Patrick Chan making final appearance with Stars on Ice

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Canadian skating star Patrick Chan is feeling mixed emotions this week as he prepares to make his final tour with the Stars on Ice show, which comes to Moncton’s Avenir Centre Friday night.

The Stars on Ice show begins its tour in Halifax Thursday and then to the Avenir Centre in Moncton Friday at 7:30 p.m. Tickets are available through the Avenir Centre or starsonice.ca. The Stars on Ice show places champion figure skaters into a dance show with ensemble cast and individual or duet performances.

This year’s performers include world pair champions Deanna Stellato-Dudek and Maxime Deschamps, world men’s champion Ilia Malinin, Patrick Chan, Elvis Stojko, Keegan Messing, Satoko Miyahara, Pipet Gilles and Paul Purier, Leona Hendrickx and Madelin Schizas.

Kurt Browning, who officially retired from skating last year, has returned to choreograph and direct this year’s Stars on Ice Show. During the 2023 show, Browning and Stojko performed a duet skate together.

“Kurt has such a creative mind and we spend a lot of time to make his dreams a reality,” Chan said in a telephone interview from Halifax, where the crew was doing rehearsals for the tour. “The theme for this year is the science of skating. As cast members, we’re measuring and making analysis of what makes skating unique. We’re out there measuring back Ilia’s back flips to see if he beats his own record from the last show. We’re wearing lab coats and acting like scientists for the institute of skating.”

Ilia Malinin, 19, was nicknamed the “Quad God” for performing six quadruple jumps in a single program, delivering a record-breaking performance at the World Figure Skating Championships and finishing with the highest points ever in at the competition. His quadruple axle has been included into the show as part of the “science of skating” theme.

“We’re putting on our creative and acting hats with this,” Chan said.

Chan, 33, is a 10-time national champion who says he is making his final tour with Stars on Ice after 10 years.

“It’s bittersweet of course. I’ve been on this tour for 10 years and it’s been a big part of my development from boy to man and as a skater. It taught me so much and brought me so much experience and wisdom. I never thought this day would come so soon. I would’ve liked to do it for many more years but I have a growing family and a career waiting for me,” said Chan, who has a two-and-a-half-year-old son at home. He recently accepted a position with a financial management company.

Being a champion takes hard work: Chan

Looking back at a career in competition and ice shows, Chan Chan said being a champion skater takes a combination of natural talent combined with work ethic and the determination to keep training and practicing through physical and emotional pain. He’s reflected on it while doing the ice shows and coaching young skaters.

“When you are part of it, you are living moment to moment, but looking back, I’d say it takes a combitional of things. You’ve got to have talent and be athletic, but I’ve seen a lot of talented people throw it away because they don’t want to put in the work. It’s easier when you are young and you can get away with the lack of training or commitment, but as you get into the international level, that’s where the work really comes. You need to be able to work through pain. ”

• The 2024 Stars On Ice tour comes to Moncton’s Avenir Centre Friday, April 26. Tickets start at $32 and available through starsonice.ca and ticketmaster.ca.