DENVER - Figure skating has spun into big show business, and the Emmy-award winning production, John Hancock Champions on Ice Tour, glides into the Pepsi Center in Denver at 3 p.m. Sunday.

Rudy Galindo, one of the crowd favorites because of his enthusiasm on the ice, returns with "Great Balls of Fire," by Jerry Lee Lewis.

About a year and a half ago, Galindo sat in a hospital bed after his second hip-replacement surgery because of a degenerative disease called avascular necrosis, which causes bone death from lack of circulation.

But now he's igniting audiences' excitement by landing his triple jumps and touring with Champions on Ice.

"There was one point when you look at your legs and you can't move them and you say, 'Oh my god, my career is over,'" Galindo said in a telephone interview.

For two years, he skated with a painful, cracked femoral ball.

While some people would have quit skating competitively, Galindo said from his hospital bed, "I will return to the ice stronger and better than I've ever been."

Five weeks after his second surgery, which replaced his left hip with the same revolutionary ceramic-on-ceramic joint in his right hip, he returned to the ice to practice crossovers and half-rotation jumps.

He set a goal to land his triples before the new year, and he did.

"Life has thrown me challenges all the time, but I've (adopted the attitude) that 'I'm going to dodge this dart and go on,'" Galindo said. "I just didn't want to sit around. I just love skating so much. I'm not going to let this get me down."

<b>The rest of the stars</b>
Galindo joins a cast of about 20 figure skating champions, including Michelle Kwan, nine-time national champion and two-time Olympic medalist. She earned a record 39 perfect 6.0 scores and made the record books by winning eight consecutive national championships. She plans to compete in next year's Olympics in Torino, Italy.

Kwan skates to "Lady" by Lenny Kravitz, blending grace with her persistent, competitive spirit.

French ice dancers and Olympic gold medalists Marina Anissina and Gwendal Peizerat perform for the first time in front of American audiences to Jet's "Are You Gonna Be My Girl."

The show also includes three-time silver medalist Sasha Cohen, world champion and Olympic silver medalist Evgeni Plushenko, Olympic bronze medalist and national champion Timothy Goebel and Olympic champion Victor Petrenko.

Petrenko, once dubbed "the Baryshnikov of Ice," gets things started with a routine to the Black-Eyed Peas.

Cohen, renowned for her boldness when she handed President Bush her cell phone at the opening ceremonies in Salt Lake City, was one of the first women in the world to land quadruple jumps in practices. She skates to "What'cha Waitin' For" by Gwen Stefani.

Another fiery skater, Surya Bonaly, earns "Respect" skating to Aretha Franklin's tune, which seems appropriate, since she is the only woman courageous enough to perform backflips and the only skater to land them on one foot.

Goebel holds the most records for landing quadruple jumps and combination jumps in competition; he skates to Derek &amp; The Dominos' "Layla."

The show features technically-precise national champion Johnny Weir pumpin' up the audience with the Jackson 5's "Dancin' Machine."

Elvis Stojko, one of the first men to master the quadruple jump, takes over the ice with hard-charging, agile and powerful performances.

With the Olympic competition a year away, Champions on Ice is a great chance to see some of the competitors in their laid back, more showy light.



<i>Kimberly Nicoletti can be reached at (970) 668-3998, ext. 245, or at knicoletti@summitdaily.com.</i>