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Browning wows crowd on short notice
| Source: |
The Kingston Whig Standard |
| Date: |
February 5, 2012 |
| Author: |
Tori Stafford |
The old adage that the show must go on is one Michele Langlois knows
all too well.
The manager of Feb Fest for Downtown Kingston, Langlois received a
call from Jeffery Buttle's agent Saturday, who told Langlois that
Buttle injured his back in training, and would be unable to come to
Kingston for the Imagination on Ice figure skating show.
Buttle, an Olympic figure skater and world champion, was to headline
the show as part of Feb Fest on Sunday.
With less than 24 hours to show time, Langlois and the team at
Downtown Kingston were left with an empty space in the show.
"I think we all thought of Kurt Browning," Langlois said of the
Canadian figure skater who has performed at Feb Fest before.
But getting the first man to ever land a quad in competition to
perform the next day seemed impossible.
"He was like 'Tomorrow?!' " Langlois said of Browning's reaction to
the request.
But, always the showman, Browning agreed, and within 12 hours, he was
here.
Browning wowed a crowd of about 2,000 people gathered at the rink in
Springer Market Square for the show.
His first piece, performed to I'm Yours by Jason Mraz, was a lively,
upbeat number that, at times, was purely hilarious. Browning danced
off articles of clothing, and demonstrated footwork the likes of which
would be difficult on solid ground, let alone ice.
And although the rink is smaller than standard ones, Browning adapted
easily to the quick call. His second number, to the classic It's A New
Day, was a more moody, emotive piece. With huge leaps and wild spins,
Browning's talents sparkled on the ice under the bright, mid-day
sun.
He might have been a space fillers, but Browning was truly the star of
the show, and the audience roared with applause.
"I was beside myself," Langlois said.
"After his first performance, both Jan (MacDonald) and I were like
'You can kill us now — we're happy!'
And though they might have had to dole out a few more bills to get the
likes of Browning in town with two performances in less than a day, it
was worth it, Langlois expressed.
"There was a small bonus for him," she said, "for doing a huge favour
for us."
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