Champions on hold

She answers the question every day. On some days, she wishes it were only once. What’s next for Sasha Cohen, figure skating’s glamour girl who makes the most casual fan pay attention to her sport … or at least her.

Her answer is as rehearsed as her Olympic programs.

“I’m not making any plans at the moment,” Cohen said in a telephone interview from Dallas. “I’m just going day-to-day.”

There is, however, her current schedule, which doesn’t have much wiggle room.

Cohen is touring with the John Hancock Champions on Ice show for her seventh season. She is one of about 20 skaters who will perform at the Spokane Arena on Thursday at 7 p.m.

For fellow performers, three-time U.S. champion Johnny Weir, U.S. silver medalist Evan Lysacek, and the Olympic silver medal dance pair Tanith Belbin and Ben Agosto, the Spokane stop will be an opportunity to get a feel for the 11,000-seat venue. All four skaters plan to compete in the 2007 U.S. Figure Skating Championships, Jan. 21 through 28, at the Arena and Spokane Convention Center.

Michelle Kwan, still the reigning ice queen, also continues to bring her style and grace to the Champions exhibition. The nine-time national champion, who celebrated her 26th birthday on July 7, hasn’t made a formal announcement about her future in competitive skating, or a possible run at the 2010 Vancouver Olympics. But if she has her sights set on a perfect 10 on home ice – and sole possession of the record for most U.S. national wins – Spokane could be in her future.

Since withdrawing from the 2006 Olympics because of a groin injury, Kwan has been healing slowly. She hasn’t been performing jumps during the show, but her signature change-of-edge spiral and other artistic moves still have audiences oohing and ahhing.

Cohen, who will turn 22 in October, is looking toward to the 2010 Games.

“The Olympics are amazing and I would love to be back,” said Cohen, whose second-place finish in Turin punctuated her pattern of nailing her short program and faltering in the free skate.

She said she’s put her shattered dream of an Olympic gold behind her, moving on and enjoying the relaxed pace of skating in Champions on Ice.

“Competing is just very intense. There’s a whole lot of adrenaline, a lot of nerves and lot of excitement with huge highs,” she said. “It’s amazing.”

Does she want to jump-start those feelings at the 2007 nationals and defend the title she won in St. Louis?

There’s no telling what she’s thinking, but perhaps there is one tell-tale sign that indicates it’s not on her radar:

“What year are the Spokane nationals?” Cohen asked.

When she was told it’s six months away, she responded “That’s really close,” and tacked on her stock answer, “I just don’t know. I’m taking it a day at a time.”

Her day-at-a-time docket includes exploring a career in acting.

She has mastered playing herself perfectly, appearing on an episode of the TV show “Las Vegas;” sitting on the judges’ panel of Bravo’s hit reality show “Project Runway;” and working as a special correspondent for a tabloid TV show at the Academy Awards.

During the tour’s most recent break, Cohen spent time outside Calgary, filming a movie called “Moondance Alexander.”

The independent family film is about a girl and her horse and stars Don Johnson, Lori Loughlin and 16-year-old Kay Panabaker. Cohen described her role as “a mean girl.”

She had to learn how to horseback ride for the part, hardly a challenge for someone who can land a triple jump on a one-eighth blade. She said she loved it.

“It’s been a lot of fun for me. I really love acting,” said Cohen, a native of Westwood, Calif., who is shopping for an acting agent.

Cohen also recently joined Nickelodeon TV’s “Let’s Just Play Go Healthy Challenge” advisory board, where she will serve as a role model to four kids and show them how to live a healthy lifestyle and stay active.

She is skating to Celine Dion’s version of “God Bless America” on the tour, which also was her exhibition-program music during the 2006 competitive season.

Cohen’s also announced she will bypass the 2006 International Skating Union Grand Prix of Figure Skating Series, six competitions that begin in with Skate America in October.

Do her Champion on Ice touring pals, such as Lysacek, know if the skating fans will see Cohen in skating in 2007?

“I think so,” said Lysacek, who was here earlier this month promoting the tour and nationals. “But if she’s not here, it’s going to be all about Kimmie Meissner, which would be great either way, because she’s the (2006) World Champion and she deserves the publicity.”

As for Cohen’s timetable, and future announcements:

“When I know, you’ll know,” said Cohen, spoken like someone who’s answered the question a few times before.