Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: FRIDAY, February 19, 1993 TAG: 9302190140
SECTION: EXTRA PAGE: 10 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: DIANE SIMPSON STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
BOWMAN BRINGS CHARISMA TO ICE CAPADES
Once, as a 5-year-old in tennis shoes, Christopher Bowman ran across the rink at an Ice Capades Chalet while shopping with his mother in Los Angeles. Today, he performs as "Bowman the Showman," the featured skater in the Ice Capades "Made in America" Tour. The show continues through Sunday at the Roanoke Civic Center.A 1988 and 1992 Olympian, World Medalist and two-time National Champion, Bowman adds charisma and style to the "radically changed," modernized Ice Capades, sporting a leather outfit and riding a Harley-Davidson to the beat of Guns 'N Roses' "Live and Let Die."
Bowman, 25, has been competing at the national level in figure skating since 1979 and in international meets since he was 15. He competed a year ago at the Olympic Games in Albertville and placed fourth.
"I was always striving to be the best, and you always go to win," he says. "If you fall short in any way there's always [something] that could be better.
"But I was pleased I represented the country. I would've loved to have won a medal, but that's not the reason I go. I go to prove that I can be the best I can be."
Often called controversial in the figure-skating world because of his playfull antics on and off the ice, Bowman proved his determination in the 1992 World Championships. "I was looking at a medal there but clipped the side of the boards," he says.
Bowman dislocated a ligament below his knee but competed to the end of the routine and managed to finish fourth. He took off about five months to let the injury heal.
Bowman says he eased into the transition from amateur skater to professional Ice Capades member thanks to his performance background and an upbeat attitude. He teams up in the Ice Capades with Cathy Turner, a short-track speed-skating Olympic gold medalist who wrote and performs music for their act.
But, "it's been an interesting adjustment," Bowman says. "Rather than performing two or three times a year at a world championship or the Olympics, I'm performing on a day-to-day basis. Most of the practice is on a trial-and-error basis."
The 50-year-old Ice Capades, the longest-running ice show, fits Bowman with its updated rock 'n' roll theatrics and his outgoing personality.
Bowman has appeared in about 300 commercials since 1973 when his mother, who worked for a Hollywood producer, took him to a commercial set that needed children. He also has had roles on television including "Little House on the Prairie" and "Archie Bunker's Place," and he did the stunt work for actor Billy Wirth in the movie "Lost Boys."
The 6-foot Bowman grew up in Van Nuys, Calif., thinking commercials were his occupation and that figure skating was just a hobby. But soon he was financing his training by the commercials and on his way to top competitions.
Under Olympic figure skating instructor Frank Carroll, Bowman trained for the first 18 of his 20 competitive years. But he switched coaches two years before Albertville. "After so many world championships and an Olympics and being with the same coach your whole life and being both very diligent in our work, it became a burnout situation," Bowman said. "I needed someone to get me remotivated."
He worked with Toller Cranston for one year, before teamming up with Olympics coach John Nicks. Bowman joined the Ice Capades in 1992. He adds his name to a long list of stars who have participated in the Ice Capades, including Dick Button, Dorothy Hamill and Peggy Fleming.
Bowman said he looks forward to the Olympic Winter Games in Lillehammer, Norway, in 1994, but that he is taking one thing at a time.
For now, Bowman performs for the Ice Capades and wants to give back to figure skating all that the sport has given to him. "I want to represent them the very best I can," he said. "I want to be able to perform for the people who come out and give them 100 percent."
Ice Capades: Tonight, 7:30 p.m.; Saturday, 2:30 and 7:30 p.m.; Sunday, 2 and 6 p.m. Roanoke Civic Center. $8.50-$11.50. 981-1201.