Shibutanis thread 3: Evolution

[chapis]

Do you think the team in the minute 1:03 are Maia and Alex? https://twitter.com/yumikikuha/status/888768654245904385, maybe we get to see a thousandth part of their program. The off season is soooo long, I want to see their programs now!!!

 

[VGThuy]

Do you think the team in the minute 1:03 are Maia and Alex? https://twitter.com/yumikikuha/status/888768654245904385, maybe we get to see a thousandth part of their program. The off season is soooo long, I want to see their programs now!!!

Hmmm...is that Maia and Alex? If so, I like what I see so far haha. In Maia's latest Instagram story, she features Renee Roca. I wonder if they're working with her.

 

[chapis]

Hmmm...is that Maia and Alex? If so, I like what I see so far haha. In Maia's latest Instagram story, she features Renee Roca. I wonder if they're working with her.

I never heard of her before, I just watched this program https://youtu.be/09vyWLdey_4?t=20 and I think this team would fit very well in this age

And she really is 54yo? she looks so young.

 

[Dobre]

I never heard of her before, I just watched this program https://youtu.be/09vyWLdey_4?t=20 and I think this team would fit very well in this age

And she really is 54yo? she looks so young.

She & Gorsha were the beginning of the long climb back up the ladder for U.S. ice dance.

Along with Lea Ann Miller, they helped choreograph Shen & Zhao's Turandot.

 

[VGThuy]

They are working with a lot of cooks here. I hope the fruits of their labor seriously pays off.

 

[chapis]

She & Gorsha were the beginning of the long climb back up the ladder for U.S. ice dance.

Along with Lea Ann Miller, they helped choreograph Shen & Zhao's Turandot.

I do not need to know anything else, I love her.

 

[chapis]

ok, I was thinking, what do you think if at nationals Alex or Maia have a fall like Zach? (I know, the probability is really low), losing all points of the element . You know, if they get 4th place or lower, do you think they will get a pass to the olympics, like Ashley in 2014?

Anyway, their NBC promo is great! https://www.instagram.com/p/BW8vJZ_lzVB/?taken-by=maiashibutani

eta. oh, perfect timing, it seems in goldenskate they are talking about the selection.
And it is good news that worlds 2017 will be considered.
Tier 1
- 2018 U.S. Figure Skating Championships
- 2018 ISU Grand Prix Final
- 2017 ISU World Figure Skating Championships
Tier 2
- 2017 Grand Prix Series Competitions
- 2017 Four Continents Figure Skating Championships
Tier 3
- 2017 Challenger Series Events and other senior international competitions
- 2017 U.S. Figure Skating Championships
- 2017 World Junior Figure Skating Championships
- 2017 ISU Junior Grand Prix Final

well, it looks good for them. I think they only must stay healthy.

 

[VGThuy]

Well, it looks like they need to continue their success in the GP Series and the GPF because if they do, then they meet the criteria for all of Tier 2 and most of Tier 1. It would seriously help if they win their GPs and are medal at the GPF (assuming V/M and P/C are the other medalists) then they would as the highest placing American ice dance team at every event in tier 1 and 2 outside of 2018 nationals. That's if USFS even cares to go through that for ice dance the way they would for an Ashley Wagner.

 

[gk_891]

I really hope for their sake that they can build as much momentum as possible going into the Olympics. I still am remembering Punsulan & Swallow and how they skated (for the most part) very beautifully in Nagano back in 1998. But they had little momentum going into the Olympics that season and thus they weren't always marked appropriately.

 

[VGThuy]

I really hope for their sake that they can build as much momentum as possible going into the Olympics. I still am remembering Punsulan & Swallow and how they skated (for the most part) very beautifully in Nagano back in 1998. But they had little momentum going into the Olympics that season and thus they weren't always marked appropriately.

You and me both. It looks like they're doing everything they can to be as prepared as possible for this season. They worked on their programs right after Worlds, seem to be upping their work out game (or at least making a bigger showing of it on Instagram), had their music planned out already, working with various specialists, etc. I do hope they come up with some eye-popping material because they need to get a rousing ovation every time they perform. I think the standing ovations and incredible audience reaction they received from Skate Canada to the GPF in 2015 helped them win 2016 Nationals which helped them at 4CC and Worlds.

 

[gk_891]

I'll be curious to see what they come up with. Last season, they went with a less is more approach. If they choose to go in a different direction and do something more overtly expressive, I'll be excited to see it. But at the same time, I hope they don't overdo it.

 

[VGThuy]

I don't know if the Shibs can overdo anything haha. They can certainly be more exhuberant and push their elements harder to the edge to make what they're doing more risky looking and thus more exciting, but their style certainly is a much more restrained one compared to what we're used to in ice dance. With more speed and power they also can put in more eye-catching highlight moves and lifts which would make a huge difference in their scores IMO.

 

[chapis]

I don't know if the Shibs can overdo anything haha. They can certainly be more exhuberant and push their elements harder to the edge to make what they're doing more risky looking and thus more exciting, but their style certainly is a much more restrained one compared to what we're used to in ice dance. With more speed and power they also can put in more eye-catching highlight moves and lifts which would make a huge difference in their scores IMO.

I don´t know, Alex was very close to overdo in the MJ program

 

[VGThuy]

I don´t know, Alex was very close to overdo in the MJ program

You're right about Alex with regard to his facial expression (which was odd). I actually wish he took it further but not in the face haha. Just doing a scary face isn't enough to do Michael Jackson justice. One of the most disappointing programs ever. The lift didn't go with "Man in the Mirror" which should have been an emotional highlight. Other than the musical wrist flicks, none of that footwork went with the music, and the actual choreography needed more attitude (not that weird scary face Alex was doing during Thriller that he wisely toned down for Worlds), more dance all over the place, more Jackson like footwork while still conforming to level 4, more highlights, more emotion, and more music actually. I was excepting a program to match the energy of Michael especially with the MJ choreographers being consulted, but what we got was what clearly was a low-prioritized program by Marina and Maia and Alex struggling with selling the material. I actually think had Igor still been there, the material and the Shibs level of skill would have been better. Thank goodness they figured things out this Olympic cycle.

 

[sap5]

You and me both. It looks like they're doing everything they can to be as prepared as possible for this season. They worked on their programs right after Worlds, seem to be upping their work out game (or at least making a bigger showing of it on Instagram), had their music planned out already, working with various specialists, etc. I do hope they come up with some eye-popping material because they need to get a rousing ovation every time they perform. I think the standing ovations and incredible audience reaction they received from Skate Canada to the GPF in 2015 helped them win 2016 Nationals which helped them at 4CC and Worlds.

Impressions seem to mean so much in the politikal ice dance world, so even if it's just a matter of making a bigger showing, thumbs up!

 

[VGThuy]

Impressions seem to mean so much in the politikal ice dance world, so even if it's just a matter of making a bigger showing, thumbs up!

I actually do think they upped it, especially Maia. Maia was criticized last Olympic cycle for lacking some of the athleticism of other female ice dancers. She was still physically maturing and when you look at the difference between her now compared to 2014, there's a marked difference.

 

[VGThuy]

I was watching some old Renee Roca/Gorsha Sur videos, and I didn't notice until the Shibs posted a pic of them working with her that it makes so much sense for them to work with her. A lot of Renee's strengths as an ice dancer is what Maia has (the posture, great line, attention to detail) and I think she could have really helped them fully realize how they can use their strengths effectively during the years where they were struggling with that. I'm really excited and hope they really worked well with one another and that she'll be consulting them on an on-going basis.

 

[VGThuy]

Sorry for triple posting, but I thought this Renee Roca pre-2016 Worlds interview with TSL was interesting:

https://youtu.be/Ds4Ep9437sQ?t=1085

She spoke about the Shibs and how she had a feeling they were going to win 2016 Nationals, and the difference between them now (as in pre-2016 Worlds) and before was that they were just "nice" before. She said she felt bored by them, a sentiment shared by many. Renee seems to be one of the more artistically-inclined specialists out there, and I'm glad the Shibs got her to consult them. I think if anyone can help them breakthrough artistically, it's someone like her who is a former top U.S. ice dancer and continues to work in the creative side of things.

At the very end of the video her MK hashtag was "Go Shibsibs".

 

[Laura4]

Alex and Maia got to meet Elvis Stojko for the first time!

https://twitter.com/AlexShibutani/status/891755850318086145

 

[clairecloutier]

I'm interested to see what Renee did for the Shibs. She's done some pairs choreography that I really liked quite a bit. (Not sure what she's done in ice dance.)

 

[sap5]

Could someone please make a list of all the different people the Shibs have consulted/are working with this season? They seem to know everyone, everywhere!

 

[chapis]

Could someone please make a list of all the different people the Shibs have consulted/are working with this season? They seem to know everyone, everywhere!

Perhaps it would be more practical to list all the people they have not consulted . I wonder if all the other ice dancers work with so many people but only Maia and Alex share that kind of information. At least Meryl knows a lot of people who work with the Shibs, I think maybe Meryl and Charlie worked with many different people too.

 

[VGThuy]

Could someone please make a list of all the different people the Shibs have consulted/are working with this season? They seem to know everyone, everywhere!

As for as I know, Stephane Lambiel, had a few sessions with Latin ballroom dancer Jenna Johnson (I think this is on an on-going basis), did some workshops with Hokutu Konishi and other dancers based in L.A., Renee Roca (hopefully on an on-going basis), visiting Derrick and Julianne Hough in L.A. Of course, Marina and Massimo.

 

[chapis]

As for as I know, Stephane Lambiel, had a few sessions with Latin ballroom dancer Jenna Johnson (I think this is on an on-going basis), did some workshops with Hokutu Konishi and other dancers based in L.A., Renee Roca (hopefully on an on-going basis), visiting Derrick and Julianne Hough in L.A. Of course, Marina and Massimo.

And Peter T., Alex Wong and Serge Onik.

 

[VGThuy]

Smart of the Shibs to be repping Samsung leading up to Pyeongchang.

https://instagram.com/p/BXOvXp9jWHX/

 

[chapis]

Smart of the Shibs to be repping Samsung leading up to Pyeongchang.

https://instagram.com/p/BXOvXp9jWHX/

That is great!! all those collaborations for their programs are not free, I do not even want to imagine how much they end up spending

 

[chapis]

The Aug/Sept. issue of SKATING has to Maia and Alex
https://www.instagram.com/p/BXVfJpOlanS/?taken-by=usfigureskating

 

[VGThuy]

The Aug/Sept. issue of SKATING has to Maia and Alex
https://www.instagram.com/p/BXVfJpOlanS/?taken-by=usfigureskating

I'm glad they're on the cover, but I'm not a fan of how the photographer lit Maia or what they did in post-production.

 

[Spun Silver]

I'm glad they're on the cover, but I'm not a fan of how the photographer lit Maia or what they did in post-production.

They should have used one of her selfies. She's made such an effort to claim her grownup beauty, they both have, and the magazine turned them back into little kids. Gee, thanks. :/

 

[chapis]

Incredible how some photographers get job, right? And for a magazine cover, no less. Maia and Alex are so photogenic, they dont need help to get a good picture. My theory is that Maia and Alex are so pale that the photographer or editor tried to do a favor to them, but common!, if you are not good enough with photoshop or edits, you can take your good intentions to another place. Anyway what a cute family picture .