Shibutanis thread 3: Evolution

VGThuy

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Very interesting considering the comments of Mark H. on The skating lesson about the Shibs not being as good people as they appear and he implying that they are having some kind of drama at Canton :rolleyes:.

Honestly, f*ck them. There is no place that exists that is a dream palace devoid of every day human conflict that everyone has to deal with when they work and see the same people over and over and when there's some competition involved for personal success. But I doubt it's as steamy or dramatic or exaggerated as the reality show some want it to be either. I'll watch TSL's interviews if there are guests I like as I do think Dave and Jenny's interviews can be gold such as their Kristi Yamaguchi one and I am grateful for TSL for providing that. However, I'll stop watching the useless recaps with the same catty people who just echo Dave's opinions. In the end, they don't matter. The Shibs will be the ones on TV, performing, hopefully continuing to win medals and titles, and will hopefully go to the Olympics and get more coverage than TSL can ever muster (actually they already have).
 

SCeline

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I wouldn't be surprised if it was out of solidarity. Maia and Alex don't get nearly enoughly credit in my opinion for making sure they walk the walk of role models and US champions as best as they possibly can.

They participated in Adam Bouska's NOH8 photoessay campaign - which has become a highly regarded campaign in support of equality, respect for differences, etc.
https://www.instagram.com/p/BHLboEXAvS0/?taken-by=maiashibutani&hl=en
https://www.instagram.com/p/BHLaTQvDxGb/?taken-by=alexshibutani&hl=en

Their efforts are mindful, consistent, and go back years. Kudos to young people with a sense of decency and empathy. Can't be bothered by classless attention craving TV commentators defecating trash talk.
 

VGThuy

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If you go on their social media they are always interacting with other skaters including their closest competitors and fellow rinkmates, including two famous ones who recently left and went back to their home country. The interactions seem genuine and not some PR stunt since it's normal every day communication. Any sort of rumor that they have bad rink behavior or are not well liked in the community seems to be false.
 

chapis

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I recently find out their performances of Stars on ice 2016. They were giving all. Anyway, I was seeing the program ¨Rise up¨, they were skating with D/W and C/B, just look at this lift https://youtu.be/K4NqsUwL4IM?t=110, what a beauty , you can compare it with D/W and C/B who have been praised for their lifts. There is a world of difference, especially comparing with D/W. Not to mention that they were the only ones who started it and kept up with the music.
 

DreamSkates

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They have come across as classy, genuine people - at least since I started watching them just a few years ago. They never gloat over wins but talk about how hard they have worked to get where they are and how much more they want to grow.
 

chapis

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chapis

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I just saw their video of live facebook on the olympic channel has +900,000 views :eek:. A lot more than the average on the page. I hope they invite them more frequently.
 

Jessica

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Quote from Marina about the Shibs from Icenetwork:

"We have worked more on the free dance ("Evolution") -- not just the steps but the music," the siblings' coach, Marina Zoueva, said. "It is a little bit changed, to be more exciting."

I can't wait to see it.
 

VGThuy

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Quote from Marina about the Shibs from Icenetwork:

"We have worked more on the free dance ("Evolution") -- not just the steps but the music," the siblings' coach, Marina Zoueva, said. "It is a little bit changed, to be more exciting."

I can't wait to see it.

Last time Marina and the Shibs worked on music, we got a revamped "Fix You" by Skate Canada. I'm super excited. I hope they have choreography to match the increased "excitement". I wonder if the "Departure" piece by Max Richter that is listed on Maia's wikipedia page is the music change.
 

suki

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The Shibs never rest on their laurels. They are always challenging themselves. I am excited to see what goodies they have in store for us. They just keep getting stronger,
 

sap5

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VGThuy

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I am a little worried that Chock/Bates might get a great reaction for their SD, since people seem to like it, and it may unnerve the Shibs or make the Shibs more cool/sophisticated approach to the hip hop look smaller. But then the Shibs aren't head cases and their SD did get over 9 million views on Facebook, so they should know their dance can be a crowd favorite.
 

gk_891

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I am a little worried that Chock/Bates might get a great reaction for their SD, since people seem to like it, and it may unnerve the Shibs or make the Shibs more cool/sophisticated approach to the hip hop look smaller. But then the Shibs aren't head cases and their SD did get over 9 million views on Facebook, so they should know their dance can be a crowd favorite.

Reading this made me think of Klimova & Ponomarenko a little bit. Relative to teams like Bestemianova & Bukin and the Duchesnays, I'm sure K&P during their Dubova years could sometimes seem 'small' on occasion since B&B and D&D expressed themselves more outwardly.

But like you had mentioned, the Shibs are good competitors so I think they should be fine. Whether or not the judges will prefer them to C&B is of course something that remains to be seen. I'll have my fingers crossed for them.
 

VGThuy

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The Shibs's FD run-through:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zVH-u65oWM0

I think it's gorgeous and I'm glad Alex added some bling to his tunic to match Maia's bling. There's very subtle differences in the music and they changed a bit of the choreography but it's not wildly different from the last incarnation. However, small details are what makes the difference oftentimes. They also changed the last choreographic lift. It doesn't look as challenging but it looks a lot smoother and transitions better into the choreographic twizzle sequence whereas before they looked like they were running out of time and rushing into the end (which felt like should have been the climax).
 

chapis

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The Shibs's FD run-through:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zVH-u65oWM0

I think it's gorgeous and I'm glad Alex added some bling to his tunic to match Maia's bling. There's very subtle differences in the music and they changed a bit of the choreography but it's not wildly different from the last incarnation. However, small details are what makes the difference oftentimes. They also changed the last choreographic lift. It doesn't look as challenging but it looks a lot smoother and transitions better into the choreographic twizzle sequence whereas before they looked like they were running out of time and rushing into the end (which felt like should have been the climax).

Honestly I did not hope big changes but I don´t like the change in his costume. And you saw this https://youtu.be/zVH-u65oWM0?t=157, looks like stones fell from her dress :eek:, it could cost them a deduction if happens in competition?
And did you hear the new music listed on Maia´s wiki? . They look very prepared but C/B and W/P have very crowd friendly music so, I will be prepared for the worst :slinkaway.

Eta. Ah ok, no, I checked it again , it seems just ice, not stones.
 
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VGThuy

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I honestly didn't like the stones on her costume at Nationals as it looked unfinished and tacked on to me. However, now that Alex has them too, I like it. I hate it when the girl is all blinged out whereas the guy looks like he's just wearing a warm-up costume. I like it when both partners either look like they made an effort or both look like they're not trying because it fits the theme. I want both partners to be on the same page basically.
 

chapis

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I honestly didn't like the stones on her costume at Nationals as it looked unfinished and tacked on to me. However, now that Alex has them too, I like it. I hate it when the girl is all blinged out whereas the guy looks like he's just wearing a warm-up costume. I like it when both partners either look like they made an effort or both look like they're not trying because it fits the theme. I want both partners to be on the same page basically.

Usually I think the same but the music is so calm and dramatic at the end that I think their previous costumes were perfect for the mood. Anyway, they are skating with more attack, it definitely will help them.
 

sap5

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I honestly didn't like the stones on her costume at Nationals as it looked unfinished and tacked on to me. However, now that Alex has them too, I like it. I hate it when the girl is all blinged out whereas the guy looks like he's just wearing a warm-up costume. I like it when both partners either look like they made an effort or both look like they're not trying because it fits the theme. I want both partners to be on the same page basically.

I think it depends on the theme. I like the girl blinged out/boy with nothing for Latin dances for example, because it conveys (to me) the idea, "girl is a goddess" but "guy is so hot he doesn't need any bling."
 

VGThuy

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Watching it again, I really do love the added accents on their costumes. With the color, it makes me think of a star-lit night sky.
 

Firedancer

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I really like the change to Alex's costume. They look like they go together now and it just adds something.

They look like they are performing with more energy, especially in the second step sequence. And I am glad they changed the choreographic lift. They lost points to Chock & Bates on that at Nationals.
 

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