Issue Date: December 16, 2001

Like a Rolling Stone, except on skates

If you think doing a triple axel is tough stuff, try organizing a tour with the circuit's top ice skaters, whose icy maneuvers are what packs in big crowds. For the 16th annual Target Stars on Ice show, which opens its 61-city tour Dec. 28, it means schlepping coast to coast for the better part of four months with 12 world-renown skating stars, more than a quarter of a million dollars in glittery costumes (60 to 90 outfits worth up to $4,000 each), 10 tons of equipment and a staff of 10. A preview airs on NBC next Friday at 8 p.m. ET.

"In all aspects, it's no different than a Billy Joel concert," says tour director Dave Hoffis. "Except that Billy Joel's on skates."

Hoffis works almost 24-7, overseeing the load-in and load-out of a 134-light system at each location, as well as ensuring that the performers, who include Kristi Yamaguchi, Tara Lipinski and Ilia Kulik, have what they need.

Unlike certain rock stars who demand their dressing rooms be loaded with green M&Ms, the stars on ice sound like a low-maintenance bunch. "Nobody requests anything special," Hoffis says, although gourmet jelly beans are a standard indulgence along with healthier items such as energy bars and yogurt.

Costumes get coddled, too. After each show, hand-beaded outfits get rolled up in towels and packed into boxes. The wardrobe mistress, who travels with the show, hires an assisting seamstress at each stop to ensure a custom fit and help skaters through as many as eight costume changes during the two-hour performances. Last year, the bottom piece of a skater's two-piece costume was lost. It was part of the grand finale, so two women shared one bottom piece; one wore it for part of the finale, then left the ice, quickly took it off and handed it to the other skater as she headed for the ice.

What about the roadies who provide the muscle? Although sleeping on bunks in a bus doesn't sound glamorous, Hoffis puts it in context: "The crew walks into a stadium at 7 a.m. and leaves at midnight. During a break, all you want to be is horizontal. ... It's like putting a baby in a cradle."