Catherine Ulissey, 32, will collect for a knee injury that has impaired her ability to execute a perfect pirouette and the demanding lunges and jumps required of dancers, her attorney Jim Chalat said."I hope you understand the distinction. Her knee is good enough for a desk job, but for her career, it is very serious. I don't want to be the person to say her career is shot but I did argue that and the jury agreed," Chalat said.

The Denver jury last week ordered Alexander Shvartsman, a 45-year-old commodities trader, to pay Ulissey $500,000 for her pain, disability and disfigurement and $1.6 million for loss of past and future earnings. Interest bumps the total to $2.4 million.

The award, the largest ever given by a Colorado jury in a ski accident case, is unaffected by Colorado legislation that limits the damages that can be collected from ski areas, Chalat said.(-ed., the largest award ever awarded in a ski case was in Peer v. Aspen Skiing Company)

Under a 1990 amendment to the ski act, a ski area can be held liable for a maximum of $1 million if damages stem from a failure to post needed warnings or to mark obvious dangers on the trail.

"We did not sue Snowmass, because (the ski area) did nothing wrong. We sued the individual because he is at fault," Chalat said.

Chalat said his client had offered to settle the case in August 1993 for an amount short of Shvartsman's $300,000 liability coverage. However, the offer was turned down, Chalat said.

In December, Federal District Judge Edward Nottingham ruled that Shvartsman's negligence was the sole cause of Ulissey's injuries but left it to a jury to determine the dollar amount of the damages.

In her lawsuit, Ulissey named Shvartsman as the skier who brushed past her, causing her to suffer a ruptured anterior cruciate ligament in her right knee. The injury, one that frequently afflicts professional athletes, impairs the rotation and flexibility of the knee, Chalat said.

While the dancer received excellent treatment that restored the use of her knee, that's not good enough, Chalat said.

"She can still get a job, but she will never perform at the level she would have but for the injury. This woman was a world class dancer, and that's the message we conveyed to the jury," Chalat said.

"She was on a gentle traverse and just enjoying the Colorado weather when she looked up and saw (Shvartsman) bearing down on her straight down the fall line," Chalat said.

"He passed behind, striking her in the back, rotating her around on her right leg and knocking her down. She might not have been hurt as badly if he had hit her straight on," Chalat said.

During the trial, Shvartsman testified that he was unaware of Ulissey's presence and never knew that he hit her until he stopped on the ski hill well below the site of the accident.

"He doesn't remember it. That was his testimony. I think he was just not paying attention," Chalat said.

Chalat estimated that about 15 similar suits are filed in Colorado courts each year. Skiers can be sued for an unlimited amount of damages if they fail to watch out for other skiers, or ski beyond their ability to control themselves and then crash into someone on a downhill run.

Shvartsman's Denver attorney, Jack Kent Anderson, did not return telephone calls yesterday. (The trial court's decision on liability was reversed on appeal and the case was set for retrial on the issue of liability. Immediately before the second trial, Shvartsman's insurer paid substantially all of the damages awarded in the trial noted in this story. Ms. Ulissey is presently working on a new television series.-ed.)