New stars take to the ice

The shortened roster led SOI founding producer and skating legend Scott Hamilton to accept a "guest star" spot for the tour's opening show in Lake Placid, an especially important performance for two reasons: it's the season premiere, and it's being taped for rebroadcast on network TV in January.

Will the troupe be ready?

According to veteran SOI performer and two-time Olympian Kurt Browning, "You bet!

"We rehearse for three weeks in September and two weeks here before the first show," Browning explained, "but the show really starts with meetings during the summer where we talk about things like, what's the look going to be?"

The cast spends three weeks rehearsing in Simsbury, Conn., before coming for two weeks to the Olympic Center ice in Lake Placid.

"These are our 'tech weeks,'" Browning said. "We walk through every single step, and we coordinate our lighting and sound - and that takes a long, long time.

"We use the time here to figure out, does this really work in this space? Do they really have enough time for this costume change?"

Browning made a point of emphasizing an aspect of "Stars on Ice" that, to him, sets it apart from all the other professional ice-skating shows.

"We're trying to be an ensemble group," he said, "to get away from the, 'Here's the next skater,' 'Here's the next skater.'"

Katarina Witt concurred with Browning.

Witt, tired from a four-day, 12-hours-a-day shoot for her fourth "Divas on Ice" show, has been in and out of the "Stars on Ice" tour since 1994. She's been an SOI troupe member for all of the last two years.

"This is definitely one of the best shows out there," she said. "We are an ensemble out there."

How are the Russian and Canadian pairs doing in this ensemble environment after the Salt Lake judging scandal that first gave the gold medal to the Russians, then to the Canadians?

"Ice skaters get along," said Browning, "with just one notorious exception, and she was wacko."

Why is that?

"It's not like tennis, where you're head-to-head with your opponent for an hour straight," Browning explained. "You get your moment in the sun, and they get theirs, and everyone pats everyone else on the back at the end.

"But as for the Canadians and the Russians: David and Anton had dinner together the other night at the Cottage. They're not writing postcards to each other, but there was never anything personal between them" arising from the Salt Lake debacle, according to Browning.

Newcomer Todd Eldridge seconded Browning's take on the two golden pairs.

"It's fun seeing them after that whole circus," Browning said, "out on the ice and having a good time."

And how does the cast feel about opening their tour in the Olympic Village?

"Lake Placid is an 'E' ticket," said producer and guest star Scott Hamilton, "definitely the top ride of the tour, being the first show and taping for broadcast."

Why is Lake Placid the opening site for "Stars on Ice"?

"Traditionally, it's a great figure-skating town," Hamilton explained, "and the Olympic Center is a great place for us to move into for 2-1/2 weeks, to get the show set right. There's nowhere else in the world we could do that.

"It gives some of the new performers a chance to get used to skating with the show lights - plus, you have so many rinks, if you're 'tech-ing' on one rink you can skate on another.