On May 2, the Stars on Ice tour, which is a series of shows consisting of the top ice skaters in the United States of America, came through The Giant Center in Hershey. The cast consists of the Team USA Olympic figure skaters, pair skaters and ice dancers. The full cast is Alysa Liu, Amber Glenn, Andrew Torgashev, Christina Carreira/Anthony Ponomarenko, Emilea Zingas/Vadym Kolesnik, Ellie Kam/Danny O’Shea, Ilia Malinin, Isabeau Levito, Jason Brown and Madison Chock/Evan Bates.
Along with regular tickets, many Stars on Ice exclusive items were sold- mainly merchandise. When I went I was able to purchase a program signed by the full cast, a signed Alysa Liu photo and a Blade Angels shirt. The Blade Angels are the three women, Glenn, Levito, and Liu, who represented Team USA at the Olympics. Aside from the Blade Angels shirt other hoodies and crewnecks that weren’t just the Blade Angels were available, along with other photos signed by individual cast members.
Meet and Greet passes were also available for purchase but those were, unfortunately, all sold out. Aside from Meet and Greets, which happened after the show, it was possible to purchase the “Star Gazer” pass which allows people to watch the skaters warm up and get a Q&A from two random cast members. I was able to get this, and after climbing through the stands, I secured myself a third row spot to see warm ups.
My favorite part of the warm up was the Blade Angels section, mostly because I’m a huge fan and partially because their friendship is so wholesome. Getting to see them practice choreography, spins and jumps was really interesting, but the three’s interactions were the best part. Glenn and Liu were having a competition to see who could do the most jumps in a row. The Levito and Liu “totally real and serious” window seat beef was solved when Levito carried Liu on her back.
After the Blade Angels had their ice time, some of the pair skaters came on. Their tricks were phenomenal and clearly took a lot of trust. Once their section ended, the Q&A section took place. The skaters answering questions at the Hershey show were Danny O’Shae and Ellie Kam. The two are pair skaters and ran through the story of how they met and got into skating.
The performance then opens with “Fearless” by Tommee Profitt. The number is done by the entire cast and is extremely entertaining and high-energy. After that, the skaters began running through some of their programs.
Levito performed her 2026 World Championships gala program “Material Girl.” This was one I was very excited to see live, as I’ve been a fan of Levito for a few years now, and this program really fits her.
Glenn performed her Olympic short program, free skate and gala program. All three were phenomenal, and it is almost impossible to pick a favorite; Glenn is truly an amazing skater.
Moving off of the single skaters, the pair skaters and ice dancers had some crazy routines. All of them take a serious amount of trust in their partners.
All of Kam and O’Shea’s routines were spectacular. The two flow together so well and that is clearly reflected in their performances. There was one funny, but accidental, moment in their program, as O’Shea had crashed into Kam, which knocked her down.
Back to the single skates, I really enjoyed Brown’s “Friend Like Me” routine. It was definitely the most fun routine of the night. Brown has a unique way of skating that makes it feel like a theatrical performance rather than a regular skating program.
Obviously, all of Malinin’s performances were both beautiful and scary. He consistently incorporates some of figure skating’s hardest moves and lands them cleanly almost everytime. It’s hard to not enjoy watching someone land a lot of backflips and quad jumps with expertise while on nothing but a small blade.
The skaters did not just run through their individual programs. Multiple skates were choreographed specifically for the entire cast for “Stars on Ice”. My favorites were “Too Darn Hot,” which was a full cast routine, and “Golden” from “KPop Demon Hunters.” The “Golden” program was by the Blade Angels
Finally, it would be criminal if I didn’t cover Liu’s skates, as she is an Olympic gold medalist. I’ve been a fan of her since 2019, so being able to finally see her skate live after all these years was life-changing, especially after knowing her story. Her “Promise” routine did make me cry, as it always does. “Promise” is a very emotional routine and a key factor in her Olympic gold. Liu also did her viral “Stateside” program, which was her gala routine from the Olympics. Like a lot of people, I was most excited for this one. Programs in the gala skates are always the best as they get to show the skaters creativity and aren’t restricted by the ISU, or the International Skating Union, rules. The ISU is a group that governs over all ice skating sports.
Liu and all the others are beautiful skaters, and “Stars on Ice” is an amazing way to show this as the competition pressure vanishes. This show is something I plan to come back to, likely for the rest of my life. There wasn’t one moment where I wasn’t on the edge of my seat, crying, cheering or just hooked to the routines happening on the ice. “Stars on Ice” really is perfect in every way.
