Maia Shibutani & Alex Shibutani

[tulosai]

Re their GPF FD (quotes from the mixed zone, I'm guessing):

Maia Shibutani on today’s performance and Alex’s illness:

“I’m so proud of Alex. He’s not with me right now because starting from late last night he wasn’t feeling well. All today he’s been extremely sick. At practice this morning we weren’t able to do much. He really decided from the beginning that he wanted to fight through it. For me, that was so emotional because he’s not just my partner, he’s my brother, he’s family. To see him struggling like that all day was really a test of our connection and our partnership that we were able to get through that. We barely warmed anything up in the warm up. I trusted that he was going to give it his all and he did that. I’m so proud of him.”

http://www.usfigureskatingfanzone.com/competition-central/gpfbarcelona-team-usa-competition-central/

:sad4:

Very beautiful statement!

 

[Heleng]

Watching them in the warmup, I noticed they were doing a lot more talking than skating and didn't see them warm up dance elements. I thought that was odd and wondered if something was wrong or whether that was just their usual warmup style. Now it makes sense. Bravo to Alex for pulling out that absolutely gorgeous FD, which deserved at least second place.

 

[KKonas]

It's a credit to their training that the Shibs skated so well under the circumstances at GPF. I think they have the best (most enjoyable to watch) overall programs of the season from their charming SD to their emotional interpretation of their FD. It's great to see them able to capture the audience with these wonderful programs. Wishing them the best outcomes at Nationals. 4 Conts. and Worlds.

 

[musicfan80]

It's a credit to their training that the Shibs skated so well under the circumstances at GPF. I think they have the best (most enjoyable to watch) overall programs of the season from their charming SD to their emotional interpretation of their FD. It's great to see them able to capture the audience with these wonderful programs. Wishing them the best outcomes at Nationals. 4 Conts. and Worlds.

It's also a credit to their grit. I wish some of this could transfer to some other skaters on Team USA right now.

I'm really excited about U.S. Nationals in Ice Dance this year. It's the one discipline I won't be nervous about watching because we have three great teams that will do well. But the Shibs are by far my favorite U.S. team - and their improvement this season is incredible.

Get well soon and completely, Alex. I wished there was a chicken noodle soup smiley on here.

 

[Anni234]

Their bond is just incredible to watch, to see how much they care for each other. This makes me enjoy their skating even more.

 

[Mrs. P]

Their bond is just incredible to watch, to see how much they care for each other. This makes me enjoy their skating even more.

I think this is one key reason why, though it might offer its advantages, they will never skate with other people. That is bond is what kept them intact through really hard times in their career.

Here's the Eurosport version of their FD: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ml-JBlh6Cno

Man they loved it so much!!

 

[cathlen]

I think this is one key reason why, though it might offer its advantages, they will never skate with other people. That is bond is what kept them intact through really hard times in their career.

Here's the Eurosport version of their FD: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ml-JBlh6Cno

Man they loved it so much!!

This commentary was just priceless! "Come on, judges" was killing me since I already knew the outcome of the competition

 

[JMJ2015]

I am finding that I can't watch the rest of the ice dance competition. Especially after the Eurosport guys pointed out how wonderfully done that was. Had Alex been well...is all I can think. They got a personal best under those conditions. If it weren't for his illness they'd have had a few more points and that's all they needed. Ice dance is my favorite (I'm just now learning about singles) and I've watched the men but just can't watch the other ice dance teams knowing what I know.

I'm clearly not half as strong as Alex Shibutani .

 

[VIETgrlTerifa]

After looking at the protocols, I think there is something to be said that the Shibs' PCS is actually very close to Chock/Bates and Cappellini/Lanotte (with the Shibs beating Chock/Bates in PE and INT), but more importantly out of the 7 elements (I'm not counting the Twizzles as Madison had an uncharacteristic mistake there), the Shibs received higher GOE than C/B on the Curve Lift and the Rotational Lift, and the same GOE for their diagonal step sequence with the maximum GOE allotted for their curve lift with the one judge's score of a "2" being dropped. The Shibs also beat C/L on 4 of the 8 elements in GOE and tied for their diagonal step sequence.

If only they got level 4s for both Pattern dances and the level 4 for their spin, they would have won silver here with the same performances (of course relying on Chock's Twizzle mistake) with GOEs and PCS being the same. Even with just one level 4 pattern (which they were able to get at both Skate Canada and NHK) and the level 4 spin that they received all season, they would have beaten C/L (I'm not going to consider his Twizzle mistake in the SD because they got really great GOE with it despite that mistake) and lost the silver to C/B by 0.03. All very good things despite their 4th place finish. I think that the Shibs can perform their dances better and be more on point with the elements.

One thing they should change is their last choreographic lift. They lost 0.34-0.77 in GOE to the top three teams here, and consistently scored lower on that than the top 3 GPF finishers in the GP series. That's construction related issue that needs to be fixed along with making sure Maia drills the Ravensburger and not losing a level for their dance spin that they received in the past. And if they can improve their linking footwork and movement score by adding one, two, or a few more transitions in the beginning (since they're a bit behind the top 3 there compared to their other PCS that are quite close to C/B and C/L) then it'll be even better.

That may even lead to the judges closing the gap with W/P in PCS (not beating them). Last season, in the FD specifically, their PCS in relation to W/P and C/B seemed seriously unreachable with C/B consistently scoring well over two points more in PCS and W/P scoring well over six points more in PCS at the GPF, but this season it looks very attainable with the Shibs scoring less than a point lower than C/B and only 2.24 lower than W/P.

 

[turquoiseblue]

A fan cam video of their beautiful FD
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hnqRM_9a0Lg

 

[VIETgrlTerifa]

A fan cam video of their beautiful FD
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hnqRM_9a0Lg

Thanks for the link. The ice coverage of the twizzle sequence is quite amazing even considering that I think they usually do that third set even better.

 

[tvuckic16]

Inspired performance! Whatever has happened to them this year, keep it up!!

 

[matmuh]

i cant express how much more i love this program with every outing, and this one will always have special meaning,i am very sorry for Alex's health and admire how he fought and how Maia was there to support him, and its whats program is all about, i am sure in the future they will remember how this performance felt and show us even more amazing performances, one of my favourite quotes from Yuzuru is " there was not one experience that was wasted." it wasnt related to health but his overconfidence at his 1st trip to junior worlds where he placed 12th but still every experience is part of learning process, same applies to Maia and Alex, they are amazing both on and off the ice, i wish them all the best for future starting with US Nationals

 

[slider11]

Thank you for this "backside" view of their FD. It does show some of the issues discussed in other sections of this board. Alex did step out of the spin a half rotation early likely making it a level 3. The speed overall was ok but not great at the beginning but did pick up, appropriately, at the crescendo of the music. Just a little more speed at the beginning would be good. The choreo lift at the end could use work-something a little more special in line with the dance and music. BUT what a great FD particularly with Alex being ill! The spin and speed may have been a direction result of him being ill. Great job!

A fan cam video of their beautiful FD
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hnqRM_9a0Lg

 

[JMJ2015]

Every time I watch this I am so impressed with Alex in the first lift when he goes on 1 foot. The year that I got interested in ice dance Scott Moir did the same move but it was always clear how incredibly hard it was because his foot would wobble the whole time it was extended. Alex looks natural doing it. Really great.

 

[skatingfan4ever]

Re their GPF FD (quotes from the mixed zone, I'm guessing):

Maia Shibutani on today’s performance and Alex’s illness:

“I’m so proud of Alex. He’s not with me right now because starting from late last night he wasn’t feeling well. All today he’s been extremely sick. At practice this morning we weren’t able to do much. He really decided from the beginning that he wanted to fight through it. For me, that was so emotional because he’s not just my partner, he’s my brother, he’s family. To see him struggling like that all day was really a test of our connection and our partnership that we were able to get through that. We barely warmed anything up in the warm up. I trusted that he was going to give it his all and he did that. I’m so proud of him.”

http://www.usfigureskatingfanzone.com/competition-central/gpfbarcelona-team-usa-competition-central/

:sad4:

Tweets from Alex:

https://twitter.com/AlexShibutani/status/675948760304852992


https://twitter.com/AlexShibutani/status/675948994212855810


https://twitter.com/AlexShibutani/status/675949282327961600


https://twitter.com/AlexShibutani/status/675950278605217792


https://twitter.com/AlexShibutani/status/675950573758345216

As if I didn’t appreciate and respect them enough already, Maia and Alex handled this very difficult situation with so much heart and so much class. Well done to both of them! This particular skate is extra special because we know the inner strength it took to pull it off. As others have mentioned, their bond as siblings is so heartwarming to see and it’s great that they support each other so completely.

Exactly my thoughts. I was absolutely gutted for them even before I found out about Alex's illness, but that only makes their performance even more special. That absolutely deserved to medal; however, the judges thought otherwise, and what's done is done. For them to win Nationals after this would be the sweetest victory I could possibly imagine, and I so, so, so hope it happens.

Whatever happens, this speaks volumes to their character and it only makes me love them more.

:agree:

Here's the Eurosport version of their FD: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ml-JBlh6Cno

Man they loved it so much!!

It was so fun to hear their ardent love and appreciation for the FD! Thanks so much for bringing the video here!


 

 

[WeakAnkles]

Inspired performance! Whatever has happened to them this year, keep it up!!

What happened to them this year is they finally got GOOD CHOREOGRAPHY. And they are skating it with passion and brio.

I just rewatched the GPF FD again, and really, they should change that final choreographic lift. It's too anticlimatic. But for me, this is the FD of the year (I'll have to see how PapCiz's FD goes before I confirm that as My Final Answer ).

 

[tinlizzie]

I went back and watched their NHK FD and it was magical this is the perfect program for them. I think their scores will continue to increase and they will be rewarded this season (crossing fingers).

 

[musicfan80]

According to their latest posts on Instagram, they are apparently visiting California (LA area) right now. Hopefully we will see a new Shibs video. I'm assuming we won't see one for the GPF for obvious reasons.

 

[xibsuarz]

Someone seems to have finally recovered