Skating stars to share ice with kids at PPG Paints Arena show
Professional figure skaters like four-time Canadian champion and four-time world champion Kurt Browning have trained hard for their fiercest competitions — yet nothing can prepare them for the unexpected challenges when their skating partner is their young son or daughter.
Browning, along with other world-class figure skaters Nancy Kerrigan, Scott Hamilton, Paul Wylie, Todd Eldredge, Sinead & John Kerr, Silvia Fontana & John Zimmerman, Jodeyne Higgins & Sean Rice, and their families, will star in Musselman's Applesauce Family Skating Tribute Oct. 30 at PPG Paints Arena. It is unclear if Hamilton will perform since recently being diagnosed with a benign brain tumor.
The family-themed figure skating show is hosted by Olympic gold medalist Kristi Yamaguchi and three-time U.S. champion Michael Weiss, with guest musical artists Dan + Shay.
The featured skaters will each perform at least one of their numbers with their children. The show will be taped to be televised nationally on ABC during the holiday season, scheduled to air from 3 to 5 p.m. Nov. 27 and Dec. 11.
“It's not a typical skating show,” Browning says. “Some kids are doing triples (jumps) — other kids are 4 years old and mom and dad will be carrying them on the ice. It's a different vibe.”
He will partner with his 9-year-old son Dillon in a performance to music from Rossini's “Barber of Seville.”
“We have fun with it,” he says. “He's the barber and I'm the unsuspecting victim.”
His other son, Gabe, 13, is unable to attend the show in Pittsburgh. He was featured with his father in the 2014 family ice show, skating to “We are Family.”
Two-time Olympic medalist Nancy Kerrigan and her husband, Jerry Solomon, who produces skating and tennis events, have three children — Matthew, 20; Brian, 11, and Nicole, 8 — who will be featured skating with her to “Mom” by Meghan Trainor. Her sons will join her on the ice for “The Boys are Back” from “High School Musical 3.”
Kerrigan, who lives in Linfield, Mass., says her children enjoy skating, but not competitively right now. They all have other interests as well, including gymnastics for Brian and Nicole, who also studies ballet, tap and jazz.
“I spend a lot of time in the car, driving them to and from places,” their mom says.
Matthew took a leave from college to pursue his love of theater, working with regional companies in Boston and Watertown, Mass., and in New York and Connecticut.
“He designed all of my costumes for my ‘Halloween on Ice' show last year,” she says. “He's also quite good as an actor and wants to direct.”
Browning says Dillon, a fourth-grader, has not wanted to compete at skating as of yet and feels “this show is his career. He loves skating and the musicality of it; he also loves ballet. In his words, he's doing quite enough, telling me, ‘You do realize I go to school seven hours a day.' ”
Even though the Musselman's skating show is a family affair, the skater parents prepare solos showcasing their skills on the ice. Families join together for a finale skated to Dan + Shay's song, “All Nighter,” from their latest album.
Browning tries to keep a balance between family fun and professionalism in the show.
“It's really fun to skate with the kids. You hope to have a good time out there, but there's an audience to be entertained. It's hard to choose music the child feels comfortable doing and have the pressure of showing people a good program,” he says.
And of course, with kids, there will be mistakes.
“Last year, when Dillon came out to meet me on the ice, his costume hadn't been put on correctly. We had to stop and redo that part,” Browning says. “Fortunately we had a loving and caring audience. Backstage, that's where the show really is, with costumes, kids and props. ”
The Browning family lives in Toronto, where his wife, Sonja Rodriguez, is a principal dancer with the National Ballet of Canada. He has scaled back his own performances and enjoys serving as host and narrator at Kitchener-Waterloo Symphony concerts near their home.
He had a minor mishap at a Sept. 11 concert when he was conducting the orchestra and stepped off the platform, twisting his ankle. He says he's hoping he'll be able to resume jumps by the Pittsburgh show.
As much as fans of the former champions and Olympians tend to enjoy the family skating shows to see “where they are now,” Browning says the skating families welcome the chance to catch up with what's happening in each others' lives.
“It's like a family reunion for us,” he says. “I competed against Todd Eldridge, Kristi Yamaguchi and John Zimmerman. When we get together, we giggle and say, how did we get to be parents?”
Candy Williams is a Tribune-Review contributing writer.
