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Kurt Browning always jumps back in
| Source: |
Toronto Star |
| Date: |
April 19, 2019 |
| Author: |
Sharilyn Johnson |
If Kurt Browning keeps answering his phone, he might skate forever.
Before a recent mid-morning practice at Toronto's Granite Club, he
explained how he found himself preparing for his 28th year with Stars
on Ice, after deciding - a few times over - to move on.
"I thought when we did the 25th, that might be it. So, I threw myself
a party," he says.
That year, the legend of figure skating - a four-time world champion
before leaving competition in 1994 - directed the show and
incorporated nods to his most popular programs. It had the air of a
farewell, minus a formal announcement.
That was by design. Browning, 52, says he'll never proclaim a tour as
his last. It's too easy to be lured back.
"Lots of skaters retire. Then there they are, four or five years
later, still doing shows," he says.
Sure enough, Stars on Ice producers called and convinced him to return
as a guest for just five cities in 2016. His reluctance to get in
shape again for the same in 2017 prompted a better solution: do the
whole tour. With Elvis Stojko on the bill, he couldn't say no.
"Elvis and I rehashed all the stuff we've ever done together
competitively. And we had some really nice bonding talks," he
says.
Browning decided that was the right experience to end on and told the
producers he was done. He watched last year's Toronto show from the
stands. Now he'll be back for the May 3 show at the Scotiabank Arena,
after starting the Canadian tour on April 26 in Halifax.
Before he could even reconsider for 2019, however, his body almost
made the decision for him. He was injured last fall playing hockey,
when he bent over to reach for the puck and another player hit him
head on.
"I couldn't move my arm for about 10 or 15 seconds. I had nerve damage
down my back. I compressed my spine. I had trouble already in my upper
thoracic and that's right where the weak spot in my back was," he
said.
He couldn't even control his left arm enough to fully bring it into
his body when he jumped.
"I did a double (Salchow) and took a really bad fall because I
couldn't pull in. Tried a single Axel and almost fell on that," he
says.
Then his longtime collaborator, choreographer Sandra Bezic,
called. Would he do two shows in Spain, with his friend (and two-time
world champion) Javier Fernandez?
Accepting the invitation gave him a deadline to get in shape for the
December shows. He wasn't fully recovered in time, but he got his
double Axel back - "sort of" - and tossed in a back flip.
Those two shows got the attention of Stars on Ice producer Byron
Allen, who asked him back yet again.
"Without the show in Spain, he wouldn't have called me. He just
would've filled the spot. I would've gone to the show this year and
never known that he was wishing I'd come back," he says.
On the Granite Club ice, Browning is back to his old self. His
longevity in skating is almost unheard of. While the younger
generations of top Canadian skaters have come and gone from Stars on
Ice, he's remained a fan favourite.
"Some of us are just crazy lifers," he says, but he's unsure who else
could similarly become synonymous with the tour.
"I think Patrick (Chan) has that opportunity. (Stars on Ice director)
Jeff Buttle certainly has a love affair with skating, but he's injured
right now and what will that injury do moving forward? Joannie
Rochette would have been loved for a long, long, long, long, long
time. But she had a brain and wanted to go flex that muscle," he
says. (Rochette now studies medicine at McGill University.)
This year, Browning leverages both his silly and serious sides. He's
revisiting the challenge of building a broad, comedic piece, which in
the past has resulted in some of his best-received
performances.
"I'm taking advantage of coming back one more time to try to go back
to that literal clown place. Which is highly intimidating and
horrifying. But really rewarding when you can get there," he
says.
There will be at least one moment of introspection out there: he'll
also skate to Gordon Lightfoot's "If You Could Read My Mind."
"It's just to bring emotions up to the surface," he says, noting that
he's wanted to skate to Lightfoot's music for years.
Just don't try reading Browning's mind when it comes to his future
with Stars on Ice, because even he doesn't know. Besides, if he does
stop touring - again - he'll only be a phone call away.
"If Jeff Buttle calls after three years and goes, 'I need an evil
wizard and a host, will you come back?' Damn right."
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