Hottest Touring Show This Spring Captures Moments Frozen In

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Tickets Are Now Available for Smuckers's Stars on Ice 2004 U.S. Tour Produced by Olympic Champion Scott Hamilton

(ARA) - The hottest ticket in town this month isn't a play or concert, but a new theatrical adventure on ice. The Emmy Award-winning Smucker's Stars on Ice is bringing its 2004 tour to 60 cities across the United States in 2004.

This is not like the ice shows people may remember when they were a child. It's not an exhibition, or a competition, says Olympic Champion and figure skating icon Scott Hamilton, the show's co-creator and producer. This is a slick, sophisticated state of the art production comparable to something you'd see on Broadway. Our stars have a story to tell -- with a beginning, middle and end.

In this year's show, they tell the story of time, both figuratively and literally. The show begins at sunrise with the skaters moving to beautiful, lyrical classical music. Extraordinary, original music has also been specially composed and orchestrated for the opening and closing of the production and transitional pieces throughout, as well as familiar music which assists ...
... transitions to a piece -- such as when the performers carry around clubs that represent the hands on a clock and move to the music of Time by Pink Floyd.

There are also numbers with lively acrobatics, and a lot of humor. It's all about maturity and aging, says Hamilton.

Changes in his own life inspired Hamilton to come up with and develop the theme for this year's show, his 18th with Stars on Ice. Not only is Hamilton recently married, he's a new father. Hamilton's wife, Tracie, whom he met back-stage at a Stars on Ice show almost 3 years ago, just gave birth to their son, Aidan McIntosh, this past September.

In addition to worrying about whether we've forgotten anything, and if the skaters have everything they need, I find myself wondering if Aidan is hungry at various times throughout the day. Having a new baby gives you a whole new perspective on things, says Hamilton.

That new perspective is evident in the show he has produced for the 2004 season. When we sat down to start talking about what to do for this year's show, well before Aidan was born, I'd been thinking a lot about time and how things change during the course of its passing, says Hamilton. It's really all about balance, precision, and memories; all concepts that are beautifully brought to life on the ice.

Hamilton has brought that vision to life with the help of the show's director and choreographer, Olympic ice dancing champion Christopher Dean (of Torvill & Dean). Time is such a wonderful concept to illustrate, says Dean. It naturally allows you to create a mood, a feel. We've done that through the use of music, lighting, and beautiful projections on the ice. The task has been challenging and exciting at the same time.

Headlining the 2004 season are 11 of figure skating's most revered stars: 2002 Olympic Gold medalist and skating phenom Alexei Yagudin, 2002 Olympic Pair Champions Jamie Salé and David Pelletier of Canada, 2002 Olympic Pair Champions Elena Berezhnaya and Anton Sikharulidze of Russia (who shared the gold with Salé & Pelletier), World Champion and six-time U.S. National Champion Todd Eldredge, World Champion Yuka Sato, World Silver medalists and three-time U.S. National Pair Champions Jenni Meno and Todd Sand, World Bronze medalists and three-time U.S. National Pair Champions Kyoko Ina and John Zimmerman.

Hamilton, Olympic Champion Kristi Yamaguchi, two-time Olympic Champion Ekaterina Gordeeva, Olympic Champion Oksana Baiul, Olympic Silver medalist Paul Wylie and four-time World Champion Kurt Browning are special guest performers in select cities. For Yamaguchi, Baiul and Wylie, the occasion marks their much-anticipated return to skating on tour.

I love everything about being on tour. Every city has its own identity, memories come flowing back the minute I skate onto the ice, says Hamilton. Madison Square Garden is the first place I worked as a network commentator, Detroit is about as close as I ever come to my hometown of Bowling Green; and when I skate in Florida, I think about my late grandparents and late father who lived in St. Petersburg and Lake Placid, Florida (respectively) and would never missed a performance.

Tickets to Smucker's Stars on Ice 2004 are on sale now at ticket outlets throughout the country. For specific information on the purchase of tickets, you can log onto www.starsonice.com. The site will direct you to the city of your choice and also allow you to purchase tickets online.

It's a wonderful, wonderful show. Not just for the skating fans, but for patrons of the arts -- young and old alike, says Hamilton. It's theatre, it's dance. It's really quite breathtaking. In fact, it's everything figure skating should be.

Courtesy of ARA Content





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Courtesy of ARA Content