In the story of "Cinderella," the heroine dreams of a future of style and grace. So does Dorothy Hamill.
The one-time queen of American ice skating, who won an Olympic gold medal in 1976, purchased the venerable "Ice Capades" last winter as it operated under bankruptcy proceedings. She dreams of turning it into the world's premier ice show and hopes to lead skating entertainment into a new realm.
When "Dorothy Hamill's Ice Capades" makes its first stop in Baltimore for six performances beginning tomorrow at the Baltimore Arena, audiences will find something different.
Gone is the familiar big variety-show format.
"It was really almost like a circus," says Ms. Hamill, who starred in the show last season.
This year, the new owner and Baltimore-based choreographers Nathan Birch and Tim Murphy, of the Next Ice Age, have taken up the beloved fairy tale of the abused stepsister who finds a prince.
"We're telling a story primarily through the movement of skating. And I want it to be presented in a beautiful, classy way," Ms. Hamill says in a telephone interview from the San Diego Sports Arena, where she was performing the title role with the Ice Capades' western company.
Ms. Hamill will not be skating in Baltimore, however. Instead, the eastern company stars Russian skaters Elena Kvitchenko, 26, and Rashid Kadrykaev, 29, as the dream princess and her prince.
"Basically, I skate in the west company through Christmas and then we switch," says Ms. Hamill, who adds that at 37, she is nearing the time to think about giving up performing.
Baltimore audiences will also see a locally grown skater: 18-year-old Jeff Merica of Annapolis, 1991 Junior Eastern Championship titleholder, who is in the corps of the 30-skater "Ice Capades" company east.
Telling a dramatic story through movement on ice represents a step toward her ultimate vision, Ms. Hamill says.
"My dream is to do an original ice ballet," she says, nothing less than a blend on ice of theater, dance and music, boasting original compositions, stories and choreography.
"Cinderella . . . Frozen in Time" has new choreography and music -- an original score by Michael Conway Baker, performed by the Sinfonia ofLondon Orchestra -- but rests upon one of the most accessible stories for young and old. "That's why we chose 'Cinderella' this year, because it's a familiar story. We started with the original music, which I'm very pleased with," Ms. Hamill says.
