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Always on their toes

Source: Maclean's
Date: December 2, 2002
Author: Helen Buttery

Copyright 2002 Rodgers Publishing Ltd.

Tucked away near Toronto's Casa Loma, the home of Kurt Browning and Sonia Rodriguez is hard to find. Making the house number visible from the street was on the couple's list of summer projects, but with their busy schedules, it fell by the wayside. Rodriguez, 29, a principal dancer for the National Ballet of Canada, is currently performing in The Firebird. And Browning, 36, spends six months of the year with Stars on Ice. The four-time world figure skating champion gave up his amateur status in 1994 and has been touring and competing as a professional ever since. It's a lucrative life, but gruelling too -- he'll perform in 70 cities for Stars on Ice before he gets any time off next spring. So unlike his days as an amateur, there's little time for training and practice. "As a professional," he says, "there's nothing but events." When Browning's away, Leah, a Portuguese water dog, keeps Rodriguez company.

Recently, the couple -- who were married six years ago -- have been working together on a TV special, Kurt Browning's Gotta Skate. The two-hour show, which airs Nov. 30 on the W Network, integrates skaters (including Brian Orser, Josee Chouinard, Lu Chen, and the Russian 2002 Olympic gold medallists, Elena Berezhnaya and Anton Sikharulidze), musicians (Deborah Cox and Edwin & The Pressure) and dancers (AntiGravity and, of course, Rodriguez). The challenge, says Browning, is to "blend them so they don't look like a jumbled mass."

In order to perform together in the show, the couple had to get creative. Rodriguez can be seen dancing on stage or on a chair or in Browning's arms. But the ballerina's feet never touch the ice -- she can't risk an injury. And while she owns a pair of burgundy suede skates which Browning gave her for Christmas, she doesn't know how to use them. "When I hang up the pointe shoes," says Rodriguez, "I'll bring the skates out."