The Shibutani siblings have a new rhythm dance
While it has in many ways been a season of firsts for ‘the Shib Sibs’, never before have they completely changed the program mid-season, something they opted to do in late November after finishing sixth and fifth at their respective Grand Prix stops.
Their multi-layered ShibSibs x Shibuya: a 90s night in Tokyo program has been replaced by from Jamiroquai “Canned Heat,” a song with a simple, shouted message: “Dance!”
“The song is about times when things are hard, like, ‘I’m gonna dance all night and turn up the music,’” Alex explained. “And so it felt eerily reflective of our situation, you know? We were like, ‘We tried something that we liked and it was like… Oh, like… Fuck it! We’re gonna have fun and dance.’ Yes.”
That decision came after many layers of feedback from judges and other officials, which is not unusual in sports, especially ice dancing.
The goal of the move, of course, is what they hope could be a third Olympics for the Michigan natives, though three-time and reigning world champions Madison Chock and Evan Bates – and at least three other strong American teams – could stand in their way.
However, their perspective is their own.
“For every skater in this competition, the goal is to get to the Olympics,” Alex said. “The goal for every skater in this competition is to skate the very best and wherever the chips fall, let it be what it is. I think it honestly just felt better for us to try to do something new and different and just go for it. Why would we even take on this challenge, this journey if we were worried about risk?”
It’s part of what that most recent hiatus has given them: a different way to look at their careers.
“[Now] we have a greater perspective on time and choices and overcoming challenges that you don’t normally experience when you’re just an athlete in sports,” Maia said. “But also real life challenges.”
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