I'd have to echo those who say "everything!" or "what's not to love?"
On the ice, his versatility and musicality are incredible. He seems to really feel the music, really hear it - not just the climaxes, but the little nuances. At times, the interpretation is so good and the music and skating are so well integrated that it seems to me that his blades are the instruments, plucking out the notes on the ice, that the music was written to fit his choreography, not that he'd choreographed to the music. His jumps are gorgeous and out of nowhere, and are there to highlight and accentuate the music and choreography - he'll approach the jump differently or alter the landing, depending on his interpretation. His footwork is awesome, but it's not just that he can move his feet fast, in different directions, with picks and edges, and everything. It's that he varies the footwork - he doesn't do difficult footwork just for the sake of being difficult, he does what fits the music, and sometimes that means doing some really difficult steps. And he never rests on the tried and the true, he's always challenging himself to go in different directions. It's one thing to be really good at interpreting one or two types of music. Kurt'll take on practically anything. He's also very conscious of keeping things fresh and mixed up - if he does a bunch of comedic programs one year the next year he'll come up with something like "Passion" or "Time in a Bottle". And he just always has such fun out there on the ice. He loves skating and he loves performing and he just reaches out and draws the audience in to have as much fun as he's having. Though, he doesn't do it when it's not appropriate to the program - given an introspective or passionate program like "Lightning Crashes" or "Ain't No Sunshine" or "Passion", he'll engage the audience without breaking the mood of the program. He's very emotionally accessible on the ice - if he's happy, if he's disappointed, he just shares it.
Off the ice, he's just a wonderful person. Great sense of humor, so friendly, so engaging, so gracious, and so appreciative of everything - his fans, his friends, his family, his colleagues... He tries not to take anything for granted and while definitely opinionated and quite capable of being blunt about it, it's all tempered by a great sense of professionalism and respect for others. I've had the good fortune of meeting Kurt several times and interacting with him and he's always been great. Very genuine and very generous. You only need to look at the front page of my site to know what a good sport he is and what a great sense of humor he has.
Others have put it into words much better more briefly. So what I can't say well in a few words, I make up by using a lot of words
.
Oh and another example of what a generous guy Kurt is - he sat down for over an hour for me for that interview on my website (which may be where you read that he has no interest in coaching, dutchherder) after Ice Wars even though there were people he wanted to see and hang out with.
BTW, since this is a topic about Kurt, my Skate Today article on Kurt is up:
Catching up with Kurt Browning. It covers the interview that I posted in depth on my website, but is a lot shorter for those who don't have time to read an in-depth 3 page Q&A =).
On the ice, his versatility and musicality are incredible. He seems to really feel the music, really hear it - not just the climaxes, but the little nuances. At times, the interpretation is so good and the music and skating are so well integrated that it seems to me that his blades are the instruments, plucking out the notes on the ice, that the music was written to fit his choreography, not that he'd choreographed to the music. His jumps are gorgeous and out of nowhere, and are there to highlight and accentuate the music and choreography - he'll approach the jump differently or alter the landing, depending on his interpretation. His footwork is awesome, but it's not just that he can move his feet fast, in different directions, with picks and edges, and everything. It's that he varies the footwork - he doesn't do difficult footwork just for the sake of being difficult, he does what fits the music, and sometimes that means doing some really difficult steps. And he never rests on the tried and the true, he's always challenging himself to go in different directions. It's one thing to be really good at interpreting one or two types of music. Kurt'll take on practically anything. He's also very conscious of keeping things fresh and mixed up - if he does a bunch of comedic programs one year the next year he'll come up with something like "Passion" or "Time in a Bottle". And he just always has such fun out there on the ice. He loves skating and he loves performing and he just reaches out and draws the audience in to have as much fun as he's having. Though, he doesn't do it when it's not appropriate to the program - given an introspective or passionate program like "Lightning Crashes" or "Ain't No Sunshine" or "Passion", he'll engage the audience without breaking the mood of the program. He's very emotionally accessible on the ice - if he's happy, if he's disappointed, he just shares it.
Off the ice, he's just a wonderful person. Great sense of humor, so friendly, so engaging, so gracious, and so appreciative of everything - his fans, his friends, his family, his colleagues... He tries not to take anything for granted and while definitely opinionated and quite capable of being blunt about it, it's all tempered by a great sense of professionalism and respect for others. I've had the good fortune of meeting Kurt several times and interacting with him and he's always been great. Very genuine and very generous. You only need to look at the front page of my site to know what a good sport he is and what a great sense of humor he has.
Others have put it into words much better more briefly. So what I can't say well in a few words, I make up by using a lot of words
.Oh and another example of what a generous guy Kurt is - he sat down for over an hour for me for that interview on my website (which may be where you read that he has no interest in coaching, dutchherder) after Ice Wars even though there were people he wanted to see and hang out with.
BTW, since this is a topic about Kurt, my Skate Today article on Kurt is up:
Catching up with Kurt Browning. It covers the interview that I posted in depth on my website, but is a lot shorter for those who don't have time to read an in-depth 3 page Q&A =).
