Lake Placid to host new skating event
Scott Hamilton announces Holiday Concert on Ice to be held Dec. 29
TIM FOLLOS, News Sports Editor
LAKE PLACID — After five years off the ice, Scott Hamilton is back. And he’s offering Lake Placid his vision of the future of figure skating.
Saturday evening, during a press conference held in conjunction with Skate America, the 1984 Olympic gold medalist announced that he’s begun assembling “Scott Hamilton’s Holiday Concert on Ice,” and that he’ll unveil the production in the Olympic Village on Dec. 29. Two-time Olympic champion Ekaterina Gordeeva, eight-time British national champion Steven Cousins, 2007 world champion Kimmie Meissner and Olympic bronze medalist Jozef Sabovcik will join Hamilton at the event.
“We’re bringing a lot of my friends together and we’re doing a live-music event with skating,” Hamilton said. “We’ll probably have more skaters as we get closer to the event. We’ve got a great band, great players, very polished musicians, who will be behind Phil Stacey and Melinda Doolittle from ‘American Idol.’ This is what the next generation of skating shows can be.
“The entertainment side of the sport, in this new economy, has taken quite a hit. This is our opportunity,” Hamilton said. “It’s hard for skaters to really establish their star power. And nothing can do that better than a very well-produced and exciting show. A lot of the skaters are able to cast a spell over an audience, and I feel that the next generation of skating events will be live-music skating shows. I think that will help excite audiences and give them a new level of entertainment.
“Nothing sounds better in an arena than live music,” Hamilton added. “And when a skater gets in front of that, that excitement brings out a new level of performance in them. I’ve felt strongly about this for years, but I couldn’t do much about it unless I was skating. So, I’m returning to performing.”
For more than 20 years, the four-time world champion performed as part of the Stars on Ice tour, which traditionally kicked off in Lake Placid.
“Skating and Lake Placid are synonymous,” Hamilton said. “We had Stars on Ice open here year after year after year. It feels odd to be here this time of year and not opening Stars on Ice. It’s a good opportunity to give Lake Placid something it’s used to having: a skating show around the holidays. I love doing skating shows during the holiday season. This is a very established audience and it’s a time when they want to see skating the most. I’m sure it will be very well-received.”
“We’ve done a lot of concerts here and we’ve done a lot of skating shows, but when you put the two together, it’s going to be fabulous,” said ORDA CEO Ted Blazer, who joined Hamilton at the press conference.
Hamilton said that sitting with Blazer to announce his return felt surreal.
“When I retired five years ago, I thought I was done — absolutely done,” he said. “I’ve learned to never say never. At the tender age of 51 years old, I’m performing. I did my first show last Saturday night (in Cleveland) and it was an extraordinary evening. So, onward and upward. I’m a work in progress: I’ve got a long way to go, but I’m getting there. I’m in better physical condition than I’ve been in since 1999. ... The relationship with the fans that I loved so much — that was something that I missed. That was a void in my life. I’m really excited about the opportunity to present a show like this in Lake Placid, and we’re hoping to go to other places throughout the country. We’ll see where it takes me. But it’s been nice to do this on my terms, at my pace, and not have to worry about a 20-week tour.”
Hamilton went through an incredible four-year run in the early 1980s when he won every competition he entered.
“Whatever you need to prove in competitive skating — I’ve done all that,” Hamilton said. “What’s left on the list is to do live-music skating shows — I never felt I went as far as I wanted to. It’s extraordinary what these athletes can do right now, but there will always be a place for the next thing. And that’s one thing that’s held skating back a lot — skaters have not gone beyond the competitive structure — and I think that’s limited their ability to build their own star appeal, and without that, it’s hard to go beyond those competitive years and establish a new career. It would be great to create an atmosphere for the entertainment side of the sport to allow professional skaters to go beyond their competitive years to really wow an audience in a way that’s meant for that audience more than it’s meant for accumulating points.”
Hamilton said he remains committed to giving his audience what it wants to see. So, he spent months in a harness in a gymnasium, re-learning how to do his trademark backflip. Privately, he’s already brought it back to Lake Placid.
“I did two (backflips) today,” he said. “I’ve painted myself into a corner.”
TIM FOLLOS, News Sports Editor
POSTED: November 20, 2009
LAKE PLACID — After five years off the ice, Scott Hamilton is back. And he’s offering Lake Placid his vision of the future of figure skating.
Saturday evening, during a press conference held in conjunction with Skate America, the 1984 Olympic gold medalist announced that he’s begun assembling “Scott Hamilton’s Holiday Concert on Ice,” and that he’ll unveil the production in the Olympic Village on Dec. 29. Two-time Olympic champion Ekaterina Gordeeva, eight-time British national champion Steven Cousins, 2007 world champion Kimmie Meissner and Olympic bronze medalist Jozef Sabovcik will join Hamilton at the event.
“We’re bringing a lot of my friends together and we’re doing a live-music event with skating,” Hamilton said. “We’ll probably have more skaters as we get closer to the event. We’ve got a great band, great players, very polished musicians, who will be behind Phil Stacey and Melinda Doolittle from ‘American Idol.’ This is what the next generation of skating shows can be.
“The entertainment side of the sport, in this new economy, has taken quite a hit. This is our opportunity,” Hamilton said. “It’s hard for skaters to really establish their star power. And nothing can do that better than a very well-produced and exciting show. A lot of the skaters are able to cast a spell over an audience, and I feel that the next generation of skating events will be live-music skating shows. I think that will help excite audiences and give them a new level of entertainment.
“Nothing sounds better in an arena than live music,” Hamilton added. “And when a skater gets in front of that, that excitement brings out a new level of performance in them. I’ve felt strongly about this for years, but I couldn’t do much about it unless I was skating. So, I’m returning to performing.”
For more than 20 years, the four-time world champion performed as part of the Stars on Ice tour, which traditionally kicked off in Lake Placid.
“Skating and Lake Placid are synonymous,” Hamilton said. “We had Stars on Ice open here year after year after year. It feels odd to be here this time of year and not opening Stars on Ice. It’s a good opportunity to give Lake Placid something it’s used to having: a skating show around the holidays. I love doing skating shows during the holiday season. This is a very established audience and it’s a time when they want to see skating the most. I’m sure it will be very well-received.”
“We’ve done a lot of concerts here and we’ve done a lot of skating shows, but when you put the two together, it’s going to be fabulous,” said ORDA CEO Ted Blazer, who joined Hamilton at the press conference.
Hamilton said that sitting with Blazer to announce his return felt surreal.
“When I retired five years ago, I thought I was done — absolutely done,” he said. “I’ve learned to never say never. At the tender age of 51 years old, I’m performing. I did my first show last Saturday night (in Cleveland) and it was an extraordinary evening. So, onward and upward. I’m a work in progress: I’ve got a long way to go, but I’m getting there. I’m in better physical condition than I’ve been in since 1999. ... The relationship with the fans that I loved so much — that was something that I missed. That was a void in my life. I’m really excited about the opportunity to present a show like this in Lake Placid, and we’re hoping to go to other places throughout the country. We’ll see where it takes me. But it’s been nice to do this on my terms, at my pace, and not have to worry about a 20-week tour.”
Hamilton went through an incredible four-year run in the early 1980s when he won every competition he entered.
“Whatever you need to prove in competitive skating — I’ve done all that,” Hamilton said. “What’s left on the list is to do live-music skating shows — I never felt I went as far as I wanted to. It’s extraordinary what these athletes can do right now, but there will always be a place for the next thing. And that’s one thing that’s held skating back a lot — skaters have not gone beyond the competitive structure — and I think that’s limited their ability to build their own star appeal, and without that, it’s hard to go beyond those competitive years and establish a new career. It would be great to create an atmosphere for the entertainment side of the sport to allow professional skaters to go beyond their competitive years to really wow an audience in a way that’s meant for that audience more than it’s meant for accumulating points.”
Hamilton said he remains committed to giving his audience what it wants to see. So, he spent months in a harness in a gymnasium, re-learning how to do his trademark backflip. Privately, he’s already brought it back to Lake Placid.
“I did two (backflips) today,” he said. “I’ve painted myself into a corner.”
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