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One last spin
Iconic skater Browning set to hang up blades at 57 after final Stars on Ice tour
| Source: |
Winnipeg Free Press |
| Date: |
May 8, 2023 |
| Author: |
Laurie Nealin |
One day a long time ago, as Dewey Browning headed into an arena with
his son Kurt, he turned and motioned to the cars in the parking
lot.
Every one of those people carved time out of their lives to come see
you skate, the salt-of-the-earth Albertan told his teenage son,
impressing upon him that he must always strive to give an audience his
best.
Forty years, four world championship titles and nearly 1,000 Stars on
Ice shows later, those words of wisdom continue to resonate with the
now iconic figure skater.
“(My dad) made me realize audiences don’t magically appear,” Browning
says. “I take my performing very seriously, try to keep the quality
up, and that’s a reason I tried to quit in 2015.
“Now it’s 2023, and I’m working really hard to be as good a skater as
I can but, at 56, you’re not there every moment you need to be. Your
body does betray you with fatigue or whatever it might be.”
Although audiences have never stopped cheering his on-ice brilliance,
the perennial Stars headliner has decided to step away from the
spotlight.
“I’m so glad I made that nice round number of 30 (full tours) and
excited to be able to have interactions with the audience to say,
‘Thank you for the support.’”
He’ll say goodbye in Winnipeg on Wednesday at Canada Life Centre,
alongside a star-studded cast.
Through May and into June, Browning is slated to glide down memory
lane in 12 Canadian and eight U.S. cities. Following an unparalleled
30-plus-years with Stars, the consummate showman will take his final
bow in Hershey, Penn., two weeks shy of his 57th birthday.
Browning, the first to land a quadruple jump in competition back in
1988, names Brickhouse, Singin’ in the Rain and his baggy-pantsed,
red-nosed clown character Raggy as all-time favourite
programs.
Those choices exemplify his vast artistic range.
“I think I’ve scratched every musical itch and enjoyed doing it. I
feel pretty satisfied with the opportunities I have been given, which
is abundantly more than most skaters will ever even dream of,” he
says.
For his last hurrah, the ever-droll Browning said he “glued,
duct-taped and Lego-ed together” favourite snippets of choreography
from his vast repertoire into a retrospective routine — fittingly set
to the Who’s Who Are You.
“It’s a very physical skate, because the steps I chose are all fast,
but it’s going to be fun, because it’s like flipping through a photo
album of my old solos.”
For his costume, Browning designed a T-shirt listing his 63 solo
programs on the back, reminiscent of concert tour merch. Then he
decided fans might like to have their own. “So, the shirt I am wearing
for my solo will be available for purchase on the concourse,” he says,
mimicking an in-arena announcement.
Browning’s second solo skate was choreographed by his wife, Alissa
Czisny, a former U.S. champion and fellow Stars cast member. They
married last August.
“It’s really subdued, more laid back and has built-in moments where I
can just relax, look up and take in the audience. It’s kind of like a
long hug.”
The three Canadian men who succeeded Browning as world champions are
part of his final tour, including figure skating’s rock star Elvis
Stojko, 10-time national titleholder Patrick Chan and the show’s
choreographer, Jeff Buttle. Reigning Canadian champ Keegan Messing,
the sport’s newest fan favourite, is also on board.
Stojko and Browning last stood together on the world championship
podium 30 years ago — Stojko wearing the silver medal, Browning the
gold, and both rocking mullets.
Stojko, now 51 and contemplating his own on-ice future, took ownership
of the podium in 1994 when Browning retired from competition.
“Kurt wants to move on, but I feel it in my gut,” Stojko
said. “Argh. It’s the end of an era, a big era, but I’m smiling
looking at all the good times we had.
“Looking back, I was very blessed to be a part of the whole Kurt-Elvis
rivalry, the legacy, that time of skating in the ’90s,” says Stojko,
who returned to Stars in 2016 after a long hiatus. “We created a lot
of awesome moments. Amazing to think it’s been 30 years. It went by in
the blink of an eye.”
Since then, he and Browning have spent much time reminiscing, their
feet dangling in hotel hot tubs while their much younger cast members
sought livelier post-show venues. Touring was so much easier, the
veterans say, with each other there.
“Kurt loves to perform, so that alone gives him that extra exuberance
to continue the last number of years. And, luckily, his body’s been
good to him, too,” says Stojko, who’s not sure how much longer he’ll
keep skating in the wake of Browning’s retirement.
The elder statesmen came to a decision that it was time they performed
a duet to celebrate their friendship, their intersecting careers,
accomplishments and longevity. Raise a Little Hell was deemed the
obvious music choice.
“It’ll be a very casual three minutes on the ice. We’ll both be mic’d
and we hope to have a lot of fun each night,” Browning says.
Stojko also performs two solo numbers. One, set to a remix of Van
Halen’s Jump, is in his quintessential style. “It’s full-out, fast,
tricks, in-your-face, boom, done,” says Stojko, whose serious
car-racing ambitions, including moving up from endurance racing to the
Porsche Cup series, are becoming his priority.
Looking to his future, Browning would like to continue as a TV
commentator and hosting camps for adult skaters of all skill
levels. He isn’t sure he’ll be able to keep himself in shape even for
one-off shows.
“I don’t know what my body’s going to do, what my mind’s going to do,
so we’re gonna play it by ear,” he says. “I know when I take Stars off
the plate, it’s going to change how I look at the whole year, and
that’s OK.”
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