Very nice articles. Thanks for the links.
Sumners always seemed to me like someone who was ready to do the work and who valued being a team player. If she was any kind of prima donna, it was never evident in what I saw of her in the media. She wasn't a brilliant skater, but she was a meticulous one, and she clearly valued gracefulness and artistry, though in the company of people like Gordeeva, Browning, and Wylie, it must have been hard to stand out.
I remember her especially for two things besides her bright temperament. One was that I first encountered the ballad "The Rose" through her. I don't tend to know the latest songs, and I first heard this one when she skated a lovely routine to it. It's remained a favorite of mine, both for the melody and for the heartfelt words. The other was something really beautiful she said after Sergei Grinkov's death. She said that the last thing Sergei saw was Katia in the landing position, which was what they'd worked for and shared for most of their lives. What a lovely way to remember Grinkov and to share him with his audience of fans.
Sumners always seemed to me like someone who was ready to do the work and who valued being a team player. If she was any kind of prima donna, it was never evident in what I saw of her in the media. She wasn't a brilliant skater, but she was a meticulous one, and she clearly valued gracefulness and artistry, though in the company of people like Gordeeva, Browning, and Wylie, it must have been hard to stand out.
I remember her especially for two things besides her bright temperament. One was that I first encountered the ballad "The Rose" through her. I don't tend to know the latest songs, and I first heard this one when she skated a lovely routine to it. It's remained a favorite of mine, both for the melody and for the heartfelt words. The other was something really beautiful she said after Sergei Grinkov's death. She said that the last thing Sergei saw was Katia in the landing position, which was what they'd worked for and shared for most of their lives. What a lovely way to remember Grinkov and to share him with his audience of fans.