People

By Guy D. Garcia

He falls through the air with the greatest of ease. "You know you're falling," says Diver Greg Louganis, 25, however much the layman thinks it looks like flying. "It should look effortless," observes Louganis. "The 'poetic' suggestiveness comes only from strength and how strong the jump is." If that sounds like a dancer talking, it is -- in an interview in the current issue of Ballet Review. Diving and dance "complement each other," says the Olympic gold medalist. "The same type of muscles are involved." Lately he has also been concentrating on starting a new career as an actor. "It's not something I dreamed up one Olympic morning," says Louganis, who has studied acting for six years. So far he has turned down a few cameo television parts that sought to capitalize on his celebrity. But even a dream role would not keep him away from his earlier loves. "There's no place I'd rather be than in the diving pool," he says. "The pool is my sanctuary." And dancing? "That's something I'll do the rest of my life."