kurtfiles

 
Home
Profile
Record
Articles
News
Photo
Stars on Ice
Music
References
Miscellaneous
 
1987
1988
1989
1990
1991
1992
1993
1994
1995
1996
1997
1998
1999
2000
2001
2002
2003
2004
2005
2006
2007
2008
2009
2010
2011
2012
2013
2014
2015
2017
2018
2019
2020
2022
2023



Kurt Browning's Gotta Dance a showcase of stars

Source: Vancouver Sun
Date: October 27, 2001
Author: Michael Scott

KURT BROWNING'S GOTTA DANCE

Oct. 26 at General Motors Place

A generation ago figure skating consisted mostly of, well, skating figures -- the precise tracing on ice of circles and figure-of-eights.

Rigorous and exacting, yes; exciting to watch, no.

As the sport evolved to become more telegenic, commentators began to compare it to dance. But this is wrong. It doesn't matter how many quad jumps and other tricks the world's best skaters can produce, there just isn't enough physical tension in the gliding movements of skating to create true dramatic tension. It is a movement art, but not dance.

A ballet like Swan Lake endures because its choreography actually evokes human tragedy; no amount of dramatic lighting, or soulful music can turn the average ice show into fine art. The tricks are impressive, but then so are somersaults from the high-wire trapeze.

The one exception to this has been Kurt Browning, the Canadian phenomenon whose skating skills have always been paired with a talent for acting. His trademark ice-skate rendition of Gene Kelly's Singing in the Rain is a serious attempt to bring dramatic art to the rink.

His latest project goes further still, placing dancers such as his wife Sonia Rodriguez (a dancer with the National Ballet of Canada) and veteran Broadway hoofers Ann Reinking, Ben Vereen and Tommy Tune, on the same stage -- er, rink -- as Brian Orser, Josie Chouinard, Steven Cousins and other international skating stars.

The project is destined for television, which is well, because skateless dancers -- even great ones -- stand little chance of satisfying the far-flung audience in a hockey arena. Whether Browning's Gotta Dance project actually advances the marriage of skating and serious dance looks like a longshot -- a sweeps week longshot, at that.