Almost all of the team members attended the event on the same rink where they competed 40 years ago.

This event was part of Lake Placid’s 40th anniversary celebration of the 1980 Olympic Winter Games.

The stories told were many, from those of triumph to those of disappointment, but they all seemed to include a common thread -that the skaters were grateful to be back.

“There’s just nothing but gratitude is all I feel, just to be given the opportunity to come back to Lake Placid,” said Scott Hamilton, who placed fifth in the 1980 Winter Olympics and won a gold medal at the 1984 Olympic Winter Games in Sarajevo, Yugoslavia. “It was memorable on every level, and I think that’s one of the basic reasons we’re here is to celebrate 16 of the greatest days all of us got to experience. … And thank you, Paul Wylie, for making this happen.”

Dream On was not just a show; it was a gala. Tables lined the ice surface, hosting VIPs that included the 1980 team members and other passionate skating fans, most of whom had strong ties to Lake Placid and its skating legacy. They enjoyed dinner rink-side before the show, and afterward, they could skate on the ice.

The performances all had a vintage flair keeping with the 1980 theme, and they were punctuated by discussions with the team members, moderated by Wylie. The discussions were divided by discipline into pairs, dance, men’s, and ladies’ events, ordered in the sequence in which the competitions took place during the 1980 games. These multi-media segments gave team members the opportunity to share their experiences at the 1980 Olympics with the audience while enjoying and commenting upon video clips from their performances played on the scoreboard screen overhead.

Perhaps most unique, the show opened with a live performance of the Aerosmith song “Dream On” by the Northern Lights Ensemble, directed by Helen Demong, mother of Olympic Nordic combined medalist Bill Demong.

Wylie and 1994 Olympian in pairs skating Karen Courtland Kelly opened the first number by skating figures, the practice of tracing patterns in the ice that used to be a part of every skating competition, including the 1980 Olympics. They progressed to pairs moves, including an outside backward death spiral. Also in the opening number were skaters from the High Peaks Skating Academy, which featured Skating Club of Lake Placid skaters Marilena Kitromilis and sisters Dominica and Kalina Sarandeva.

Nearly 40 Skating Club of Lake Placid skaters contributed to the show, skating to the Olympic Fanfare and forming the Olympic rings on ice, leading to the introduction of the 1980 Olympic figure skating team and the replay of Hamilton carrying the U.S. flag in the opening ceremony of the 1980 Winter Olympics. Hamilton lit a miniature cauldron at the side of the rink.

Special guest stars included 2019 U.S. pairs champions Ashley Cain-Gribble and Timothy LeDuc, who skated two programs, including their competitive short program “A Storm is Coming.” It was a full-circle moment for Cain-Gribble, whose parents met at the 1980 Olympics.

Reigning U.S. ice dance champions Madison Chock and Evan Bates also skated two programs, including the Egyptian Snake Dance program that helped them earn gold on the international circuit this season.

Ryan Bradley, a former U.S. champion, skated one of his signature show programs to “Don’t Give Up on Me,” by Andy Grammar. He is one of the regular performers in Lake Placid.

Other highlights of the show included Kelly’s performance to the operatic “Depuis Le Jour,” and a classic piece by Bradley, Jonathan Hunt and Joel Dear to “The Three Smokers,” by ballet choreographer Edward Villella.

Local skaters also had a chance to shine, in addition to the opening number. Three of the youngest SCLP members helped start the show with their “In Summer” program, which was originally skated in the Christmas holiday show this year. SCLP members Kitromilis and the Sarandevas shined throughout. Kitromilis performed energetically to “Fame,” and each represented a 1980 U.S. Olympic lady, skating mini-solos to pieces of each skater’s Olympic routine. In a moment reminiscent of a Stars on Ice trio, they finished the tribute with a sassy group routine to “Do What I Do,” by Lady Bri.

The show closed on a high note to “Last Dance,” by Donna Summer, featuring local skaters Annmary Bouchard and Christie Sausa and all guest skaters performing tricks including Bradley’s signature backflip and pairs and dance moves.

Much of the choreography for the show was done by Wylie and Tracy Prussack Nicola, while the SCLP opening portion and “In Summer” was choreographed by SCLP program co-directors Amanda Jones and Brooke O’Neil. Both said they felt the show was an exciting opportunity for their skaters.

“I definitely think the before and after of the show were super memorable for us, and for them, it brought us back to the time when we were asking for autographs and meeting stars,” Jones said. “To see that light in our skaters’ eyes is something that you definitely would never be able to replace. We’re just so excited to have been able to be a part of it, and it will go down in history as a legendary night.”

Wylie, who conceived of the idea of the skating show and gala in concert with Scott Hamilton’s Sk8 to Elimin8 Cancer on the Olympic Speedskating Oval earlier in the day, said he felt the event went well.

“I thought that the athletes from the 1980 team felt honored. That was really my top aim,” Wylie said. “I felt like the audience really responded to the stories and to the skating, there was a really neat feeling in the arena tonight.”

The 1980 Olympic figure skaters taking part Feb. 18 were Hamilton, David Santee, Charlie Tickner (1980 bronze medalist), Stacey Smith, John Summers, Sheryl Franks, Michael Botticelli, Caitlin “Kitty” Carruthers Conrad, Peter Carruthers, Tai Babilonia, Sandy Lenze Jackson, Lisa-Marie Allen and Linda Fratianne (1980 silver medalist).