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Dorothy Hamill talks 'Stars on Ice,' changes in figure skating
| Source: |
The Patriot-News |
| Date: |
December 28, 2012 |
| Author: |
Julia Hatmaker |
America's Sweetheart is coming to the sweetest place on earth.
Dorothy Hamill, the 1976 Olympic champion figure skating and World
Champion, is returning to the rink for "Stars on Ice," an ice skating
extravaganza featuring the best in the sport.
After her triumph in 1976, Hamill won a place in the hearts of many
Americans, with her hairstyle becoming the latest craze. She won an
Emmy in 1983 for her performance in a figure-skating production of
"Romeo and Juliet." She even had her signature move, the "Hamill
Camel," a camel move that ended in a sit spin.
Talking to Hamill is like talking to a close friend, there's something
about her that makes you instantly like and open up to her. One gets
the sense that this is a person who is truly nice - there is no better
word for it.
Hamill laughs easily and is free to admit to being nervous about
"Stars on Ice," despite being one of the best skaters in
history.
She managed to spare a few minutes during rehearsals for the show to
chat about "Stars on Ice."
How does it feel to be getting back to touring and performing on
the ice?
"It's very exciting. I'm a little nervous because it's been many, many
years. But it's really - I'm looking forward to enjoying it. It's a
great honor to be asked [to be on 'Stars on Ice']."
I know this is Kurt Browning's last U.S. tour with 'Stars on Ice.'
What is it like working with him?
"All I can say is, for me, better late than never. I never really had
a chance to perform with Kurt. But I've worked with him before. We've
skated in shows together, but I have not choreographed and done a
number with him.
"I feel very lucky because he's such an unbelievable artist,
entertainer, skater. I'm glad I have this opportunity before he leaves
the show."
Is there anyone you're particularly excited to skate
with?
"I've skated with pretty much everyone before, but I haven't toured
with everyone. A lot of them I've been able to skate with in various
charity performances. I've had an opportunity to skate in small
ensemble pieces with some of the skaters I completely admire.
"I think Kurt's the one- to me he's such a genius in terms of skating,
choreography and entertainment on ice. He's the one that sticks out on
my mind.
"I'm a lot older than all of [the other skaters], so I'm a little
nervous because most of them are so much younger than I am. But I'm so
thrilled I get to tour with them and perform on the same ice
stage. It's going to be fun."
Will audiences get to see the famous Hamill Camel?
"I'm working on it! I hope that it will be there. It's hard now, for
me. But when I was younger it wasn't. My repertoire has shrunk to
almost nothing. There's only so much left I can physically do. [The
Hamill Camel] is not that hard unless you're an old lady like
me."
How did the Hamill Camel come about?
"My coach was the one who envisioned it and described it to me. He
wasn't skating at that point so he couldn't demonstrate. He explained
it to me and I did my adaptation of what I thought he was describing
and that was how it evolved.
"I'm not convinced it was exactly what he was looking for. But it's as
close as I could get."
How do you think skating has changed over the years?
"The athleticism and the flexibility of the athletes today - it's
something I can't even imagine. If I was learning to skate today as
one of the young competitors, there's no way in the world I could
compete at that [Olympic] level. It just wasn't anything I was born
with.
"The gymnastics side of it is much more important. They don't have the
school figures, the compulsory figures. The generations that did
figures, that took up so much time that you didn't get to focus on
anything more than a couple hours of jumping and spinning.
"We didn't have choreographers, we had people who would help us put a
program together. They're all pros now. It's the real deal.
"When we were kids we worked hard and we competed and did what we had
to do and always tried to get better but it's just so much more
visible nowadays. It's a real sport and often there are people who say
they miss the artistry, but you say the Olympics - that's a sport
[event]. The artistry is terrific, but it doesn't necessarily allow
you to be the best athlete always.
"I think to me that's the thing that changed, but I think it's had to
because of the evolution of sport and competition and the
Olympics.
"Youngsters today don't get a chance to work on the artistry as much
because it's more about the technical jumps you do and all the complex
spins and positions. You just have to do so much that you don't really
get a chance to explore more artistry because that's not what you're
judged on."
About those Olympics... do you miss it?
"I do, but I also know it was very simple times when we were doing
it. But I also think 'Omigosh, I could never do what these young
athletes do.' They're just so focused and they're just so intent and
they're so young. Most of them are a lot younger than I was at the
Olympics. The girls are 15, 16, 17.
"Unfortunately, they're not able to have the longevity because
everything is so much more difficult and they get injured more
easily.
"That's one of the sad things about it because it's hard for people to
stay around a long time in the competition scene because they're doing
such difficult things and it's easy to get injured when you're doing
triple triple time after time... I admire them."
When did you know you wanted to be a professional skater?
"Skating is something that I loved since the very first time I put on
skates. I was eight years old, on a pond. It's something that got into
my soul and my blood. It's my therapy.
"I haven't performed in a long time, but I still love going into the
rink and skating and putting on music. It's such a great form of
escape for me. A lot of people go play golf or tennis, but skating,
for me, is where I find peace.
Do you have a favorite routine you perform on 'Stars on
Ice'?
"The one that I'm most excited about is Kurt and I will be doing a
duet together. I'm really, really excited about that.
"He'll be mostly choreographing it. He's such a gifted artist that
it'll be really fun to work side by side and create.
"To me that's 90 percent of the fun of putting together of a show,
it's the developing of the show and the cast and the creation of
whatever the pieces we're going to do.
"I have to say that's the number I'm looking forward to the
most.
"It'll be different, too. When you're doing a solo there's only so
much you can do. I always love to perform as a soloist, but it's a lot
more fun to be out there with somebody else. You can really play off
of the other person and show a side that you don't get to show most of
the time when you're performing on TV shows. That will be fun.
"I'm actually looking forward to working with the whole case because
they're young and they're hip and I'm not. [laughs] For me it's going
to be a challenge to keep up with them all."
Any final thoughts about the show?
"Jeff Billings is the director and he's been talking to me about the
concept of the show. It's called 'Now and Then.' It's a great
opportunity to flash back on the old times and then of course the new,
future generations of skaters. I think it's going to be sentimental in
many ways, but also for me, it's going to be very fresh because it's
very different from anything I've done in a long time."
DETAILS: "Stars on Ice" 6 p.m., Dec. 31 at Giant Center, 550
W. Hersheypark Drive, Hershey. $135, $75, $45,
$25. www.starsonice.com; 717-534-3911.
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