Nothing succeeds like success for short-circuiting rumors. At its best figure skating combines dare-devil athleticism with artristry and flashy showmanship. Add risk taking and that's the elevated exposure to the art-sport Sunday's large audience got at Reno's Lawlor Events Center (just over 6000 in an 11,000 seat hall). Give'em what they want and let audiences clammer for more.

Since many ice champions have commitments beyond the Collins' tour (along with pulled muscles) , the show's roster of stars varies from night to night and with it the chemistry that makes for a great show. Sunday's mix of nearly two-dozen stars - Michelle Kwan, Todd Eldredge, Oksana Baiul, Philippe Candeloro, Victor Petrenko, Nicole Bobek, Surya Bonaly, Rudy Galindo, Michael Weiss, Elizabeth Manley, Naomi Nari Nam, Laurent Tobel, Oksana Kazakova and Artur Dmitriev, Marina Klimova and Sergei Ponomarenko, Elizabeth Punsalan and Jerod Swallow, Mandy Woetzel and Ingo Steuer, Shae-Lynn Bourne and Victor Kraatz - had oodles of the right chemistry plus a flair for the dangerous that added up to an evening of socko showmanship.

If attitude were all, Victor Peterenko's Michael Jackson medley would have been a showstopper on the merits of chutzpah. But attitude wasn't all. Peterenko pulled out all stops for a dazzling array of skating thrills that made his Jackson tour de force even more "Dangerous" than the one-gloved one had imagined. Todd Eldredge struck - as he always does - a superb balance between exhibition and dramatic skating with one of those powerfully choreographed encounters with profound music that have become Eldredge's hallmark for compelling ice choreography.

Elizabeth Manley (Does anyone spin faster?) and Nicole Bobek (Does anyone skate sexier?) each had their way with rhythmically with-it numbers. Rudy Galindo continues to have fun, and skate exceedingly well, with his tongue-in-cheek Village People collage. Michelle Kwan, who is an especially radiant performer, was the picture of elegance and consistently presents her solo moments with stellar impact.

Skating to "Getting to Know You," newcomer Naomi Nari Nam was doing just that. A brilliant young (13 years old) skater she was articulate, yet seemingly somewhat nonplussed this time out and on the road with older types. The sheer gall, cockiness and physicality of Philippe Candolero make him the pirate of these events. Audiences just can't get enough of his shenanigans and Cadolero just can't resist playing to an audience's penchant for excessiveness.

Also in the outrageous camp, Punsalan and Swallow did a Sonny and Cher that evoked more than a little nostagia for a marvelously outrageous time. "Soft as an easy chair, fresh as the morning air;" lyricism was at its zenith with Klimova and Ponomarenko's ecstatic styling of "Evergreen." Bringing with them all of skating's elegance plus intensity and what I call (for lack of a better term) physical snap, the fabulous Kazakova and Dmitriev blazed their way to the evening's most inspired moment. With superbly rhythmic choreography and skating to Frank Sinatra's singing of "Fly Me to the Moon" Kazakova and Dmitriev simply soared.

The show's vibrant and excellent lighting is by Dean Moye. The exceptional opening and closing segments were choreographed and staged by Sarah Kawahara who knows "it don't mean a thing, if it ain't got that swing." Kawahara's mesmerizing choreography to Benny Goodman's "Sing, Sing, Sing" for the show's complete cast of stunningly agile athletes was nothing less than a knock'em dead terrific way to wrap a show bursting with more than its share of the world's finest skaters.

For information about the Champions on Ice 1999 Summer Tour schedule of future performances visit the company's website at www.championsice.com.