‘Stars on Ice’ brings Olympic Personalities to Life in Northern Colorado

For one night in the quiet town of Loveland, heroes stopped being just people on a screen.

America’s new sweetheart, Alysa Liu, is making her way around the United States as a headliner for the 2026 Stifel Stars on Ice Tour alongside several other talented skaters — including ice skating Olympic gold medalists and world champions. 

Gold medalist duo Ellie Kam and Danny O’Shea hail from and trained in Colorado Springs, while the famous Amber Glenn also trained in Colorado Springs, attracted by what she said were “amazing resources” from the Olympic Training Center as well as coach Damon Allen.

“Being able to represent Colorado on a nationwide tour, like Stars on Ice, is something that’s really special for us,” O’Shea said. “It’s an amazing opportunity to come back home and bring this tour to all of our friends and family and get to show off all of the hard work we’ve been putting in … across the entire country with sold-out arenas.”

The 2026 Stars on Ice Tour is the 40th annual tour to showcase some of the most elite skaters and their Olympic gold medal-winning performances from that year, and was one of the first of its kind to solely showcase skating. This current tour stops in 28 cities nationwide, with the final stop being at the end of May in Mississippi. 

Kam and O’Shea shined once again after exploding for a fourth-place finish at the 2026 Olympics, displaying the duo’s clear chemistry through multiple routines.

“One of the things I really tried to work on a lot was my speed across the ice because Danny was a lot faster than I was,” Kam said. “So, just working on that, I think made us stronger and better as a team. And I think Danny worked on his expression when he started to skate with me so that we could have some of the best expression shown in our program.”

O’Shea’s work paid off at the relatively intimate Blue Arena, as he interacted with the crowd of 6,800 seats. But his portrayal of Pitbull in the pair’s “The 305 Experience”, along with Malinin’s poke at his lack of hair, helped further humanize the talented skater.

“I think that it’s amazing to see how we’ve evolved in that way, really growing in our connection and our elements that we are able to perform together and not just look like two people skating next to each other,” O’Shea said. “I think that when you see our performances, you start to notice how it looks second nature. When we reach out our hand, the other ones just there, and the performance really starts to shine because of that quality.”

No two skaters looked like individuals when the entire crew hit the ice together for opening and closing acts.

Several weeks of performing coupled with previous training created a show full of expression, with a range of emotions. And while superstars like Liu and Glenn wowed a crowd filled with people wearing their best Liu-style hair and young fans alike, the intention went further.

“I hope that (young girls) see that women can win,” Liu said. “Women can do amazing things, and we (can) be strong. And I hope I’m able to show that they can do anything they want as long as they put their mind to it.”

With young fans lining up to take pictures next to a cutout of Liu in the concourse, the decorated skater’s message reached the Colorado crowd. And according to a Forbes interview with Glenn earlier this year, “as the first openly queer female athlete in U.S. figure skating history and a vocal advocate for mental health”, Glenn has been using her stardom as something greater, too.

“It means the world to me that someone has been able to find someone they relate to and see that it’s okay to struggle,” Glenn said. “As long as you keep fighting, everything will be OK.”

With comedic breaks and banter in between performances, the best skaters in the world looked like they were enjoying themselves among costume changes and familiar numbers.

But that didn’t stop the athletes from executing at the highest level.

Malinin, who said he enjoys designing his own programs, backflipped five times in a row at the end of his “Jump Around” sequence, reminding viewers they were watching more than an entertaining show. Mixing in beautiful choreography with music while pulling viewers back out with spectacles of talent created a unique space for skating enthusiasts.

“It’s really just a way for me to connect more to the music or the choreography that I do, and it really just gives me a concept of how I move and how I feel on the ice,” Malinin said. “And it helps me improve as well just for competitive situations as well, just being where I can show that this is all of me. This is my personality. This is what I do.”

But the star-studded group isn’t quite finished showing off their character, as their next stop on tour kicks off at 7 p.m. Friday in West Valley City, Utah. And beyond that, fans have just 10 more opportunities to witness greatness in person.

“It means a lot to me,” Malinin said. “It’s really part of what keeps me going as well is having the support having the audience engagement having them there to show that we are supported. We are loved, we are cared about, and it really just keeps us going with a good positive mindset to just keep shooting for our goals.