2014 U.S. ADULT CHAMPIONSHIPS Notebook BUTTON UNCENSORED
Give Dick Button a platform and he’ll take it. Button, America’s fi rst and only two-time
Olympic fi gure skating champion (1948, ’52), is best known for his four decades of television anal- ysis, for which he won an Emmy Award in 1981. He’s also written a book and recently taken to so- cial media. Yes, Dick Button is on Twitter. Using the Twitter name PushDicksButton,
the 84-year-old is as opinionated and unfi ltered as ever. While he often uses Twitter feed to promote his book of the same name, Button live-tweeted the ladies and men’s events of the 2014 Olympic Winter Games from his home.
“I had a ball doing it because I didn’t have a
director yelling in my ear,” he said. “I didn’t have to do any stand-ups and I didn’t care what I looked like, in case I was in my bathrobe or what have you.”
With help from author Alina Adams, Button
off ered a running commentary of every skater in his always-irreverent manner, including this tweet from Feb. 20: “Sotnikova was energetic, strong, commendable, but not a complete skater. I fear I will never be al- lowed back in Russia again.” Button was in Hyannis to promote his book,
along with fellow hall-of-famer Doug Wilson, au- thor of T e World Was Our Stage. Button’s book is a mix of historic memories and pointed commen- tary.
“I couldn’t give a rusty hoot if someone really likes my book or not,” he said with a broad smile. “If they don’t like it, skip the chapter or throw it away.”
‘FABULOUS’ SAFETY FIRST Michael Tongko is a fi gure skater, fl ight atten-
dant and, above all, a performer. Last fall his employer, Virgin America, re- leased a wildly entertaining new safety video fea- turing 36 singers and dancers. As the video plays
18 JUNE/JULY 2014
to often-catatonic passengers, Tongko mirrors the video’s dance moves up and down the aisle. “Other than the normal, everyday 9-to-5 safe-
ty demo where no one was watching, I decided I was going to spice things up. I wanted to make it fabulous!” Tongko said. Oh, he spiced it up all right. Tongko shakes his hips, spins and dances all while completing the mandatory seat belt and oxygen mask demonstra- tion.
“While I was doing that demo, people pulled out their phones, started recording and clapped along,” he said. T ey also started sharing via social media, which caught the attention of Virgin America’s corporate offi ce. Soon, Tongko was meeting its su- perstar owner, Sir Richard Branson. “T e highlight of this whole thing has been
meeting Richard Branson — he wanted to meet me!” Tongko said. “He autographed one of my fi rst pairs of ice skates and said, ‘Job well done!’” While Tongko enjoys the attention, he’s more pleased with the outcome. “People are actually paying attention now;
they’re not just zoning out,” he said. “T at’s the great part about it.” To watch the video, go to:
http://bit.ly/TongkoDance. HERE’S JOHNNY!
No one took the news of Johnny Weir’s com- petitive retirement harder than Wanda Gelsebach.
BY BARB REICHERT
You see, Gelsebach has a skating alter ego —
Johnda Weir — and with no Johnny to emulate, what would she do? In 2011, Gelsebach performed in full John-
ny “Black Swan” costume, complete with orange glove. In 2013, it was all Lady Gaga’s “Bad Ro- mance,” as she was decked out in black and gold. But he’s done. What now? Inspiration struck her coach, Erika Shorr,
who came up with “Johnny as Commentator.” Soon, friend and choreographer Sharidan Wil- liams-Sotelo jumped in and the trilogy was com- plete: “Johnda Weir — Tara Pas De Deux.” Dressed as Weir and carrying a cutout image
of analyst partner Tara Lipinski on a stick, John- da returned to rave reviews. Williams-Sotelo, an assistant editor on the acclaimed series “Breaking Bad,” spliced together moments from Weir and Lipinski’s commentating and together they built a program around it. “T e genesis of this program was collabora-
tive,” Williams-Sotelo said. “We were going to do the Sochi rings, with the bad one that didn’t open as all Chanels [logo], but it was too complicated.” During the performance, Gelsebach makes
three costume changes, all centered on the jackets: 1. Black sequins lined in fur; 2. Hot pink Chanel; 3. Gold lamé. T e judges and technical panels
could barely contain their smiles. One question lingered over her per-
formance: Is the trilogy the end? “It could be like Rocky 5, where he comes back like 90 years old,” Williams-Sotelo quickly of- fered.
Gelsebach’s headshot in
the program, by the way, is a posed picture with Weir. T ey both are smiling.
ROCK SOLID
Rochelle Revor, an independent skater from San Diego, turned heads not only with her performance in the ladies gold division, but also with her stylish, slate-colored dress. She purchased the stock Brad
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