Figure skating fans bid Hamilton farewell

FIGURE skating fans gave Scott Hamilton a group hug good-bye last night at Winnipeg Arena following his fifth to last performance with Stars on Ice, the ensemble troupe he founded 15 years ago.

Hamilton, 42, was omnipresent throughout the star-studded two-hour show, performing three solo numbers beginning with a funky piece to James Brown's "I Got You". As the final notes sounded, local skater BG Gordon, age 4, scuttled to centre ice while Hamilton looked on, symbolizing the veteran's influence on generations of skaters.

As always, the 1984 Olympic champion was at his best when he put his legendary comedic flare to work, alone, in ensemble numbers and in a hilarious duet with pair skater Denis Petrov, who hoisted and spun Hamilton overhead like a horizontal propellor.

With a nod to his second favourite sport, Hamilton appeared midway through the first half dressed in plaid knickers and pseudo golf shoes for his clever Double Bogey Blues routine. On command, his clubs magically ejected from the oversized bag he had stationed at centre ice.

With club in hand, the sport's energizer bunny leapt and spun around the frozen course, dazzling the crowd by performing his trademark backflip over the golf bag in the final seconds.

Hamilton's finale routine was set to Paul Anka's "My Way". At the outset, it seemed as if this number was to be uncharacteristically serious in tone, but Hamilton quickly reverted to his fun-loving, irreverent, old self. Snippets of music that he has used for some of his best-loved routines were interspersed among My Way's soaring strains, allowing Hamilton to toddle his crazy walk to "Walk this Way" and execute his rapid-fire footwork to "Comedians Gallop".

Although Stars headliner Kurt Browning has dubbed this season's show "The Scott Hamilton Lovefest Tour", the stellar contributions of Browning and 12 other cast members, trendy costumes, new-age lighting, and the innovative composition of the group numbers, are what makes Stars on Ice the top-notch entertainment spectacle Hamilton had envisioned so many years ago.

Four-time world champ Browning pulled many in the audience out of their seats with his reprise of the emotional Bring Him Home from Les Miserables and with his masterful, footwork-laden flamenco routine, the last 30 seconds of which he skated only to the rythmic clapping of the crowd.

Ice dancers Shae-Lynn Bourne and Victor Kraatz also scored a raucous ovation with their fast-stepping and slinky romp to "Jumpin' Jack" and "Hey, Big Spender", one of the programs that helped them win their record-setting eighth national title here back in January.

And the fans went wild for Stars' new kid on the ice block, Russian Alexei Yagudin, who skated his dramatic Gladiator program, complete with dagger in each hand, under exquisite theatrical lighting.