Stars on Ice shines bright at Landon Arena

About 3,500 spectators antied up between $42 and $82 apiece to buy a seat in Landon Arena to watch Smucker's Stars on Ice, which featured among its 14 performers five skating pairs, including the two duos that shared the gold at the 2002 Olympics.

Stars on Ice brought with it a top-notch sound system that delivered crystal-clear music to all parts of Landon Arena, and the show's lights more often than not became an integral element of the artistry on the ice.

When Todd Eldredge was at center ice skating to the syncopated beats of Buddy Rich's "Channel 1 Suite," five spotlights converged to create on the ice five shadowy reflections of the skater that moved as one.

Four-time world champion Kurt Browning showed his emotional range by delivering a poignant performance in Act I to Tony Bennett's "How Do You Keep the Music Playing?" Perhaps Browning more than any other skater danced as well with his arms and hands as he did with his legs and feet.

Olympic gold medalist Alexei Yagudin showed he could still wow a crowd despite being restricted from some of his more strenuous moves by a chronic hip problem. Yagudin delivered some amazing footwork, at one point doing a Michael Jackson-esque moon walk and at another time looking as though he Irish step-danced out of "Lord of the Dance."

Stars on Ice's only solo female skater was Katarina Witt, but the bulk of the show belonged to the pairs, including the Russians, Elena Berezhnaya and Anton Sikharulidze, and the Canadians, Jamie Sale and David Pelletier, who after a judging controversy were all awarded gold medals in Salt Lake City.

Berezhnaya and Sikharulidze did one of the sillier routines, which had her taking on the role of Marilyn Monroe, dressed as she was in "The Seven-Year Itch," and Sikharulidze looking like a thin Elvis in one of those glittery white jumpsuits the fat Elvis wore in Las Vegas.

Sale and Pelletier struck the right balance between sexy and silly skating to Journey's "Lovin', Touchin', Squeezin'," which included Sale doing a handstand on one of Pelletier's forearms.

Jenni Meno and Todd Sand gave a fun interpretation of Leonard Cohen's "I'm Your Man." Kyoko Ina and John Zimmerman wowed the audience to Bon Jovi's "Bed of Roses," while the only ice dance pair on the show, Renee Roca and Gorsha Sur, created a gorgeous sequence set to "Prayer," sung by Charlotte Church and Josh Groban.