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Some three months ago, figure skater Alysa Liu was in Italy, where she won two gold medals for Team USA.
On May 31, she will be in DeSoto County, Mississippi, which, as a dream destination, is generally not ranked alongside Milan.
The differences may be less evident on the ice. At the Landers Center in Southaven, as in the Milano Ice Skating Arena, Liu will be in the company of the world’s best ice skaters.
And though she will be skating as a “Stars on Ice” entertainer rather than as an Olympic athlete, she will be performing in part to her traditional competition program, which features the song “Promise” by the Chinese-Icelandic pop-jazz singer known as Laufey.
“I made a promise/ To distance myself,” Laufey sings, before realizing, according to the lyrics, that she did not say “Goodbye” but “See you very soon.”
“Everyone’s program has different meanings,” said the California-born Liu, 20, in a recent phone interview from Tempe, Arizona, where she and an all-star team of ice skaters performed May 27 during their logically titled “Stars on Ice” tour.
THINGS TO DO IN MEMPHIS: A guide to summer concerts in Memphis, from Jelly Roll to John Legend
“In my ‘Promise’ program, the song I skate to, it’s really close to me because I quit skating for two years,” she said. “So I really relate to it, it’s kind of about my skating journey.”
At 16, Liu took a break from skating after the Beijing Olympics, where she was the highest-placing American woman in the singles competition — a remarkable achievement, considering her age, but only good enough to place seventh.
Skating since the age of 5, she “retired” because she wanted to experience life away from the rink, as a so-called normal teenager.
Even without sports, her history is dramatic: Her father, Arthur Liu, a lawyer, came to the U.S. as a political refugee in 1989, after helping to organize Tiananmen Square demonstrations. (He subsequently rejected overtures from China to allow his daughter to compete for that country.)
But the lure of the ice was strong, and when Liu returned to competition, she was more successful than ever.
Now, she’s on what she calls a “super fun” interlude, performing for fans during the “off-season,” before the six-month competitive ice skating season begins again in October.
The tour has 14 skaters (or “castmates,” Liu said), including her American team gold medalists Madison Chock, Evan Bates, Ilia Malinin, Amber Glenn, Ellie Kam and Danny O'Shea.
The lineup also showcases such top American skaters and Olympics competitors as former national champions Isabeau Levito and Jason Brown; 2026 U.S. championships silver medalist Andrew Torgashev; the team of Emily Chan and Spencer Howe, and others.
Whether medal-winners or not, most of the skaters on the bill participated in February in the Milano Cortina Winter Olympics.
“It’s super fun, skating with other skaters,” Liu said. “Being with them and being able to continue skating with them at this level but not in competition, we have a lot of fun.”
The skaters ride from city to city in buses, stay in hotels, and occasionally hit the town, although they seem unlikely to cause scandal. “We recently went bowling,” Liu said.
She said the “Stars on Ice” production is spectacular, and worth seeing because “the athletes are so incredible and hard-working and strong.”
Overall, “I love feeling strong and really utilizing my energy. So I’ve been having a blast. And so the moment I don’t, I’ll quit.”
4 p.m. Sunday, May 31.
Landers Center, 4560 Venture Drive in Southaven.
For tickets, visit landerscenter.com.
For more information about the tour, visit starsonice.com.
This article originally appeared on Memphis Commercial Appeal: Alysa Liu brings Stars on Ice tour to Southaven
Continue reading...
On May 31, she will be in DeSoto County, Mississippi, which, as a dream destination, is generally not ranked alongside Milan.
The differences may be less evident on the ice. At the Landers Center in Southaven, as in the Milano Ice Skating Arena, Liu will be in the company of the world’s best ice skaters.
And though she will be skating as a “Stars on Ice” entertainer rather than as an Olympic athlete, she will be performing in part to her traditional competition program, which features the song “Promise” by the Chinese-Icelandic pop-jazz singer known as Laufey.
“I made a promise/ To distance myself,” Laufey sings, before realizing, according to the lyrics, that she did not say “Goodbye” but “See you very soon.”
“Everyone’s program has different meanings,” said the California-born Liu, 20, in a recent phone interview from Tempe, Arizona, where she and an all-star team of ice skaters performed May 27 during their logically titled “Stars on Ice” tour.
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THINGS TO DO IN MEMPHIS: A guide to summer concerts in Memphis, from Jelly Roll to John Legend
“In my ‘Promise’ program, the song I skate to, it’s really close to me because I quit skating for two years,” she said. “So I really relate to it, it’s kind of about my skating journey.”
At 16, Liu took a break from skating after the Beijing Olympics, where she was the highest-placing American woman in the singles competition — a remarkable achievement, considering her age, but only good enough to place seventh.
Skating since the age of 5, she “retired” because she wanted to experience life away from the rink, as a so-called normal teenager.
Even without sports, her history is dramatic: Her father, Arthur Liu, a lawyer, came to the U.S. as a political refugee in 1989, after helping to organize Tiananmen Square demonstrations. (He subsequently rejected overtures from China to allow his daughter to compete for that country.)
But the lure of the ice was strong, and when Liu returned to competition, she was more successful than ever.
Now, she’s on what she calls a “super fun” interlude, performing for fans during the “off-season,” before the six-month competitive ice skating season begins again in October.
The tour has 14 skaters (or “castmates,” Liu said), including her American team gold medalists Madison Chock, Evan Bates, Ilia Malinin, Amber Glenn, Ellie Kam and Danny O'Shea.
The lineup also showcases such top American skaters and Olympics competitors as former national champions Isabeau Levito and Jason Brown; 2026 U.S. championships silver medalist Andrew Torgashev; the team of Emily Chan and Spencer Howe, and others.
Whether medal-winners or not, most of the skaters on the bill participated in February in the Milano Cortina Winter Olympics.
“It’s super fun, skating with other skaters,” Liu said. “Being with them and being able to continue skating with them at this level but not in competition, we have a lot of fun.”
You must be registered for see images attach
The skaters ride from city to city in buses, stay in hotels, and occasionally hit the town, although they seem unlikely to cause scandal. “We recently went bowling,” Liu said.
She said the “Stars on Ice” production is spectacular, and worth seeing because “the athletes are so incredible and hard-working and strong.”
Overall, “I love feeling strong and really utilizing my energy. So I’ve been having a blast. And so the moment I don’t, I’ll quit.”
'Stars on Ice'
4 p.m. Sunday, May 31.
Landers Center, 4560 Venture Drive in Southaven.
For tickets, visit landerscenter.com.
For more information about the tour, visit starsonice.com.
This article originally appeared on Memphis Commercial Appeal: Alysa Liu brings Stars on Ice tour to Southaven
Continue reading...
