean
OBE
Christopher Dean.jpg
Dean on the Dancing on Ice tour in Manchester, 2010
Personal information
Country represented  Great Britain
Born (1958-07-27) 27 July 1958 (age 66)
Calverton, Nottinghamshire, England
Height 5 ft 10.5 in (1.79 m)
Former partner Sandra Elson, Jayne Torvill
Former coach Betty Callaway, Janet Sawbridge
Retired 1984, 1994
Medal record
Figure skating
Ice dancing
Representing  Great Britain
Olympic Games
Gold 1984 Sarajevo Ice dancing
Bronze 1994 Lillehammer Ice dancing
World Championships
Gold 1981 Hartford Ice dancing
Gold 1982 Copenhagen Ice dancing
Gold 1983 Helsinki Ice dancing
Gold 1984 Ottawa Ice dancing
European Championships
Gold 1981 Innsbruck Ice dancing
Gold 1982 Lyon Ice dancing
Gold 1984 Budapest Ice dancing
Gold 1994 Copenhagen Ice dancing

Christopher Colin Dean, OBE (born 27 July 1958) is a British ice dancer who won a gold medal at the 1984 Winter Olympics with his skating partner Jayne Torvill. They also won a bronze medal at the 1994 Winter Olympics.

Early life

Dean grew up in Calverton, Nottinghamshire. When he was six, his mother left and his father remarried. Dean never talked about this with his father or stepmother, both of whom have died. He has regained contact with his mother.

From 1974 to 1980, he was a police constable with Nottinghamshire Police.

Skating career

Dean began to skate at the age of 10 after he received a pair of skates as a Christmas present. His parents were keen ballroom dancers. At school he was captain of the football team and he saw ice skating as a sport that was athletic and graceful. Dean's first ice partner was Sandra Elson. They began skating together when he was 14 and competed as ice dancers for a few years under their instructor Len Sayward. However, despite becoming British Junior Dance champions, the team parted, as Dean and Elson did not get along well. Dean then agreed to practise with Jayne Torvill, another skater at the Nottingham rink. The pair were first coached by Janet Sawbridge but in 1978 Betty Callaway became their coach.

Dean left school at age 16 and joined the Nottingham Police Force in 1974. It was challenging for him to undergo police cadet training, as his schedule often clashed with his skating training sessions. Thus Torvill and Dean had to practise during his off-hours. These difficult times brought them closer and gave them a sense of discipline that was to prove vital throughout their career.

By 1980, Torvill and Dean had progressed to not only become British National Dance Champions but were in medal contention in international competitions as well. It was then that Dean made the decision that he could no longer balance his skating and police careers so he resigned from the police force. Torvill left her job soon after; this was made possible with a Nottingham City Council grant of £42,000.

Dean also served as the chief choreographer for the Torvill and Dean team.

2011 - Dancing on Ice (Manchester Evening News Arena) Jayne Torvill & Christopher Dean (5677724923)
Torvill and Dean performing in 2011

Torvill and Dean's free programme at the 1984 Winter Olympics in Sarajevo, performed to the music of Maurice Ravel's Boléro, became world-famous. They received nine 6.0 marks for artistic impression, (three more for technical merit for a total of twelve 6.0 marks) the highest possible score and the only time ever that an all-perfect score was achieved. It was one of the most popular achievements in the history of British sport, watched by a British television audience of 24 million people. Since the time limit was four minutes and ten seconds and their music was four minutes 28 seconds, they began on their knees and moved their bodies to the music for 18 seconds before starting to skate.

Torvill and Dean turned professional after their 1984 Olympic win. Under then existing Olympic Games rules as professionals they became ineligible to participate in Olympic competition. In 1993 the International Skating Union relaxed the rules for professional skaters, allowing the pair to participate in the 1994 Winter Olympics in Lillehammer where they won a bronze medal.

Torvill and Dean were admitted to the World Figure Skating Hall of Fame in 1989.

From January 2006–2023, Torvill and Dean have participated in the ITV show Dancing on Ice. Each season, the televised show runs from January to March with Torvill and Dean as "judges". The show then migrates to go on tour to arenas across the United Kingdom. The show is scheduled to return in 2024.

In January 2012, Dean said he was open to working with the National Ice Skating Association to help British competitive skating. Torvill and Dean were ambassadors for the 2012 European Figure Skating Championships in Sheffield, England. In February 2014, they visited Sarajevo for the 30th anniversary of the 1984 Olympics, and recreated their Bolero routine in the same arena where they won the gold.

In 2018, Dean choreographed the free programme of Aljona Savchenko and Bruno Massot, who won the gold medal in Pair skating with a world record at the Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang.

Competitive results

Amateur results

Event 75–76 76–77 77–78 78–79 79–80 80–81 81–82 82–83 83–84 93–94
Olympics 5th 1st 3rd
Worlds 11th 8th 4th 1st 1st 1st 1st
Europeans 9th 6th 4th 1st 1st WD 1st 1st
British Championships 4th 3rd 1st 1st 1st 1st 1st 1st 1st
NHK Trophy 2nd
St Ivel International 1st 1st
Oberstdorf 2nd 1st
St Gervais 1st
Morzine Trophy 2nd
John Davis Trophy 1st
Sheffield Trophy 1st
Rotary Watches Competition 2nd
Northern Championships 1st
WD: Withdrew

Professional results

Event 1984 1985 1990 1994 1995 1996
World Professional Championships 1st 1st 1st 1st 1st
Challenge of Champions 1st 1st 1st
World Team Championship 3rd 1st 1st

Professional programmes

1984 1985 1990 1994 1995 1996
World Professional Championships Song of India, Encounter Diablo Tango, Venus Oscar Tango, Revolution / Imagine Encounter Still Crazy After All These Years, Cecilia Take Five, Hat Trick
Challenge of Champions Echoes of Ireland Still Crazy After All These Years, Cecilia Take Five, Hat Trick
World Team Championships Let's Face the Music, Encounter Bridge Over Troubled Water, Cecilia Sarabande, Hat Trick

Amateur programmes

OSP/ORD Free Dance Exhibitions
1978 The Great Waldo Pepper
1979 Masquerade Slaughter on Tenth Avenue Evergreen
1980 A Little Street in Singapore Sing Sing Sing etc. Puttin' On the Ritz
1981 Cherry Pink (and Apple Blossom White) Fame etc. History of Love (version 1)
1982 Summertime Mack and Mabel The Hop, Kiss Me Kate, Fast Tap
1983 Rock n Roll Barnum Putting on the Ritz
1984 Capriccio Espagnol, Rimsky Korsakov Boléro I Won't Send Roses
1994 History of Love (version 2) Let's Face the Music Boléro

Honours

On 28 April 1983, Dean was appointed Honorary Freeman of the City of Nottingham. Dean was appointed an Officer of the Order of the British Empire in 1999.

Personal life

Between 1991 and 1993, Dean was married to French-Canadian World ice dance champion Isabelle Duchesnay whom he met while choreographing for her and her brother Paul Duchesnay in the late 1980s.

On 15 October 1994, Dean married American skater Jill Trenary in Minneapolis, Minnesota. They had two sons, Jack Robert and Sam Colin, and lived in Colorado Springs, Colorado. Dean's agent confirmed in March 2010 that the couple had separated. He and Trenary remain on good terms.

He has been in a relationship with Karen Barber since 2011.

Dean also remained close friends with partner Jayne Torvill.

In 2021, Dean took part in an episode of DNA Journey to trace his family roots. He also appeared on The Masked Dancer as Beagle, where he was the fifth celebrity to be unmasked.

See also

Kids robot.svg In Spanish: Christopher Dean para niños

  • Torvill and Dean
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