Browning says Stars will stay on ice after Hamilton

Copyright 2001 The Providence Journal Company

Skater and co-founder Scott Hamilton's leaving Target Stars on Ice will surely have an impact on the show. But Kurt Browning, one of the show's other stars, says the cast hasn't discussed what will happen after Hamilton leaves the tour.

Hamilton, who, with his manager Robert D. Kain, founded what became Stars on Ice in 1986, has been saying good-bye to his fans since the tour began Nov. 25 at Lake Placid, N.Y. The final farewell will be in Portland, Maine, April 7.

After 15 years, gone will be the days of five shows a week, back and forth across the country, heading wherever the ice was available. For instance, the show will be in Providence Wednesday. On Tuesday it will be in Rochester, N.Y., and on Thursday it will be in Albany.

Browning recently phoned from Philadelphia, where he was about to head for the airport and a flight to Buffalo.

The schedule (three shows, a day off, two shows and another day off) might be hectic, but Browning says the skaters are treated well. The stars, including Kristi Yamaguchi, Tara Lapinski and Illia Kulik, were staying at the Ritz-Carlton in Philadelphia. And they fly from city to city, while the crew takes to the road in buses and trucks.

Of Hamilton's leaving, Browning says: "It had to happen some time. It's what Scott wanted." (Hamilton, 42, isn't giving up skating, just the tour. He's spoken of wanting to create a stage show.)

Quad for a car

Browning was Canadian and world champion four times, in 1989 through 1991 and in 1993. And he was the first man to successfully complete a quad jump (a quad toe loop) in the world championships in Budapest in 1988.

Mention the quad and he quickly amends the statement to "the first to get credit." He was 22 "going on 17" when he did it. The impetus to go for the quad, he says, came from a local car dealer who promised Kurt he'd let him drive one of his cars if he landed it.

More and more skaters are doing the spectacular spins, and that raises the question again about whether figure skating is a sport or art or both.

Some, such as Robin Cousins, stressed the artistic, the balletic. Others, and Hamilton is among them, stress the athletic.

Browning says it runs in cycles.

Now the audience may sit in silence, erupting into applause only when a jump is completed. Browning says ballet is the same: The audience sits quietly until a special leap or spin is made.

Yes, skating is more jump-oriented now, but "the reason the quads are happening is the guys are doing them."

Waxing and waning

Figure skating's popularity, which had seen a major increase in recent years, is down a little, Browning says. The networks and public are being more selective. Competitions that once were presented in prime time now turn up on weekend afternoons.

But the Winter Olympics are on their way, and they're "always a big hit for our sport."