Olympic champion figure skaters Brian Boitano and Katarina Witt have been thrilling audiences across the country ever since their new "Skating '92" show opened in Portland, Maine, on Nov. 17. Before coming to Salt Lake City Tuesday, Jan. 7, they will have performed in 11 cities.
This is the third year Boitano and Witt have toured the country with their new-style ice show. Skating (1990) and Skating II (1991) were both highly popular and successful.Accompanying Boitano and Witt this year are a dozen professionals who are some of the best Olympic and World champions in the world. Featured are Barbara Underhill and Paul Martini; Judy Blumberg and Michael Seibert; Elena Valova and Oleg Vassiliev; Renee Roca and Gorsha Sur; also Gary Beacom, Caryn Kadavy, Yvonne Gomez and Robert Wagenhoffer.
This small group of skaters puts on a different kind of ice show than you'll find in Holiday on Ice or the Ice Capades. There are no cartoon characters, clowns, divers and Las Vegas glitz.
"I didn't want to be in one of these shows that was not serious," Boitano said.
In the new production, two elements predominate: skating and romance. Variety is achieved through solo and pairs performances as well as large production numbers. The show blends athleticism with glamour, elegance and comedy.
Boitano's power, precision and emotion pared with Witt's beauty, grace and consistency combine for a show that's receiving standing ovations and leaving the audience anxious for a return engagement.
This year's show, sponsored by Chrysler, is again directed by Sandra Bezic. Boitano and Witt are serving as co-artistic directors.
"One of our goals is to continuously surprise the audience and exceed their expectations," Boitano says. Witt says these tours provide an opportunity "to set our goals higher and higher."
When asked how he handles pressure, Boitano said, "If you know what you're doing in practice and keep your mind clear in performance, nothing can go wrong."
He admitted nervousness is always a problem. "I get deathly nervous before every performance. People expect a lot and I insist on giving my best performance every night."
Boitano added that after the show in San Francisco on Dec. 30, Peggy Fleming came backstage. During their conversation, he asked her if she ever got over being nervous. She said, "Nervousness stops only when you stop."
When asked to name the most important ingredient to his skating success, he said "heart. This is the ingredient that shows people that you love skating. You don't have to be an actor; you just have to project emotions from the heart."
Boitano, 27, has been skating since he was 8. Over the years, he has won more than 55 titles, including 23 gold medals in international competitions. At 14, he became the U.S. Junior Men's Champion; at 19, he was the first skater to complete all six different triple jumps in a world championship. At the 1988 Olympic Games in Calgary, Canada, he won the Gold Medal.
Although he thoroughly enjoys skating in ice shows, his primary focus is to continue as a competitive skater. However, because of the current rules of the International Skating Union, Boitano is ineligible to compete in the 1992 Olympics.
In an article that appeared in Newsweek on Nov. 11, Boitano explains why he can't participate in the Olympics in 1992. "There is presently an inconsistency in the eligibility rules for the Olympics. Sports such as tennis, hockey, track and field, bobsledding and soccer are composed of professionals. Why not ice skating? Why not all sports?"
Witt, 25, began her lifelong love of skating at age 5. At 9, she began studying under Jutta Muller, perhaps Germany's best skating coach. She started intense training right away, spending up to four hours a day on the ice. In addition to dedicating herself to daily training sessions, she was required to complete studies expected of every schoolgirl.
Hard work paid off. Soon Witt was racking up victories. Her greatest accomplishments were the back-to-back 1984 and 1988 Olympic Gold medal victories - a feat that was last accomplished by Sonja Henie in 1936.
She is the current reigning World Profession Champion, having captured a perfect score at the recent Les Dieuix de la Glace professional competition in Paris. She has place first in nearly every Profession, World, European and National Championship in the last eight years.
Both Witt and Boitano won Emmy Awards in 1990 for their performances in the title roles of HBO's "Carmen on Ice."
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Ticket information
Chrysler Skating '92 will be performed in the Delta Center at 7:30 p.m. on Tuesday, Jan. 7. Tickets are priced at $30.50 for lower-level concourse seats and $22.50 for seats in the second-level concourse. Tickets are available at the Delta Center ticket office (325-7328) and Smith'sTix outlets.