A Farewell to Scott

Stars on Ice stopped in Tuscon, Arizona as part of its 65-city nationwide tour

Scott Hamilton is like a bolt of lightning. The mere appearance of his ever-beaming face on the ice electrifies the audience, drawing cheers, claps, tears, and smiles. And just when it's silent, someone screams, "We love you Scott!"

This season's 65-city run of Stars on Ice marked Hamilton's farewell to the tour. Hamilton, who helped found the tour 15 seasons ago, was joined by Kristi Yamaguchi, Kurt Browning, Tara Lipinski, Ilia Kulik, Jenni Meno & Todd Sand, Renee Roca & Gorsha Sur, Steven Cousins, and Denis Petrov. Shortly before the tour began, Yuka Sato replaced Ekaterina Gordeeva, who elected to take this year off. Hamilton's farewell - cast as a subtly sweet good-bye and not as a sad swan song - infused much of the show. The opening number - a sultry skate to Marvin Gaye's Let's Get It On - paired the skaters in surprising ways: Petrov teamed with Meno; Sand with Sato, then Roca; while Kulik lifted Yamaguchi.

Hamilton sat out the opening, but delivered the first solo, his introduction drawing a raucous ovation. Decked out in all-black, he skated to James Brown's I Feel Good, then watched wistfully as a small boy skated to Ray Charles' A Song For You.

His second solo - a humorous number to Mickey Jones' Double Bogey Blues, for which he donned vintage golf garb - brought his technical skills to the fore. He soared through a triple Lutz and backflipped over his golf bag. The audience applauded his every step, embracing him with a full standing ovation at the end.

Yamaguchi, meanwhile, skated to Sting's Desert Rose, adorned in pink and magenta. With Middle Eastern-inspired choreography, she landed a solid double Axel and perfect triple toe to offset a bobble on her Lutz and a pop on her loop. Although her hand movements were appropriate, they seemed excessive at moments. Her remarkable musicality, though, carried the number: each flit of her wrist, each toss of her head, each wave of her arm perfectly matched the music. She simply did not miss a beat.

In the second act, she donned white cowgirl clothing, complete with fringed gloves, and skated to the Dixie Chicks' Let 'er Rip, easily tossing off a tidy triple flip. She again skated with authority, her gestures perfectly interpreting the music. Continuing with the Dixie Chicks, Browning, Cousins, Roca, Sur, and Petrov joined Yamaguchi for a group number, set to Sin Wagon.

Complementing the maturity of veterans Hamilton and Yamaguchi, reigning Olympic champions Lipinski and Kulik exuded youthful vim, delivering spunky, innovative programs. Lipinski skated to Debelah Morgan's Dance With Me, choreographed by Sandra Bezic, and breezed through an enormous triple loop, easy triple toe, and a very low sit spin.

For her second solo, a giant swing delivered her to the ice and she skated to Elton John's Tiny Dancer, her costume reminiscent of a 60s flower child. She maintained a commanding presence on the ice, while confidently landing two triple toe loops. Her spiral, with its pristine line and steady edge, traversed the rink.

Along with Kulik, Lipinski skated to Art Blakely & The Jazz Messengers' Moanin'. Lipinski presented herself in a solid, shocking pink and movie star sunglasses. She then removed Kulik's jacket and gave him a pair of sunglasses, bringing him to life for a lively joint program.

Kulik's solos stood out for their complexitiy and creativity. Skating to Yello's Drive/Driven, he executed a stream of intricate footwork, choreographed by Christopher Dean. Wearing red, black, and shiny silver, Kulik tore about the ice, with crossovers few and far between. He proved that his triple Axel is still squarely in his arsenal: he punctuated a forward lunge to one knee, then a turn to a backward lunge, then an Ina Bauer with a huge triple Axel, drawing an incredulous gasp from the audience.

Kulik later presented a fresh, self-choreographed number to Herbie Hancock's Rockit. Although his costume seemed unspectacular, his deep-kneed footwork and flexible moves flowed as seamless reflections of the music. At one point, he went off edge and slid across the ice on his boots. He was fast and full of energy, pouring himself into the program and getting remarkable height on his triple Lutz and triple toe.

Kulik also appeared in an imaginative group number called "Chairmen." Roca, Sur, Cousins, and Browning accompanied him: they sported goggle-sized shades, sat in chairs, and moved to techno music, executing a series of surprising tricks. The skaters - and their furniture - slid and spun in rhythmic unison.

Choreographed by Dean, the routine had the skaters seated, but brought much of the audience to its feet.

The pair numbers shared a mesmerizing quality. Ice dancers Roca and Sur skated to Nina Simone's stirring Everything Must Change. In somber gray, they skated in perfect sync with Simone's enrapturing voice, their unique lifts melding with the music.

Meno and Sand, meanwhile, dressed in creams and pinks to deliver a gentle skate to Bonnie Raitt's I Can't Make You Love Me, choreographed by Bezic. Comfortable and calm in each other's arms, they floated through their death spiral and glided in and out of their lifts, while their spiral sequence sailed smoothly across the ice. Meno pitched forward on their throw double Axel, only slightly marring the elegant flow of their number.

This show also featured a rare opportunity to see Yamaguchi skate pairs, something she did with Rudy Galindo earlier in her career, having won national titles with him in 1989 and 1990. She was joined by Meno - whose part was originally choreographed for Gordeeva - and paired by Petrov - whose partner, Elena Bechke, bowed out of the tour at the end of last season. Yamaguchi and Meno shared Petrov, and the three skated to Joni Mitchell's Both Sides Now, delivering an intricate, precisely-timed program. Petrov presented Yamaguchi well, allowing her line and extension to shine in the lifts. Yamaguchi and Meno also matched nicely, mirroring each other's spirals and complementing each other's grace.

Sato, who garnered a round of respectful applause when introduced, skated a solo to Dido's lilting Take My Hand, choreographed by Lea Ann Miller. In navy blue, she nicely conveyed the serenity of the number, her presence calm yet commanding, balletic yet powerful. She reeled off a triple loop, toe loop, and Salchow without the slightest glitch and sailed through her intricate footwork. Her exquisite layback, a perfect blend of strength and grace, highlighted the number. Sato's skating and Dido's singing enveloped the arena, easily reaching the farthest rafters.

Cousins - drawing admiring whistles in his red leather pants and snug black shirt - skated to Creed's Higher. He appeared intensely focused on his choreography, engineered by Sarah Kawahara and peppered with difficult footwork, but easily pulled off a triple Lutz and Salchow, as well as a triple toe loop out of quick-moving steps.

The group numbers allowed the skaters' acting skills to shine. At the end of Act I, the cast presented "Tunnel Vision," a series of upbeat routines and rompish skits, narrated by Hamilton and intended to give a sneak peak at the tour's backstage happenings. Yamaguchi and Sato, described as "crazy girls," shook their heads wildly and skated to James Brown's Get on Up, while Kulik strutted to Jean Knight's Mr. Big Stuff. Lipinski - when not glued to her cell phone or expelling bad karma - skated to Diana Ross' Can't Hurry Love, while Sur, said to be a ladies' man, skated to Teddy Pendergrass' If I Had.

The numbers seemed playfully sexy and spontaneous, accented by shifts in lighting and bursts of solid colors - the women appeared in bright reds, while most of the men wore leather pants in varying hues. (Browning, deep purple; Kulik, dark green). In the middle part, Hamilton and Petrov slipped into knee-length black leather coats for a fun number to Isaac Hayes' Shaft, in which Petrov lifted Hamilton into a Detroiter. The cast's sense of camaraderie seeped into the audience, particularly in Ross' My World Is Empty Without You and Aretha Franklin's Chain of Fools, drawing chuckles and cheers and flashbulbs.

Although Hamilton seems irreplaceable, Browning stands perhaps the best chance of filling his skates as the tour continues. Browning - both a seasoned veteran and a mischievous flirt - roused the crowd in ways similar to Hamilton, his boundless charisma and self-effacing charm bouncing around the arena.

For his first solo, Browning dressed in simple black and skated to Hans Zimmer's Nyah, choreographed by Roberto Campanella and accentuated by dramatic lighting. Browning alternated between flamenco, ballet, and modern, his dance filled with fast, flying footwork - and not a single jump. The stern intensity on his face and the sharp turns in his footwork balanced the softness of his arm movements and the gentleness with which his edges swept over the ice. At the end of the program, he incited the audience to clap, then reprised a footwork section to the beat of its applause, tearing down the center of the ice, brimming with energy and passion. He never missed a beat, and the audience adored him.

As though compensating for the dearth of jumps in his first solo, Browning packed his second solo with triples. Skating to Holly Cole's Don't Fence Me In and dressed in a blue-white western outfit - with tiny spurs affixed to his skates - Browning tossed off a triple Salchow out of footwork and a triple toe-triple toe, then ended with a suite of easy double Axels. His looseness matched the program's lightness, offering a whopping shot of levity.

Fittingly, Hamilton skated the final solo, set to an original arrangement of My Way. The number also reprised some of his most crowd-pleasing programs, from Walk This Way to Figaro to Cuban Pete. Audience members leapt to their feet at different breaks in his skating, and he received a full standing ovation at the end.