The Competition

“Without doubt John Curry (1949-1994) is acknowledged world wide for transforming ice figure skating as an Olympic sport into an art form. His problems were those faced by many pioneers: incomprehension from most, prejudice from many, active support from too few. His tragedy is that his life was cut short before he could overcome them.”

Early Dreams

Born in 1949, John Curry was a dance enthusiast from an early age: he had wanted to take ballet classes when he was five years old, but his father refused. Instead, John took up skating, at which he excelled. Numerous competition wins followed, satisfying his father that skating qualified as a competitive sport. When he was 16 his father died and John moved to London. He began training full-time and also started taking the previously forbidden ballet classes. Already, he was formulating his life's mission: to form a dance company on ice, bringing ballet-standard dance to the skating world.
John wanted to make a name for himself in international figure skating, but two obstacles stood in his way: one technical and one stylistic. Technically, John's performance suffered as he competed at higher levels: after a flawless practice, nervousness would lead to errors in front of the judges. And stylistically, John was at odds with the British figure skating community. His vision of ice skating and his years as a ballet enthusiast had helped him to develop his own fluid, expressive style. This was seen as acceptable in a child skater, but less appropriate for a young man: 'I was actually told not to be so graceful,' he later recalled.

Creating a Champion

In 1975 John moved to the US, where two new influences transformed his career. One was the then-fashionable Erhard Seminar Training (EST therapy). The second influence was that of his new trainers, Carlo and Christa Fassi (who later also coached Robin Cousins). Perhaps because of his troubled relationship with his father, John felt himself an outsider and longed to gain acceptance by excelling at his chosen career; the combination made him fiercely self-critical, which in turn made him reluctant to accept criticism from others. His relationships with trainers tended to be troubled and brief, but in the Fassis, John felt he had trainers who were sympathetic. The video comes courtesy of NISATV where you will find lots more of John Curry.

Competition Success

With the Fassis and EST to support him, John finally began realising his potential on an international stage in 1976. He won the European Figure Skating Championship, with a performance which all nine judges gave 5.9 for artistic expression. He did not reach the same peak for his technical expertise, but avoided any major errors. Encouraged by the Fassis, John incorporated passages of classical ballet into his routine, including dances associated with Rudolf Nureyev. He followed this triumph by taking gold at the Winter Olympics and winning the World Figure Skating Championship.
Four months later The Queen appointed John an OBE and he was also made a Life Member of the National Skating Association.
John was also holder of the British Jennings Cup for men’s free skating from 1968-1973. His first British Senior Championship was in 1970 and from 1972 to 1976 he was the undisputed British Champion and unchallengeable on British ice.