Show Inauguration & Development
It was back in 1986 when the Olympic champion, Scott Hamilton came up with the idea of starting a touring live figure skating show along with manager, Robert D. Kain. The idea turned into reality when Hamilton’s skating contract with the Ice Capades wasn’t renewed in the same year. Within a few months, the Olympic star embarked on his first tour that made its way across five cities in America. The American tour not only featured some of the most talented solo ice skaters, but also brought forth mesmerizing group performances.
The debut cast of the Stars on Ice show consisted of Scott Hamilton, Dorothy Hamill, Robin Cousins, Rosalynn Sumners, Toller Cranston and Sandy Lenz, to name a few. Shows were held in Burlington, Philadelphia, Morristown, Durham and Orono. These shows were medium-sized and hit venues located in the Midwest and East America. The following year’s Stars on Ice tour was named the Discover Card Tour and played 36 shows. It was also able to get hold of its first sponsor, Plymouth. This show was also the debut Stars on Ice presentation to be televised on ESPN.
Stars on Ice over the Years
In 1988, another feat was achieved by the Stars on Ice touring show as Olympic champions Debi Thomas, Brian Orser, Rob McCall and Tracy Wilson toured alongside Scott Hamilton. More professional ice skaters were invited to join the cast and the Stars of Ice made its way to Canada presenting skaters Peter and Kitty Carruthers. 1992’s tour created history as it was televised by NBC and Turner Broadcasting. The tour also caught the attention of award-winning institutions as it bagged four Emmys and an ACE Cable Award.
Over the following years, the figure skating live show invited amateur skaters namely Kurt Browning and Kristi Yamaguchi to join the cast and together they embarked on 1993’s Canadian Tour. The show achieved another feat at it performed at the Madison Square Garden in front of a sold-out audience. In 1996 a special CBS primetime show was organized. Named “Stars of Ice presents Celebration of Life” it welcomed the legendary ice skater, Ekaterina Gordeeva back on the ice.
A year later, tragedy struck as co-founder and president of the Stars on Ice show, Scott Hamilton was diagnosed with cancer. However, he still continued to perform on ice until the year 2001. Upon retirement, the 2001 Stars on Ice show was named the “Scott Hamilton Farewell Tour” and brought forth performers including Tara Lipinski, Kristi Yamaguchi, Ilia Kulik, Kurt Browning, Jenni Meno, Yuka Sato, Todd Sand, Denis Petrov and Steven Cousins. From then onwards, the Stars on Ice started using a new concept of naming each year’s touring show in a unique manner such as the 2002 Stars on Ice GOLD tour, 2004 TIME – A Theatrical Adventure, 2005 Imagination – Its All You Need to Dream, 2007 Double Exposure and so on and so forth.
Recent Showcases
With Smuckers’ as the official sponsor, the 2013 Stars on Ice skating show presented stars namely Alexei Yagudin, Jamie Sale, Elena Berezhnaya, John Zimmerman, Jennifer Robinson, Yuka Sato, Jason Dungjen and Kyoko Ina. This year the Stars on Ice is celebrating its 28th anniversary with shows that are expected to bring forth amateur and professional skaters from Russia, Canada, China, USA, Great Britain, Germany, Switzerland, Czech Republic, Finland and Japan.