Returning to the Scene of Triumph

Copyright 2001 Los Angeles Times

When Scott Hamilton skates into the Arrowhead Pond on Jan. 20 to perform in "Stars on Ice," how can he help but hear the echoes of 1998?

That was the year and place when, returning from cancer, his performance of his comeback number was the best ever. Its title was apropos: "With One More Look at You."

The performance was a triumph of will. He had been considering slowing down until the disease struck. Then there was no longer any question, he said. "I couldn't let cancer take me off the ice."

Now that he has proved his point, Hamilton, 42, said this year's 15th tour will be his last as a full-time performer.

"I'm not quitting," he insists, leaving open the prospect of guest appearances. But after becoming Olympic champion in 1984, co-creating the show in 1986 and co-producing it ever since, he said, "I never intended to tour this long."

After surgery and physical therapy, ankle problems--which affected his jump-landing foot--are finally a thing of the past. "I've got four triples in one number and seven total in the show. I haven't done that many since 1992," he said.

"I'm not scared or nervous. I feel comfortable again. I do those [jumps] for me. The audience wants a performance, and if I don't do triple jumps, they're not going to miss them. But I want to skate as well as the other guys."

The theme of this year's edition is not Hamilton's greatest hits but rather "revealing your soul, revealing your self and also revealing Scott's soul," said Sandra Bezic, the show's director, co-producer and lead choreographer. "What we've done is celebrate Scott, what he has given to his fans, the skating world and to 'Stars on Ice.' "

Hamilton skates four solos: the opening "I Feel Good," the golf-themed comedic "Double Bogey Blues," a five-minute rendition of "My Way" and the closing "As," in which he savors cast members and the audience one last time.

Performing this year is "bittersweet" for those in the cast, according to Kristi Yamaguchi, 29, who joined the show after winning gold in the 1992 Olympics.

"Every night is very emotional," she said. "You feel, 'I may never share this ice with him again.' He's skating amazingly. He's always been an inspiration, but now he's doing two triple Lutzes every night. We think, 'He's 42. We have no excuse.' "

The show is not just about Hamilton, Bezic said.

"Everybody has their moments," she said. "Todd Sand and Jenni Meno [married pair skaters from Orange County] are doing a little bit of comedy. Yamaguchi, a one-time pairs champion, is out there being lifted by Denis Petrov. Tara Lipinski's got time on the microphone [speaking].

"Everybody has an opportunity to stretch in a new direction or two," Bezic said.

The entire cast performs a 12-minute comic production number set to Motown hits. Overall, though, the show is "about the arc of a life, how everything must change. I hope it will stir people to think of their own lives," Bezic said.

No one knows better about coping with change than Bezic, having had to make adjustments in the past for Russian pair skater Sergei Grinkov's sudden death from a heart attack and Hamilton's testicular cancer diagnosis.

In 2000, Lipinski underwent hip surgery for a longtime injury, and Grinkov's widow Ekaterina Gordeeva, who had been skating solo, decided to take a leave of absence to spend time with her family in Connecticut. Pair skater Petrov's partner Elena Bechke left for a coaching career.

Petrov now partners with other women in various numbers, and 1994 world champion Yuka Sato was recruited at the last minute to replace Gordeeva.

Lipinski made opening night, but after her surgery, which lasted 3 1/2 hours instead of the expected 45 minutes, the 18-year-old had doubts she would ever skate again.

"It was the hardest thing I've ever done, harder than the Olympics," said the 1998 Olympic champion. "I had no power in my legs. Now I enjoy skating 10 times more than I used to. I don't take anything for granted. I feel I'm a better skater for it."

This is the first major tour for Sato, 27, who is adjusting well. "I have known all these skaters for quite a long time," said the Tokyo native, now based in Michigan. "I was very comfortable from the beginning. They are always teaching me little details. I'm learning a lot, most importantly, self-confidence."

As one skater joins "Stars on Ice," another prepares to depart. Said Hamilton, "The last three years have all been about the entertainment. I haven't been able to deliver the technical stuff. When I look back at the 2001 tour, I want to say that I did the best I could, worked as hard as I possibly could and gave the audience what I hoped I could give them."