News
April 8, 2008
A few minutes with Kurt Browning
by Ellen Dodson
"You can tell the great man in any room," the wise man once said. "He's the one who won't speak of his greatness."
So it was talking with 4-time World Champion Kurt Browning who, having just stepped off the ice after a standing ovation performance at Ice Chips Show of Champions, greeted every fan to the last and never tired of signing autographs. The soft-spoken and often self-deprecating Canadian, listed in the Guinness Book of World Records for being the first human to land a quadruple jump (at the 1988 World Championships in Budapest, Hungary), stood patiently to chat with me - a mere mortal - about skating, family, and life.
"Skating has left me blessed," Browning said. "After so many years on tour with Stars on Ice I'll be able to send my kids to any college they wish. But I also want my kids to know that the way we live, what we've got - it's just not the norm."
It was in this spirit that Kurt came to Boston to headline in Ice Chips. "Some of the skaters I admire most once skated here," Browning said while continuing to fulfill requests for autographs. "What you are doing [with Ice Chips] is important. Skaters spend a lot of time on themselves - it's very me, me, me - so it's important to have the opportunity to skate for others. I'm really honored to be part of this show."
SCOB was lucky to have Browning on the ice and on both feet. He was recently injured during a 6-week stint in the lead role of "Peter Pan - The Family Musical that Won't Grow Up" at the Elgin Theater in Toronto. This unusual Ross Petty production presented the classic Barrie tale in an interactive, fractured fairy tale-like style complete with jokes, pantomime, audience participation, and...singing.
Yes, singing. "I actually had four singing lines that were completely solo," he said, shrugging almost apologetically.
Certainly with a career as brilliant as Browning's there's nothing left to prove, yet the energetic 42-year old continues to evolve both off and on the ice. His stunning programs for Ice Chips, one of which was choreographed by legendary ice dancer Christopher Dean, demonstrated his persistent ability to innovate and push the creative envelope. There was no doubt in anyone's mind that they were witnessing greatness.
So when you're Kurt Browning, what's next? "Control of my own show," he replied without hesitation. It seems that Browning doesn't rest on his laurels, but is always thinking ahead to what he has yet to do.
"There's just one thing," he confides with a twinkle in his eye. "At this age, I don't heal like I used to."
