Skating world luminaries turned out for Figure Skating in Harlem's Skating with the Stars: Photo gallery

Some of the America's top skaters laced up and took to the ice tonight to support a great cause, Figure Skating in Harlem, and we were there in New York's Central Park. What a gorgeous day it was, too, with temperatures in the low 70s, crystal-clear skies and hundreds of donors coming out to skate with the stars.

So many pictures and so much video to process in the coming days, but here is a sample, with candid snapshots of Kristi Yamaguchi, Johnny Weir, Mirai Nagasu, Jeremy Abbott, Tanith Belbin, Ben Agosto, Sasha Cohen (see above), Meryl Davis, Charlie White, and Emily and Sarah Hughes. Click here to see the slideshow.

Come back later in the week for much more, including a very amusing photo of Johnny Weir with Donald Trump (Part 2 of photo gallery).

Rachael Flatt skates at Rockefeller Rink for the Today show (photo gallery)

Yesterday morning Rachael Flatt, two-time U.S. National silver medalist, skated at Rockefeller Rink in New York City for a segment for the Today show. After speaking with Matt Lauer about the upcoming U.S. Championships, which begin next week in Spokane, Washington, she skated to Fame and then took the time to speak to me about preparations and final thoughts going into Nationals, the pressures of competing in an Olympic year, finding the balance between competing within yourself to be the best while competing against the rest of the world, and a whole host of other topics. The video interview is coming up tomorrow and in the meantime, enjoy Rachael in a super cute dress skating at Rockefeller Rink!

Johnny Weir: с новым годом!

Happy New Year everyone! Just got home from celebrating 2010 with fireworks, champagne and....Johnny Weir! Johnny hosted a New Year's Eve party at Mari Vanna, a Russian restaurant in Manhattan. The restaurant invited him to host the evening (I guess the owner is a skating fan) and there was dancing, singing, lots of champagne, fireworks at each table and it was all caught on tape by David Barba and James Pellerito, the producers for his reality series Be Good Johnny Weir premiering on January 18. Can't wait for the series to begin, especially since I may be in it for a few seconds! In the meantime, here are some highlights from tonight with Johnny, his agent Tara Modlin and friends. We'll have a video story from the party later in the weekend. Time to go to sleep!

Rockefeller Center tree lighting ceremony 2009: Photo gallery

The 2009 Rockefeller Center Christmas Tree was lit on Wednesday, December 2 and I got an exclusive behind-the-scenes look at the rehearsals and all the hard work that starts at the crack of dawn! For the first time, the entire skating rink was used to accommodate the performers and audience. Aretha Franklin, Michael Bublé and Jose Feliciano entertained the crowd at the rink, while other areas of the complex were used by Barry Manilow, Alicia Keys, Jo Dee Messina, Rod Stewart, Rob Thomas and Shakira. Co-hosts Jane Krakowski ("30 Rock") and Zachary Levi ("Chuck") went around all the venues to introduce the performers before the big moment when all the stars were joined by NYC Mayor Michael Bloomberg and Jerry Speyer of Tishman-Speyer (which owns Rockefeller Center) to light the tree. Enjoy the photo gallery everyone and my video of the event is coming up!

(Photos below: Michael Bublé rehearses with his band during the day in preparation for evening performance at 2009 Rockefeller Center Tree Lighting Ceremony; NYC Mayor Michael Bloomberg, Michael Bublé, Jane Krakowski and Jerry Speyer after tree lighting)

 

Emily Hughes skates for the Today show: Photo gallery

Yesterday morning, the Today show held it's first Today at the Rink segment for the winter season and much to my delight, Emily Hughes was the skater on hand to celebrate the new season at Rockefeller Center Skating Rink. Emily is a 2006 Olympian and 2007 U.S. silver medalist (and younger sister of 2002 Olympic champion Sarah Hughes) and is making somewhat of a comeback this season after being sidelined for most of last season with injuries. She's currently a student at Harvard University but took a leave of absence to give it her all to try and once again make the Olympic team. I like that she is trying to manage school and skating at the same time and that in every interview, she is very even-keeled and modest about her success. Maybe it's her parents' influence -- I met her mother Amy at a fundraiser last year and I got the same "niceness" vibe from her. (link to story)

Emily seems to be the skater of choice for the Today show -- last year, she also was the first skater they showcased for the Today at the Rink series. Last year, I loved her skate to Celine Dion's Taking Chances. (link to her skate). Yesterday, she skated to the duet version of One with Bono, U2 and Mary J. Blige. Emily  was very expressive (as usual) and she looked great, very fit. Although she reeled off a great double axel, a beautiful layback spin and spirals, I'm always floored by her Russian splits. You never realized how high they go and how stretched out they are unless you see it really close up (see above). I didn't have a chance to videotape her performance, but some nice viewer has uploaded it on YouTube. I did manage to take some photos so here they are and enjoy!