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Bringing the party to the ice
'I work really hard ... to make sure my audience is included': Browning
| Source: |
Halifax Metro News |
| Date: |
April 21, 2011 |
| Author: |
Philip Croucher |
Sears Stars on Ice
- When: Tonight, 7 p.m.
- Where: Halifax Metro Centre
- Taking the ice: Scheduled list of skaters include Kurt Browning, Evan Lysacek, Joannie Rochette, Jamie Sale and David Pelletier, Sasha Cohen, Jeffrey Buttle, and Shawn Sawyer
- Tickets: Adult tickets range from $32 to $117. Visit ticketatlantic.com
He's a Canadian who needs little introduction.
Four-time national and world figure skating champion Kurt Browning is
in Halifax for tonight's Sears Stars on Ice at the Metro
Centre.
Browning took some time to speak with Metro about the sport he loves —
and which made him famous.
MH: What keeps you motivated to keep doing this? It's been over two
decades now.
KB: If you want to forget romance, it's my job. That's what I
do.
MH: Do you love it as much today as you did when you first
started?
KB: It's tempered. It's changed. You know, as any marriage goes along,
the marriage might be still strong, it's just being held together in
different ways. My knees don't let me do what I want them to do but
then again my being around for so long lets me do things that I didn't
think I could...you know, when you used to like to go for jogs, now
you appreciate a nice walk. So, I think I'm still viable.
MH: How has figure skating changed over the years? Is there a point
that figure skaters can't do any more?
KB: It's strange. I actually thought the quad would be even more
accessible by this point. I went down to visit Patrick Chan in
Colorado Springs and I got to see how he approached learning the quad
and it was so scientific. I went to the rink by myself, alone late at
night so no one would see me because I thought they would laugh at me
doing four revolutions. And he's got a computer that analyzes exactly
when he's in the jump he should start rotating, and how long he needs
to be in the air. So I really think it's going to become more common
real fast.
MH: You always seem to love the show of skating. What is it about
being out there and performing that you love so much.
KB: You either have it or you don't. My seven-year-old will have
nothing to do with soccer, baseball. I put rollerblades on him, and he
starts tap-dancing. He just has the bug. He just needs to make people
smile. So I'm doing something I love and people want me to do it. I
mean, could there be a better job?
MH: Why do you think you connect so well with Canadians?
KB: I consider myself super-Canadian. I don't know, actually. I think
people trust me, I guess. People just sort of, over the years, have
come to either like or not really like my product. And if they do like
it, they like it a lot because I work really hard on going on the ice
and trying to make sure my audience is included. Too many skaters,
especially young competitive ones, forget that the audience wants to
be brought to the party. And I love to skate, so I think it's kind of
infectious."
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