The Shibutanis Thread Cinco...Mambo!

VIETgrlTerifa said:
Was he reporting from the main arena practice while the Shibs and other ice dancers were at the other practice rink?
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I think he was in both rinks for different sessions, Maia and Alex and Chock/Bates were in the practice rink but I think Tessa and Scott already practiced in the main rink.
 
THE RINGER article: The Shib Sibs Are About to Skate Into Your Hearts
https://www.theringer.com/2018/2/8/...-team-usa-ice-dance-pyeongchang-olympics-2018

A great and long article, one of the few where it seems the writer knows what she is talking about. It details almost all their career, it could substitute their wikipedia, lol.

It starts with they talking about the stressful moments during the warm-up in 4cc 2017 when they fell:

“We were both sliding on our backs, seeing the ceiling,” Maia, 23, says during a recent FaceTime conversation at the end of a long training day, tilting her face skyward and recalling what should have been a brief and breezy routine group warm-up period that preceded the free dance at the 2017 Four Continents event. As the Shibutanis and several other competing teams skated around the rink for a few minutes to loosen up, Alex suddenly totally bit it, pulling Maia down with him. “And that never happens,” Maia says.

“And it’s the worst thought,” Alex, 26, continues. When the Shib Sibs tell a story, it’s almost always a joint effort. “You’re at the Olympic venue, and you’re staring up at the ceiling, and you’re doing the backstroke, and the judges are watching, and they’re human beings, so they’ll remember that.”

“It’s about us pushing boundaries,” Maia says, “not just to fulfill the technical requirement, but to really take into consideration where it goes into the program and what it does for our energy.”

“There’s that: ‘Oh, are they vulnerable?’” says Maia, voicing the skeptical, tsk-tsk inner workings of the mind of the median figure skating judge.

“‘Are they vulnerable all of a sudden?’” Alex repeats.

Which is why Alex’s outright wipeout, which took Maia down with him, was so nerve-racking, even if it was only in warm-ups. What happened next was worse: When he stood up, instead of feeling the familiar catch of the edge of his skate on the rink—that literal thin line between being one of the best and most precise performers in the world and being a Stooge slipping on a banana peel—he felt only an icy void. “My blade just kept sliding out,” he says.

He left the ice, examined his blade, and saw that it was badly nicked, maybe by some errant piece of debris that had wound up on the gleaming new rink and caused his fall, although there was no time for a forensic investigation. He and Maia were in second place after the previous day’s short dance and set to perform again in about 10 minutes. Their careful pre-skate routine had been completely disrupted. It was the stuff anxiety dreams are made of.

Digging through his equipment bag, Alex located a skate-sharpening stone similar to what a professional chef would use on his best knives and began working over the damaged blade while “my coaches are standing over me, which isn’t helping,” he says, recalling their well-meaning but stressful presence. “That’s not something every skater knows how to do,” says Maia, who was also reduced to looming and lurking, not knowing whether her older brother would be able to fix things in time for them to compete.

Somehow he was able, and they did compete, and their free dance was “really strong,” says Maia—strong enough for them to win silver in the same building where, a year later, they now hope to stand on the medal podium again during the 2018 Winter Olympics.
-------------

And Alex says that they do 19 twizzles in their SP :eek:
 
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chapis said:
Not available in my location :wall:. Is there still the change to Fix you in the twizzles?
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There is. If I remember the clip correctly, they either stopped before the twizzles or the clip cut there and went into the final FW section to end pose. Also Maia's hair is in a braid. I wonder if she'll keep it like that or go back to her hair being down.
 
Isn't it mostly the same lift except the exit is different? I miss the old exit too but the new one allows Maia to exit quickly and move on to the next movement. I think I like the new choreo lift because it actually looks hard with a real distinct position while the other one looked more like a placeholder and I felt was just asking for minimal GOE. I also love how they re-placed the last choreo spin and how it leads to the new end pose. This ending seems a lot more natural and cohesive to me.
 
BTW, I think it's cute that Maia and Alex posted a picture of their SD practice but totally have the tops covered up so we don't really know which SD outfits they practiced with.
 
VIETgrlTerifa said:
BTW, I think it's cute that Maia and Alex posted a picture of their SD practice but totally have the tops covered up so we don't really know which SD outfits they practiced with.
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That's where I would like Jackie to do an intervention and at least tell us what costumes they used :lol:

-------
eta 1. Same costumes as Nationals https://www.instagram.com/p/Be8VCSSFqRY/
 
Last edited:
chapis said:
THE RINGER article: The Shib Sibs Are About to Skate Into Your Hearts
https://www.theringer.com/2018/2/8/...-team-usa-ice-dance-pyeongchang-olympics-2018

A great and long article, one of the few where it seems the writer knows what she is talking about. It details almost all their career, it could substitute their wikipedia, lol.

It starts with they talking about the stressful moments during the warm-up in 4cc 2017 when they fell:

“We were both sliding on our backs, seeing the ceiling,” Maia, 23, says during a recent FaceTime conversation at the end of a long training day, tilting her face skyward and recalling what should have been a brief and breezy routine group warm-up period that preceded the free dance at the 2017 Four Continents event. As the Shibutanis and several other competing teams skated around the rink for a few minutes to loosen up, Alex suddenly totally bit it, pulling Maia down with him. “And that never happens,” Maia says.

“And it’s the worst thought,” Alex, 26, continues. When the Shib Sibs tell a story, it’s almost always a joint effort. “You’re at the Olympic venue, and you’re staring up at the ceiling, and you’re doing the backstroke, and the judges are watching, and they’re human beings, so they’ll remember that.”

“It’s about us pushing boundaries,” Maia says, “not just to fulfill the technical requirement, but to really take into consideration where it goes into the program and what it does for our energy.”

“There’s that: ‘Oh, are they vulnerable?’” says Maia, voicing the skeptical, tsk-tsk inner workings of the mind of the median figure skating judge.

“‘Are they vulnerable all of a sudden?’” Alex repeats.

Which is why Alex’s outright wipeout, which took Maia down with him, was so nerve-racking, even if it was only in warm-ups. What happened next was worse: When he stood up, instead of feeling the familiar catch of the edge of his skate on the rink—that literal thin line between being one of the best and most precise performers in the world and being a Stooge slipping on a banana peel—he felt only an icy void. “My blade just kept sliding out,” he says.

He left the ice, examined his blade, and saw that it was badly nicked, maybe by some errant piece of debris that had wound up on the gleaming new rink and caused his fall, although there was no time for a forensic investigation. He and Maia were in second place after the previous day’s short dance and set to perform again in about 10 minutes. Their careful pre-skate routine had been completely disrupted. It was the stuff anxiety dreams are made of.

Digging through his equipment bag, Alex located a skate-sharpening stone similar to what a professional chef would use on his best knives and began working over the damaged blade while “my coaches are standing over me, which isn’t helping,” he says, recalling their well-meaning but stressful presence. “That’s not something every skater knows how to do,” says Maia, who was also reduced to looming and lurking, not knowing whether her older brother would be able to fix things in time for them to compete.

Somehow he was able, and they did compete, and their free dance was “really strong,” says Maia—strong enough for them to win silver in the same building where, a year later, they now hope to stand on the medal podium again during the 2018 Winter Olympics.
-------------

And Alex says that they do 19 twizzles in their SP :eek:
Click to expand...

That really was an excellent, in-depth article that went beyond publishing the same things that we’ve been seeing this past month. It was also a real love letter to ice dance generally.
 
VIETgrlTerifa said:
That really was an excellent, in-depth article that went beyond publishing the same things that we’ve been seeing this past month. It was also a real love letter to ice dance generally.
Click to expand...

I know, I love this part:

¨ With my perspective forever changed, my newfound ice dance snobbery even began to inform my opinion on the events that I had previously always watched with an uncritical eye. Pairs figure skating started to appear reckless, even brutish: Why did they fall so freaking much? Where was the artistry, the balletic grace? Even singles began presenting itself in a new light. Cool edge work, I thought. Try doing it with another person’s skate mere inches away from your own and let me know how that works out!¨ :rofl:
 
Re: practice video. I like the revised ending. The lift is more triumphant-- she hops into Alex's arms, gives him a quick hug and is reaching and looking upward as they gain speed. I'm also glad they kept the kneeling move and incorporated into the final moves. Maia's expression is right on during the final step sequence and they are skating as fast and as "free" as they are able. Bring it on!!
 
I was re-watching the transition from the straightline lift to the stationary lift, and the added hops and clearly positioned transitions add so much to the program. I felt that section was seriously missing something clear and distinct and musical, and now I think they have it. I hope the section in-between the stationary lift and the twizzles has also been reworked to look less self-choreographed and more purposeful with images we can remember as well.
 
Info, about the Team Event. Is it bad that I'm hoping it will be split so some of the pitchforks can be put away?
"The Shibutanis are doing the short dance, and there might be a decision on the free dance, but so far I think it was (decided) the Shibutanis would do both," Dubreuil said.

If that holds true, it means that Dubreuil's charges, U.S. champions Madison Hubbell and Zachary Donohue, would be left out in the cold, a decision that could be hotly debated.

Maia Shibutani and Alex Shibutani are the reigning world bronze medalists, and they won bronze at the Grand Prix Final earlier this season. But Hubbell and Donohue bested the siblings by several points in the free dance at the 2018 U.S. Figure Skating Championships in San Jose last month en route to capturing the title. To further stir the pot, U.S. bronze medalists and two-time world medalists Madison Chock and Evan Bates defeated both teams in the free dance both in San Jose and at the Grand Prix Final.

"They (U.S. Figure Skating) have more than one event in the team (event) to think about," Dubreuil said. "I questioned it, but I'm trusting it's the best thing for them. We will know after the short (dance) what will happen. That is why Madi and Zach arrive (Wednesday), so they will train and they are here, and if they have to jump into free dance, they will."
Click to expand...
source: http://web.icenetwork.com/news/2018/02/08/266103376
 
This is a bit trivial, but I hope the braid was just for practice. I don't like the way it keeps swinging at the end. It doesn't stop when they do!

I love that Ringer piece too. Such a wonderful tribute to ice dance as well as to Maia and Alex. I feel like Maia and Alex fans are coming out of the media woodwork. So cool!
 
I bet the braid's just for practice -- it seems like an afterthought and we all know that Maia is a planner and wouldn't do something without thinking it through. :)

I'm a tad bit bothered that Marie-France is stirring the political pot a little, but I can't blame her for advocating for her students. But it doesn't sound like she's saying definitively that Hubbell and Donohue would be put in if they opt to sub, rather that they're prepared if they make that choice.
 
The Ringer article was great! Very in depth and well-written. I love that Maia and Alex are getting such quality content put out about them. And it’s interesting to get the story behind the fall during the 2017 4CC FD. That’s incredibly impressive that they delivered such a strong program when all that drama and tension was going on with Alex’s skate blade just a few minutes before. Lesser teams may have crumbled in that situation.

I like the new ending a lot. I also miss a few details from the ending footwork, but the new choreo lift has a really triumphant feel that I think the end of the FD really needed. I like the new ending position a lot better too. I do miss the old choreo lift a little, I thought it was beautifully sweet, but it was a bit subdued in comparison.

Did you guys notice they changed the stationary lift a little too? Maia hugs Alex during the last few rotations before exiting the lift.
 
Omg, please someone tell me that that lift almost at the end is not a rotational lift. It mean that they changed it :wall:
 
chapis said:
Omg, please someone tell me that that lift almost at the end is not a rotational lift. It mean that they changed it :wall:
Click to expand...

That seems like a choreographic lift to me. I mean it looks like a leveled lift but it seems too purposeful for it to be one. :p
 
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