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Still evolving as skater
Stars on Ice show remains a challenge for Browning
| Source: |
Halifax Chronicle Herald |
| Date: |
April 19, 2011 |
| Author: |
Andrea Nemetz |
KURT Browning has spent nearly half his life with Stars On
Ice.
The 44-year-old Canadian figure skating icon is in his 21st year with
the star-studded extravaganza that stops at the Halifax Metro Centre
on Thursday at 7 p.m.
He recalls his first year when he performed a duet with eight-time
Canadian champion Brian Orser, borrowing one of Orser's costumes so
they'd be dressed alike.
"What young kid wouldn't be thrilled to share the ice with him?" asks
the four-time world champion by phone from Toronto.
He is sitting in his car in front of his home, watching a Bobcat pour
dirt on the lawn. Browning is completely rebuilding the house after a
fire destroyed it in August 2010 and expects to move back into the
house in November with his wife, Sonia Rodriguez, National Ballet of
Canada principal dancer, and their two sons, aged three and seven, in
November.
"Stars On Ice has helped shaped me forever," says Browning, who
recalls the excitement of skating with British ice dance legends
Torvill and Dean and "wonderful duets" with 1998 Olympic champion Tara
Lipinski in previous seasons.
Skating with the show gives him a different kind of enjoyment now,
Browning says.
"I miss the days when I could throw triple-triples or a big triple
Axel, but it has challenged me to recreate myself. My knees are not
happy. But there's a lot of love to have kept me with the show this
long and I love doing the commentary."
One of the two solos he performs in this year's show explores the
changes in the way he feels about skating.
He chose Joe Jackson's hit Steppin' Out, but the music and lyrics have
been rewritten by two friends he met while doing Peter Pan, one of
Ross Petty's Christmas pantomimes.
"Steve Thomas orchestrated the music and Geoffrey Tyler sings it. In
the program you hear my voice saying my thoughts. The first half, I
complain about my knees and feeling old, and not winning the Olympics,
but halfway through I have an epiphany and realize I'm doing something
I love."
His second solo is set to Downstream by Supertramp.
"It was an itch I needed to scratch. I only got figure skates when I
was 10 or 11 and when I was 14 and first started doing solos, my
sister was listening to it and I wanted to skate to it. I never lost
that desire, and now, three decades later, I'm doing it."
The program is choreographed by Linda Garneau, a dancer he'd never met
previously, who is on faculty at the Randolph Academy in
Toronto.
"It's soft and sombre and solemn," Browning muses, noting he now has
more programs choreographed by dancers than by skaters.
Canadian pairs darlings Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir, the 2010 Olympic
gold medallists who were to skate in Halifax, have been replaced by
2006 Olympic silver medallists Tanith Belbin and Benjamin Agosto, who
have never toured Canada before.
Virtue and Moir are defending their world championship title, but the
worlds, which were originally slated for the end of March in Tokyo,
were rescheduled after the devastating earthquake and tsunami. The
event is now being held in Moscow from April 24 to May 1, meaning the
duo will take part in Stars on Ice for only the second half of the
12-city tour that begins in Halifax.
Reigning national champ Cynthia Phaneuf is also out of the lineup as
she is competing at the worlds. But Shawn Sawyer, the 2011 Canadian
silver medallist from Edmunston, N.B., gave up his worlds berth to be
part of Stars On Ice.
"Shawn had the skate of his life at (2011) Canadians," says
Browning. "He retired last year, but decided it would be fun to
compete under his rules. Doing it for fun to music he wanted and not
trying to hide his crazy, wild ways worked. It was unbelievable;
skating as the Mad Hatter he had the performance of his life. He
decided not to go to worlds because he sees himself as a performer
now, not a competitor, and that makes me very happy. It's a good
decision."
Browning's hoping the extra time helps Virtue and Moir, who withdrew
from their only event this year — the Four Continents championship in
February — because of continuing injury issues, to recover and be more
prepared.
But he's worried national champ Patrick Chan, the 2010 Grand Prix
champion, may have peaked too early. "He was really ready to go. I
hope he'll stay strong."
Browning, who co-hosts the reality show Battle of the Blades, one of
CBC TV's biggest hits, with Hockey Night In Canada's Ron McLean, isn't
sure how long he'll remain with Stars On Ice.
"I'm taking it year by year and will see how my knees are," he
concludes.
STARS ON ICE:
What: Sears Stars On Ice Presented by Samsung
When: Thursday at 7 p.m. at Halifax Metro Centre
Tickets: Range from $32 to $117 for adults, $27 to $117 for seniors,
$19.50 to $117 for children 12 and under including tax and service
charge. Call 451-1221 or 1-877-451-1221, visit the Ticket Atlantic box
office at Halifax Metro Centre or participating Atlantic Superstores
or go online at www.ticketatlantic.com
Website: www.starsonice.ca
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