How two ice dancers amazed the world

ESL Lessons: True Stories

A printable worksheet for story-based English conversation classes.

Difficulty: Intermediate B1

PDF: How two ice dancers amazed the world

Warm-up

Do you know what ice dancing is? (Yes, it's...)

Vocabulary Match

creatively •• chance
risk •• unusual
different •• difficult
emotion •• usual
rare •• artistically
traditional •• uncommon
challenging •• feelings

Vocabulary Answers

creativelyartistically
riskchance
differentunusual
emotionfeelings
rareuncommon
traditionalusual
challengingdifficult

True Story

Listen and fill in the blanks with words from above.

In 1984, Christopher Dean and Jayne Torvill, British ice dancers, took a ________ that changed their sport forever. They were already successful, with three world titles. But they wanted to do something ________ for the Winter Olympics.

They chose to dance to a song called "Bolero". It was a ________ choice because it was different from ________ ice dancing. They even started the freestyle event on their knees, which was something not seen before. "We felt strongly about what we were doing," says Dean. "We always had to be one step ahead with where our ideas were ________," adds Torvill.

Their performance was amazing and won them the gold medal. They received perfect scores from the judges, which was very ________. People loved their dance because it was not just skating; it told a story with ________ and creativity. "We wanted to do something that we had never done and that had never been seen before," says Torvill. They certainly achieved that. Their dance to "Bolero" is still remembered as one of the most famous ice dances ever.

In 1984, Christopher Dean and Jayne Torvill, British ice dancers, took a risk that changed their sport forever. They were already successful, with three world titles. But they wanted to do something different for the Winter Olympics.

They chose to dance to a song called "Bolero". It was a challenging choice because it was different from traditional ice dancing. They even started the freestyle event on their knees, which was something not seen before. "We felt strongly about what we were doing," says Dean. "We always had to be one step ahead with where our ideas were creatively," adds Torvill.

Their performance was amazing and won them the gold medal. They received perfect scores from the judges, which was very rare. People loved their dance because it was not just skating; it told a story with emotion and creativity. "We wanted to do something that we had never done and that had never been seen before," says Torvill. They certainly achieved that. Their dance to "Bolero" is still remembered as one of the most famous ice dances ever.

Quiz

  1. Who are Christopher Dean and Jayne Torvill?
  2. What was unusual about their freestyle performance?
  3. Why did people love their "Bolero" dance?

Quiz Answers (examples)

  1. Christopher Dean and Jayne Torvill are British ice dancers.
  2. They started the freestyle event on their knees, which was not traditional in ice dancing.
  3. Because it was not just skating; it told a story with emotion and creativity.

True or False

  1. Christopher Dean and Jayne Torvill had already won three world titles. T F
  2. They wanted to be one skate ahead with their ideas. T F
  3. Their dance to "Bolero" is remembered as one of the best ice creams ever. T F

True or False Answers

  1. True
  2. False
  3. False

Conversation

A:Can you believe it's been 40 years since Torvill and Dean's Bolero?
B:Incredible! Watching it live was unforgettable. They started on their knees!
A:Yeah, I remember thinking, "What are they doing?" But it was genius.
B:I know, right? They were so in sync, and the music... just perfect.
A:Ahh, it feels like just yesterday. We were so young then!
B:That we were! Time really does fly, doesn't it?

Discussion

  1. Have you ever watched ice dancing? What did you think about it?
  2. Can you ice skate? How about roller skating?
  3. Have you ever done anything that surprised people?
  4. What great sporting moments do you remember from your youth?

Further Reading

https://www.bbc.com/sport/winter-sports/68281325


MORE: