Maia Shibutani & Alex Shibutani | Page 87 | Golden Skate

Maia Shibutani & Alex Shibutani

I'm so happy to find a fan place to share my admiration for Maia and Alex! I used to skate but my life is now in marketing in fashion and entertainment. It was actually Maia and Alex who kept on popping up in the work that my group monitors (like looking for influencers) that made me get hooked again on skating. And it's the Olympic season! Maia and Alex are really in a league of their own as Olympic athletes when it comes to social media. Their natural ability to connect in so many ways is right on par with work done by agencies for models or celebrities. They clearly think about and understand so much about what they are doing whether it is choosing their music, collaborators and choreography or presenting themselves to the world outside of skating.

Did you see the Sesame Street Thanksgiving post on Instagram with Cookie monster? My niece LOVED this.
https://www.instagram.com/p/BbzYjP6A_AI/?taken-by=sesamestreet

Then Maia had a baby-Maia post with her offering to share her cookie. So well sequenced.
https://www.instagram.com/p/Bb3H8YRl307/?taken-by=maiashibutani

Happy to join what looks like such a smart and sensible yet passionate group of fans! Just like Maia and Alex!
 
Welcome WGloria! I love all the social media industry folks on here -- maybe I should network more here. :biggrin: (I do some social media for my job)
 
The look so good in the practice videos!

Maia and Alex are the ones who made me care about ice dance. They have something special. I think a part of what draws me to them is that their interpretation is emotional in a really pure way. I have never found overly romantic ice dance teams and performances moving. I can appreciate the talent- but it doesn't resonate or make me feel anything. Maia and Alex's skating is so much more powerful because they can't rely on that trope, what they've found is so much better.
 
Seren said:
The look so good in the practice videos!

Maia and Alex are the ones who made me care about ice dance. They have something special. I think a part of what draws me to them is that their interpretation is emotional in a really pure way. I have never found overly romantic ice dance teams and performances moving. I can appreciate the talent- but it doesn't resonate or make me feel anything. Maia and Alex's skating is so much more powerful because they can't rely on that trope, what they've found is so much better.
Click to expand...

I feel the same way, honestly I am not kidding when I say that if it weren't for the Shibs, I wouldn't be such a huge fan of ice dance at all. I really think we connect so well to their programs (especially with this trilogy) because they're skating unabashedly as themselves, and they put in so much thought and personal experiences into their programs that we can all understand. I mean, I first found out about them from watching Fix You and I'm pretty sure most of us had the moment halfway through the skate where we went "Wait, I understand this program I have found myself in similar situations"?
Not that the romantic programs are bad, I do love other ice dance teams as well, but Shibs are always a breath of fresh air when they come onto the ice and I love that about them.
 
The Shibs' SD was FANTASTIC tonight! Those twizzles and the last rotational lift was UNREAL. :biggrin: WELL DESERVED!

One constructive criticism though: I do think that Alex needs some of Maia's skirt color accented on his shirt. I think it would make both of them have a more "spark" in their look. I think that his total beige looked a bit too bland on the ice.

Good Luck to them in the FD! :yes:
 
They were SO CLOSE to 80. If they keep skating the way they are they will get there!
 
They seriously threw down the gauntlet here. They have more on their minds than Nationals and they just showed the skating world that they are ready to play with the big guns.
 
Seren said:
They were SO CLOSE to 80. If they keep skating the way they are they will get there!
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I might be bold there, but for me they were...underscored, this level of expertise with superb quality all-around over sole concept and its execution should get 80 pts. Apologies, but I'm a bit bitter over PCS scoring in particular for my favourite SDs this season, Shibutanis included...Anyway - great, great for the to leave no room for levels/quality discussion out there - they've done their job and with so much style! This GOEs though - high as it should be, you could hear, taste and feel the crispness of every single step, move, turn. They pushed the envelope not only in regards to National competition, but the overall one - with that level of exquisiteness and strong concept, nobody can be put on the pedestal now. This program makes you feel at ease, watching the highest sort of entertaining, feeling Latin referrence, but seeing also 'now' factor of it; I want to dance, sing and smile watching them.
 
I was on such a downer after seeing the panel but they came, saw and conquered. Literally laughing at my hand-wringing earlier this week. If they keep this up, they'll crack 80 at GPF. Wow.
 
I think honestly given the Shibs' history of having level problems -- it was basically the narrative of the previous Olympic quad and the fact he was the caller at Worlds where the Shibs receive that reality shock, I don't think it was overly dramatic for us fans to react that way.

I'm ready for the release of ShibSibs2k18: Tech Panel DOMINATION! I want rounds of the Shibs conquering their tech panel enemies with twizzles, step sequences and Maia's flirty but DEADLY wink! :laugh: (And yes, I've spent a considerable amount of time thinking about this, LOL).
 
Last edited:
Mrs. P said:
I think honestly given the Shibs' history of having level problems -- it was basically the narrative of the previous Olympic quad and the fact he was the caller at Worlds where the Shibs receive that reality shock, I don't think it was overly dramatic for us fans to react that way.

I'm ready for the release of ShibSibs2k18: Tech Panel DOMINATION! I want rounds of the Shibs conquering their tech panel enemies with twizzles, step sequences and Maia's flirty but DEADLY wink! :laugh: (And yes, I've spent a considerable amount of time thinking about this, LOL).
Click to expand...

Yes to all of this.
 
Absolutely incredible skate. The first half can still use a bit of work, but that second half was everything. They are skating with much more freedom and abandon, and the changes they made to their diagonal step sequence was really what they needed to do to make the program really sing. I can tell that this routine will just get better and better as they work to improve on the choreography and feel more comfortable with the program itself. Their score really made a statement that they are fighting for more than people expect from them especially with the difficult panel that they had at Skate America. They are just ready and prepared this season and it's amazing to watch.
 
I have zero idea about the technical side of things and scoring in ice dance, but I love their performance today! I loved the "fix you" FD so was worried that I'd not find this Coldplay FD as impressive,but I am really happy with this choice. They always look so comfortable and confident there on the ice, not a moment of awkwardness or making me feel nervous about what they are going to do.

Loving many top teams this year at ice dance; I'm sure I will be shedding some tears at the Olympics since not everyone can go home with gold. :drama:
 
I love their FD more every time I see it. This is exactly where they want to be after Skate America. They are increasing their scores and still have room to grow.

Basically they are wonderful.
 
I have a feeling that if they keep improving this program and really bring that performance we are going to get a real Olympic moment from them and "Red" will be the best part of the their Three Colors trilogy (I'm calling it that from now on).
 
I like "Red" as a shorthand for the third installment of the trilogy. I also think the free dance has improved a lot since the first outing, and has the potential to eclipse Fix You as their most iconic program. Just out of curiosity, what is the color you associate with Fix You -- purple?
 
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