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Figuring in on festival fun
Skating icon Kurt Browning stoked to be here with stars
| Source: |
Abbotsford Times |
| Date: |
December 4, 2009 |
| Author: |
Christina Toth |
It was a bit like seeing the stars at home in their living rooms with
their fuzzy slippers on, except that these stars were wearing figure
skates.
Ice icons Kurt Browning, Jamie Sale, David Pelletier, Jeffrey Buttle,
Marie-France Dubreuil, Shawn Sawyer, Steven Cousins and others were
roaring around the ice yesterday at the Abbotsford Entertainment and
Sports Centre, fine-tuning their routines for tonight's 7:30
p.m. show, the Holiday Festival on Ice. They were in simple workout
gear while arena crews were busy setting up the decor.
For Browning, this four-city performance series - which showcases
Canada's legendary skating stars and athletes in holiday-themed solos
and ensembles - is among his many commitments this season.
He's just come off the successful finale of CBC's Battle of the
Blades, which created eight unlikely pairings of some of Canadian
hockey's toughest enforcers with figure skating icons. The final
winning pair was Olympic gold medalist Sale and two-time Stanley Cup
winner Craig Simpson.
The reality challenge helped to dissolve some stereotypes for fans of
both sports, said Browning, who co-hosted the Toronto-based show with
sportscaster Ron MacLean.
"It's not going to make [hockey fans] love figure skating, but it has
exposed a much broader audience to figure skating. They might say, 'It
was OK, I'd watch that,' " said Browning, who was teased a bit for his
figure skating when he was growing up in southern Alberta. And it was
an eye-opener for figure skaters, too.
"It's good for figure skaters to see hockey players who are smart,
articulate and can really skate. Figure skaters were surprised at how
much they enjoyed it. I think a lot of people didn't think the hockey
players would take it seriously."
But in fact, the boys took their challenge seriously and were
committed to keeping their partners safe through lifts and other
moves.
"One of the things they didn't think about was the music and the
choreography and how it all worked together," Browning said. The hand
positions, the movements, the lifts, the timing was challenging for
the hockey players.
"They were shocked at how hard that was."
What particularly amused Browning during the Battle of the Blades was
seeing tough guys such as Tie Domi and Bob Probert, who've traded more
than a few punches, leaning up against the boards, chatting.
"It's so weird to see Tie and Bob together, the big enforcers, then
you follow down with your eyes and they're wearing figure skates,"
said Browning.
As Browning tied his skates, the other show members practised some of
their routines over and over, sailing weightlessly through their
jumps.
"These skaters, we're almost like family," he says, after giving a
little gentle advice to Shawn Sawyer.
"We all grew up together. We laugh, a lot, and we have so much fun,"
he said with emphasis.
Accompanying this stellar cast of skaters in tonight's show is another
stellar collection of voices - the Canadian Tenors, comprised of
Toronto's Victor Micallef, Ottawa's Remigio Pereira, Fraser Walters
from Vancouver and Clifton Murray of Port McNeil.
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