TAKE FIVE: Surya Bonaly

Wednesday, Aug. 16, 2006 | 7:40 a.m.

What: John Hancock Champions on Ice

When: 7 tonight

Where: Orleans Arena

Tickets: $45-$150

On the Web: www.championsonice.com

Surya Bonaly never won a figure skating gold medal or a world championship, although there are those who insist that two of the latter were taken from her by judges who wouldn't know a flying camel from a pack of Camels.

But her place in the sport is secure.

During the 1998 Winter Olympics in Nagano, Japan, Bonaly thumbed her nose at judges by defiantly landing the first - and only - back flip on one blade, her signature jump that was more against the rules than Jeff Gillooly's lead pipe.

As ESPN's Terry Gannon once said, "You never know what to expect when Surya Bonaly takes the ice ... but you know it's going to be exciting."

Tonight, she'll take the ice in her adopted hometown when she performs with the Champions on Ice tour at the Orleans Arena.

Others scheduled to spin and twirl include five-time world champion Michelle Kwan, two-time world champion Irina Slutskaya, 2006 Olympic silver medalist Sasha Cohen and 2006 Olympic gold medalist Shizuka Arakawa. But you won't have trouble picking Bonaly out of the crowd of ice princesses.

She'll be the only one doing back flips.

Nice is nice; Las Vegas is home

Bonaly, whose first name is the Hindu word for "sun," was born in Nice, a major tourist region in the south of France. She moved to the south of Summerlin in 1999. So instead of the French Riviera and the Mediterranean Coast, she now has the Riviera Hotel and the Barbary Coast as destinations. "Every day I wake up here, I am so happy," said Bonaly, 32, adding that she's not much of a party girl, preferring the Bellagio's bucolic conservatory to Light, its famous nightclub.

Proud to be an American

Bonaly, who speaks four languages (French, English, Russian and a little Italian) and owns three dogs (Chihuahua, French poodle and Yorkshire terrier) became an American citizen on Jan. 9, 2004, during a ceremony at the federal courthouse. Afterward, she gave her new homeland a perfect 6.0. "To be able to now say I'm an American is nice," she said. "This country has done so much for me."

No flippin' way

At least that's what the judges said after Bonaly landed that outrageous back flip during the 1998 Winter Games. Having literally slipped out of medal contention when she missed on a triple Salchow, Bonaly ended her amateur career by being penalized by performing the illegal jump. "I just wanted to show the judges who don't appreciate what I do, just what I can do," she said.

Gymnast on blades

That's how many skating purists referred to the acrobatic Bonaly, who was a gymnast for 14 years. A strong jumper who excelled at triple jumps and other technically difficult maneuvers, she often was marked down for her perceived lack of artistic interpretation. It was a reputation that probably cost Bonaly world championships in both 1993 and 1994, when she settled for silver medals behind Oksana Baiul and Yuka Sato.

Silver linings

Bonaly was known for wearing her emotions on the sleeve of her sequined costume, which in France is practically a birthright. During the 1994 World Championships, she had to be coaxed onto the podium to accept her silver medal and was booed by the crowd. But she said she has no regrets or makes no excuses for an amateur career that produced three world championship silver medals. "I am tired of crying," she said upon turning professional, where she skates to please the crowd, not the judges. "I was happy with my work. You can't control the judges."