Stars on Ice

Forget that the Olympic torch bypassed Minnesota and two Dakotas on a run around the country.

We've got actual Olympic stars coming to the Ralph Engelstad Arena next week.

The touring Target Stars on Ice show is the first touring act booked into the arena. The performance begins at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday. Tickets: $30, $40, $55, in the box office, at TicketMaster locations or charge-by-phone, (701)772-5151.

Here's a chance to see the signature moves that earned these skaters worldwide recognition and acclaim.

Featured performers are Olympic champions Tara Lipinski, Kristi Yamaguchi, Katarina Witt and Ilia Kulik. Then, there's four-time world champion Kurt Browning; Olympic silver medalists and two-time world champions Anjelika Krylova and Oleg Ovsiannikov; three-time U.S. national pair champions and world silver medalists Jenni Meno and Todd Sand; Olympic silver medalist Denis Petrov; eight-time British champion Steven Cousins; and skating with the tour for the first time, Swiss champion and "The Queen of Spin," Lucinda Ruh.

While Browning said he enjoys the work and the company of other professional skaters, he is looking forward to not being a "celebrity" someday.

Fame is an interesting concept, he said, in a telephone interview from San Francisco. "You can be on the street and a thousand people will go by, and suddenly someone screams. Then people look at me and wonder what was that all about. I did get in an elevator once with a girl who recognized me. She screamed for 23 floors."

Browning said the show is the most wonderful place to skate as a skater and performer, because the performer's natural abilities are enhanced by the choreographers.

"Every show is like a rock show," he said. "We get excited every night, and you know you are special to the audience."

Browning said he gets criticized for having too much fun. But fun is what it's all about, he said.

"The secret to my success was communication between me and my parents. If you have children in hockey or skating, ask 'are you having fun?' Then, give them a chance to respond. It's OK some days to just get on the ice, giggle and have fun, then get back to work the next day."

Do skaters worry about calories? Not at all, Browning said. His favorite food is ice cream, but he says he does work out as he gets older. One of the lessons he learned from Scott Hamilton: "As you get older, you have to work harder to be not as good as you were last year."

Engelstad marketing manager Chris Semrau said arena capacity for the show will be 12,000. He described the show as "super entertaining." He said about 100 tickets a day were being sold last week, and he expected the pace to pick up this week.

Stars on Ice is the dream of Olympic Champion Scott Hamilton, who conceived the idea in the spring of 1986 after his contract with Ice Capades wasn't renewed. Hamilton retired last April as a full-time touring member of the skating company but continues as co-producer of the show.

The tour began Dec. 28 in Baltimore and ends April 20 in Portland, Maine, after visiting 61 cities in 30 states. The next performance is Friday in St. Louis, Mo., then on to Chicago.

Equipment for the Stars on Ice performance comes in three big trucks. On show day, a crew of nine goes to work at 7 a.m. They must unload, rig and set up 200,000 pounds of equipment. The show travels with a "tunnel," through which skaters enter and leave the ice. Built each day from pipes and draping, the tunnel provides the skaters privacy to warm up, unseen by the audience.

The performance runs in two acts, each nearly an hour long.