After the bitter end of ORF

Kummer: “The weather is finished for me!”

Christa Kummer on Monday at the charity photo shoot for "Dancer Against Cancer" in Vienna. She posed in front of the lens of star photographer Manfred Baumann and spoke to the "Krone" about her new life without the ORF.(Bild: Mario Urbantschitsch)

It's been two months since Christa Kummer presented her last show on ORF. At a charity photo shoot with Manfred Baumann in Vienna, she talks to "Krone" about how she is doing now and why she will have little grief in the future thanks to her full order book. 

"Krone": You are very selective about which charity project you support. Why are you taking part in "Dancer Against Cancer" and the photo shoot with Manfred Baumann today?
Christa Kummer: Because I always find it great how Manfred Baumann and his wife Nelly present the whole thing professionally. That's one thing. The other is that it is also intended to show how important health is. We all don't really realize that this body is there for us 365 days a year, every thousandth of a second of our lives, if we're lucky, for many decades. And how often do we give this body a bit of attention, or say when we get up "Hey, great, good morning, nice that we can spend this day together." Instead, we feed this body with unhealthy food, give it little sleep and put it under a lot of stress. And that's such an important message for me, that we only start to think when we're feeling bad.

The high heels became a trademark.(Bild: ORF)

It reminds me of the saying that you only appreciate something when you've lost it. Now you're no longer on ORF, do you miss anything, what's the response like on the street?
I realize that people miss me. At the moment, to be honest, I haven't really had time to think about whether I'm missing anything because I did my last show at the end, on September 19. But with the start of this new life, I'm practically rushing from job to job. So I don't even really have time to tidy up my wardrobe (laughs). I started tidying up at the weekend. And then I came up with the "crazy" idea that it's a lot of work again. So I have to take care of myself a bit, which Mrs. Kummer rarely does. Namely that it doesn't become too much, that the body doesn't say at some point: "So, now I'm going to lay you flat so that you can give me a little attention too."

Does that mean you have full order books even without ORF?
I'm currently giving a lot of talks. I'm very well booked, even for next year until the end of November. So a new world has opened up here and with it so many really wonderful things. And as far as the audience is concerned, I have the feeling that I have grown together with them and the people have grown together with me. My family has become incredibly big. This warmth that comes across to me. It doesn't matter whether I'm on Mariahilfer Straße in Vienna or walking down Herrengasse in Graz. People talk to me and tell me how sad they are that they no longer see me. We take a selfie, we start talking. They tell me their own life stories, which are sometimes depressing, but sometimes also very beautiful. For me, it's as if I'm living somewhere else.

"Krone" contributor Norman Schenz met Christa Kummer and Manfred Baumann behind the scenes of the charity photo shoot for "Dancer Against Cancer".(Bild: Norman Schenz/Kronen Zeitung)

Are there any special encounters you can tell us about?
There isn't one in particular that I want to highlight, but I would have to do that with every single encounter. Even the ones where people wrote to me on social media to say that, no matter what the weather was like, I always let the sun shine for them. There was so much and so much appreciation. I didn't even realize that myself. Because I wasn't playing Christa Kummer, I was simply Christa Kummer. And yes, it just came naturally to me. Which is now made into something special by the reactions, that I seem to have conveyed something and perhaps had something empathetic in my manner that people liked. The way we said, 'Yes, it's pouring with rain, but we have to get through this together - and we'll get through it'. That was my personal touch, an inner concern and I didn't play it.

I knew my expiration date every year at Christmas - which of course hasn't been fun over the decades when you're shaking all the time

Christa Kummer über die Jahres- und Zweijahresverträge, die sie beim ORF hatte.

It all sounds very positive, what you're saying. And actually not at all sad or angry, as some people outlined after you left ORF.
I'm grateful for the 31 years I've been able to work for a company. This job is a privilege that depends on a lot of people giving it the thumbs up or down. You also have to be aware that I haven't had a permanent position for many decades, only annual contracts. Occasionally a two-year contract. That means I knew my expiration date every year at Christmas - which of course wasn't fun over the decades when you're always wondering whether your contract will be extended or not. But you also came to terms with it. And this gratitude prevails, because it is a privilege to be able to do this job. You can't say I want to become a popular presenter now. That's something that happens on an energetic level, something resonates with you, or not. This vibration seems to have come across to me, I'm very grateful for that and I'm looking forward to everything that comes my way. And there are currently a lot of offers in the room that I haven't even had time to look at or talk to yet. Precisely because I don't get around to it due to all the work.

So is the "old love" for your old job no longer flickering?
No, as I said, there's no time for it anymore. And yes, and when there's a camera, it's like a circus horse: when the spotlight goes on and the music plays, you're ready! So, you could wake me up at midnight and I could present the weather or whatever at any time. But one thing is clear to me: the weather is closed for me. That's history for me!