Maia Shibutani & Alex Shibutani

[VIETgrlTerifa]

If you guys have Snapchat, you should follow them. They were at TD Garden doing a NHL-Worlds 2016 cross promotional thing with other skaters and they seem to be having a blast.

 

[Celine]

So much fun following @maiashibutani and @alexshibutani and @ShibSibs on twitter, Instagram, Snapchat. Name the platform, and they're probably there. I'm work in social media professionally and at least amongst Olympic sports athletes, they are definitely in a class by themselves in terms of quality of content. Not just pictures, but beautifully shot and curated presentations. They're like instinctive pros at all of this stuff. Candidly, just blows me away. I actually "found" them through Instagram. Wasn't an "uber" skating fan per se, but they've drawn me into THEIR story and skating and now I love the whole scene (obviously... I'm on GS now heehee)

Very cool to see the congratulations tweet-outs from celebrated friends of theirs from outside the skating world, like Derek Hough and Olympic track star Allyson Felix.

Derek Hough @derekhough
https://twitter.com/derekhough/status/691797040112799746

Allyson Felix @allysonfelix
https://twitter.com/allysonfelix/status/691280109882310656

 

[Hyena]

Has anyone seen this yet? Maia & Alex Shibutani 'Fix You' FD 2015-2016 (4 screens | 4 competitions)

Video from Ondrej Nepela, NHK, GPF, and Nationals. It really highlights how much the program has changed and grown this year.

 

[ice coverage]

Has anyone seen this yet? Maia & Alex Shibutani 'Fix You' FD 2015-2016 (4 screens | 4 competitions)

Video from Ondrej Nepela, NHK, GPF, and Nationals. It really highlights how much the program has changed and grown this year.

Credit for the video goes to our own sabinfire -- who created the video (and posted it yesterday in the Shibutanis thread in The Edge).

Sugarpova asked me to do a 4-screen video of the Shibutani's to show the progress of the free dance from Senior B to Nationals, so thought I'd share it here:

Maia & Alex Shibutani 'Fix You' FD 2015-2016 (4 screens | 4 competitions)
https://youtu.be/8D0nZZ6txeY

(I used Nepela, NHK, GPF, & Nationals.)

Or at least I assume sabinfire's video is the one you are talking about, Hyena.
Thanks for mentioning it in this thread. (Your link does not work for me.)

 

[Hyena]

Thanks, golden!

 

[Celine]

Nicely written article in the Detroit Free Press on Maia & Alex's win at Nationals

Music elevates Shibutani sibs to skating title
http://www.freep.com/story/sports/c.../27/shibutanis-figure-skating-music/79388208/

 

[musicfan80]

I am still SO HAPPY that Maia and Alex performed so well and won their first U.S. title last weekend! I can't wait to see their ShibSibs video (if they made time to do footage, I completely understand if they didn't).

Here's a background question I've always wondered: Aren't Shibutani's parents musicians and that's how they met? What instruments do they play? Do play for a group or orchestra now or are they music teachers? I've searched on Google but I can't find anything on their parents' music careers.

 

[ice coverage]

I am still SO HAPPY that Maia and Alex performed so well and won their first U.S. title last weekend! I can't wait to see their ShibSibs video (if they made time to do footage, I completely understand if they didn't).

Here's a background question I've always wondered: Aren't Shibutani's parents musicians and that's how they met? What instruments do they play? Do play for a group or orchestra now or are they music teachers? I've searched on Google but I can't find anything on their parents' music careers.

Chris Shibutani (the father of Maia and Alex) seems to have dueling careers in both medicine and finance.

This article refers to their parents as former (emphasis added) competitive musicians.

http://time.com/7986/meet-team-usa-maia-and-alex-shibutani/​

The Shib parents met as fellow members of the student orchestra at Harvard.

As freshmen at Harvard - years before they began dating - Naomi competed against her future husband for a solo as members of the Harvard Radcliffe Orchestra. Naomi played Chopin's Piano Concerto No. 1; Chris Shibutani, who was also a flutist, performed Grieg's Piano Concerto. (Naomi won).
http://usatoday30.usatoday.com/spor...6/shibutani-team-ice-dance-history/52810608/1​

I think it is fair to say that the parents are/were serious musicians, but not clear when/whether they were professional musicians.

 

[Mrs. P]

So it looks like that the Shibs' dad has been working in Boston for the Cowen & Co. as an analyst since 2014. So they'll get to spend some time with their dad while at Worlds (though I think he usually comes back to Michigan on the weekends).

 

[VIETgrlTerifa]

Chris Shibutani (the father of Maia and Alex) seems to have dueling careers in both medicine and finance.

This article refers to their parents as former (emphasis added) competitive musicians.

http://time.com/7986/meet-team-usa-maia-and-alex-shibutani/​

The Shib parents met as fellow members of the student orchestra at Harvard.

As freshmen at Harvard - years before they began dating - Naomi competed against her future husband for a solo as members of the Harvard Radcliffe Orchestra. Naomi played Chopin's Piano Concerto No. 1; Chris Shibutani, who was also a flutist, performed Grieg's Piano Concerto. (Naomi won).
http://usatoday30.usatoday.com/spor...6/shibutani-team-ice-dance-history/52810608/1​

I think it is fair to say that the parents are/were serious musicians, but not clear when/whether they were professional musicians.

Thanks for the articles!

No wonder the Shibs have such excellent blade and edge work.

By then, the Maia and Alex were taking lessons from Slavka Kohout, a legendary figure skating coach who trained five-time U.S. national champion Janet Lynn. Lynn, thanks to Kohout’s meticulous focus on basic skills and strong edges, was known as a technically precise skater, and that same attention to the blade helped the Shibutanis to stand apart from their peers.

Now that I know that it was Janet Lynn's coach, Slavka Kohout, who was their developmental coach. I was wondering who instilled that in them because that really sets them apart, and I am sure that was the first thing people took notice of as they were climbing through the rankings as young kids, and even now. All the comparisons to Yuka Sato due to their soft knees and excellent basics (I know Yuka like many Japanese skaters of her generation were in love with Janet Lynn) make sense now. We need to thank Kohout for instilling that attention to fundamentals to Alex and Maia, and it's great that they and their parents understood the importance of that.

I love that anecdote about Scott Moir making them feel welcome at Canton. I remember his reaction after he and Tessa received their FD score at 2011 Worlds where he was happily shocked that Alex and Maia were right behind them in rankings.

 

[TMC]

Chris Shibutani (the father of Maia and Alex) seems to have dueling careers in both medicine and finance.

"...Chris, an anesthesiologist who earned a business degree and was then working at JPMorgan in New York..."



What a renaissance man! I can't even begin to imagine how one would study for 7+ years to become a doctor and then one morning just get up and think hmm, this isn't what I want after all - I think I'll just go bactk to school for another three years and go into finance instead!

I mean I can get someone like Ken Jeong choosing comedy instead of doctoring, but to retrain after years of gruelling training - my respect units are currently all spent on Chris Shibutani :agree:

 

[Barb]

their parents must be a big inspiration for them, to put aside the university this year should be a difficult decision but the results are paying off.

 

[begin]

Belated congrats to the ShibSibs! I'm soo excited for worlds now. How does everyone think Maia and Alex will fare in Boston?

"...Chris, an anesthesiologist who earned a business degree and was then working at JPMorgan in New York..."



What a renaissance man! I can't even begin to imagine how one would study for 7+ years to become a doctor and then one morning just get up and think hmm, this isn't what I want after all - I think I'll just go bactk to school for another three years and go into finance instead!

I mean I can get someone like Ken Jeong choosing comedy instead of doctoring, but to retrain after years of gruelling training - my respect units are currently all spent on Chris Shibutani :agree:

Not to mention that anesthesia is an incredibly difficult specialty :shocked:

 

[Sugarpova]

wow their parents are


& thanks sabinfire for making the vid you're awesome!

 

[ice coverage]

... I love that anecdote about Scott Moir making them feel welcome at Canton. I remember his reaction after he and Tessa received their FD score at 2011 Worlds where he was happily shocked that Alex and Maia were right behind them in rankings.

I think the Shibs too love the memory that Scott Moir reached out to them.
They had mentioned in at least one other interview that Scott was the first to make them feel at home at Arctic Edge and to assure them that they belonged there as much as anyone else.
I do wish Scott got more credit for his default mode of being a nice guy.

Thx for the reminder of Scott's delight when he saw the placement of the Shibs on the 2011 Worlds scoreboard. I loved how excited he was as he immediately pointed it out to Tessa. Very cute moment.

 

[TMC]

Not to mention that anesthesia is an incredibly difficult specialty :shocked:

Exactly! It's not even like he just did the bare minimum to qualify as a GP or something, he specialised in a very difficult field too. Mind blown.

 

[VIETgrlTerifa]

I always wondered if their parents were Usova/Zhulin fans. Nice to have another ice dance team named "Maia/Maya" and "Alex/Alexander" .

 

[naz]

Actually, when Russian TV showed their GPF performance, one of the commentators said that Maia and Alex were named after the Russian duo, so if they can be counted as credible sources, I think, yes, the Shibs might have been named after Usova/Zhulin

 

[ice coverage]

Actually, when Russian TV showed their GPF performance, one of the commentators said that Maia and Alex were named after the Russian duo, so if they can be counted as credible sources, I think, yes, the Shibs might have been named after Usova/Zhulin

Thanks for your first post on GS, naz.

My two cents: Unless/until Maia and/or Alex have said that they were named after Usova/Zhulin, it strains credulity IMO to believe that the Shibs were.

If it were true, seems very odd that we have never (AFAIK) heard the Shibs mention it themselves.
And if the Shibs ever had said so themselves, I'm sure the USFS publicists would have shouted it sufficiently loudly from the rooftops that it would have become common knowledge among fans.

 

[VIETgrlTerifa]

Thanks for your first post on GS, naz.

My two cents: Unless/until Maia and/or Alex have said that they were named after Usova/Zhulin, it strains credulity IMO to believe that the Shibs were.

If it were true, seems very odd that we have never (AFAIK) heard the Shibs mention it themselves.
And if the Shibs ever had said so themselves, I'm sure the USFS publicists would have shouted it sufficiently loudly from the rooftops that it would have become common knowledge among fans.

It was just a joke.