From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Maia Harumi Shibutani (born July 20, 1994) is an American . Partnered with her brother , she is a three-time World medalist (silver in , bronze in
and ), the
champion, a two-time
champion (), a two-time
champion (, ), the
champion, the
silver medalist, and a two-time
champion (). She was a member of the US Olympic team and competed at the .
Maia Harumi Shibutani was born on July 20, 1994 in New York City. She is the daughter of Chris Shibutani and Naomi Uyemura, both of Japanese descent, who met as
musicians. She has an older brother,
who competes with her as her partner for ice dancing. She started figure skating in 1998 in , and she was a student at
She lived in
from 2005 through 2007 and was home-schooled. She moved to ,
in 2007 and graduated from
in Ann Arbor in 2012. She entered the
in the fall of 2012.[]
Maia Shibutani began skating at age four. She originally trained as a single skater and was taught by Slavka Kohout Button, a coach best known for guiding US ladies' champion, Janet Lynn. A key source of inspiration for the siblings to pursue
came in March 2003 when their family attended the
in Washington D.C. Alex Shibutani recalled, "We were seated close to the ice in the second row, and when the ice dancers came out for their warm up, we could actually feel a gust of wind as the skaters flew by. We were so impressed with the artistry, skating quality, and speed of the top teams that we decided to give it a try."
Maia and Alex Shibutani teamed up as ice dance partners in the spring of 2004. Their singles coach, Kathy Bird, arranged for them to work with their first ice dancing coaches
and . The Shibutanis also worked with Mary Marchiselli and their first free dance program was choreographed by Josh Babb.
During the
season, their first season of competition, they competed on the juvenile level, which is the lowest competitive level in the
testing structure. They competed at the 2005 North Atlantic Regional Championships, the qualifying competition for the U.S. Junior Championships, and won the competition. The win qualified them for the 2005 U.S. Junior Championships. At that competition, they placed second in the first compulsory dance, fourth in the second compulsory dance, and third in the free dance, ending up with the silver medal.
The Shibutanis moved up to the intermediate level and embarked on several visits to
to work with choreographer . During that season, they were also coached by
on the east coast. After doing better than expected at the Lake Placid Ice Dance Competition in the summer of 2005, the Shibutanis decided to relocate to Colorado Springs on a full-time basis in order to benefit from the strong training center environment of the Broadmoor Skating Club. In Colorado Springs, their primary coach was Patti Gottwein During that time, they also worked with Rich Griffin, , Eric Schulz, and Christopher Dean.
The Shibutanis won the Southwestern Regional Championships, qualifying for the 2006 U.S Junior Championships. At the 2006 U.S. Junior Championships, they placed second in the first compulsory dance and then won the second compulsory and free dances to win the title overall. They worked as guest bloggers and aides for the media staff for
at the , and again at the , which were held in Colorado Springs.
The Shibutanis moved up to the novice level, which is the first and lowest of three levels that compete at the . Strong results at the Lake Placid Ice Dance Championships, including first place in the Novice Free Dance event, earned them their first opportunity to compete internationally under the
for the first time. At the North American Challenge event in Burnaby, British Columbia they were the highest placing Americans in the novice event, pulling up from fifth place after the compulsory to second overall.
At the 2007 Midwestern Sectional Championships, their qualifying competition for the national championships, the Shibutanis competed under They placed second in the first compulsory dance and then won the second compulsory and the free dances to win the competition overall and qualify for the . At US Nationals, the Shibutanis placed second in both compulsory dances, but with a win in the free dance were able to capture the novice gold medal. This was their second consecutive national title.
Following the 2007 U.S. Championships, the Shibutanis relocated once again, moving to Michigan to be coached by
at the Arctic Edge Arena in . An important factor in the decision to relocate their training based included the opportunity to live and train in an area which could provide access to both world class ice dance coaching, as well as excellent educational opportunities. Alex Shibutani, at the time of the coaching change, had two years left of high school and was considering his university options.
The Shibutanis perform a lift at the
Junior Grand Prix Final
The Shibutanis moved up to the junior level nationally. However, in an unusual circumstance for junior level competitors, they were unable to compete internationally on the junior level because Maia was not yet old enough. At the 2008 Midwestern Sectionals, the Shibutanis placed fourth in the compulsory dance and then third in the original and free dances to win the bronze medal overall. This medal qualified them for the . At Nationals, they placed 7th in the compulsory dance, 2nd in the original dance, and 4th in the free dance. They placed 4th overall, winning the pewter medal. This was their fourth consecutive year earning a medal and podium placement, competing at four different levels at the national championship level.
Alex & Maia Shibutani with coaches
Maia Shibutani became age-eligible to compete on the international junior circuit. The Shibutanis made their junior international debut on the
(JGP). At their first event, the
event in , they placed second in the compulsory dance and then won the original and free dances to win the gold medal overall by a margin of victory of 11.00 points over silver medalists
and . They were then assigned to their second event, the event in , . At this event, they placed second in all three segments of the competition and won the silver medal. These two medals qualified them for the , for which they were the third-ranked qualifiers. Qualifying for the event had also qualified them for the .
was held concurrently with the senior final for the first time and so did not have a compulsory dance segment. The Shibutanis placed 7th in the original dance and 3rd in the free dance, finishing in 4th place overall.
The Shibutanis went on to the , where they competed on the junior level for the second consecutive year. At the event, the Shibutanis placed second in the compulsory dance, the original dance, and the free dance. They won the silver medal overall marking their fifth consecutive podium finish at a national-level competition. Following the competition, the Shibutanis were named to the team to the .
At Junior Worlds, the Shibutanis placed 5th in the compulsory dance, 4th in the original dance, and 2nd in the free dance. At the ages of 14 and 17, they won the silver medal.
The Shibutanis won both their JGP events - in Lake Placid, New York and in Zagreb, Croatia. At the
in Tokyo, Japan, they won the bronze medal. At the 2010 , they competing for their third and final time at the junior level, winning the junior title. At , their final junior event after having competed for two seasons on the international circuit, they finished just off the podium in fourth place.
The Shibutanis at the
At the ages of 16 and 19, the Shibutanis advanced to the senior level and experienced a historic rookie season. At their senior international debut, they finished fifth at the , moving up from a disappointing eighth place in the short dance with a strong second place in the free dance, finishing ahead of several veteran senior competitors. During their debut season competing in the senior Grand Prix, they won the bronze medals at both the
(pulling up from 5th place after the short dance) and the
(pulling up from fourth place after the short dance) making them the first ice dance team to medal at both Grand Prix events in its first senior season. They were the first alternates for the 2010–11 Grand Prix final.
The Shibutanis debuted at the senior level with a second place at
behind Meryl Davis and Charlie White. At the
championships, they once again finished just behind Davis and White, earning a silver medal. Maia and Alex Shibutani became the first, and thus far the only figure skaters of Asian descent, to medal in ice dance at an ISU championship event. At the 2011 , an event which had to be postponed and relocated from Tokyo to Moscow owing to the earthquake disaster in Japan, they were in fourth after the short dance, 4.09 points behind third-placed
/ . In the free dance, they scored 4.34 ahead of Pechalat and Bourzat, both of whom had fallen. The Shibutanis moved third place overall by 0.25 points and won a bronze medal in their World Championships debut. Their bronze medal finish remains the highest world championship debut of any US ice dance team in history. At the ages of 16 and 20, they were also the youngest world medalists in the discipline of ice dance in over 50 years.
Maia and Alex Shibutani at the
The Shibutanis started their season with a silver medal at the . Beginning their
season, they won silver at the . A week later they placed first at the , edging
for gold by 0.09 points. It was the Shibutanis' first senior Grand Prix title, earned during just their second season competing at the senior level. Their combined results qualified them for the
where they finished in fifth place.
At the 2012 US National championships, the Shibutanis repeated as the silver medalists behind Davis and White. The Shibutanis finished 4th at the , an event during which Alex competed in the free dance while extremely ill, and 8th at the .
During the off-season, the Shibutanis were invited as athlete ambassadors by Secretary of State , to attend a dinner in honor of Japanese Prime Minister
on May 1, 2012 in Washington, D.C.
When the coaching partnership of Igor Shpilband and Marina Zoueva came to an end in June 2012, the Shibutanis - along with Davis and White, and Virtue and Moir - chose to continue their training at the Arctic Edge Arena under the primary direction of Marina Zoueva.
The Shibutanis placed third in the short dance at the . They paused their free dance for half a minute due to Alex pulling a muscle in his thigh. They were allowed to continue from the point of interruption and finished 4th overall, their first and thus far only time that they did not finish on the podium at a junior or senior Grand Prix event. At their second Grand Prix event, the
they won the bronze medal. The Shibutanis also took bronze at the . They then competed at the
and finished 4th. At the , the Shibutanis finished 8th.
The Shibutanis began their season with yet another injury which forced them to withdraw from the US Classic in September. They began their competitive season on the grand prix by capturing bronze medals at both of their events -
and T- qualifying as alternates to the Grand Prix Final. At the
they earned the bronze medal and were named in the U.S. team to the
in , Russia. They placed 9th at the Olympics. The Shibutanis finished their season with strong performances and a 6th-place finish at .
The Shibutanis started their season by winning the . Combined with their gold medal at the
they were the top finishers in the
ISU Challenge Cup series. On the Grand Prix circuit, they then won the silver medals at both of their events, . and the . Their results on the Grand Prix series qualified them for the , where they placed 4th.
At the , the duo won the silver medal. They then went on to compete at the
where they finished second in the short dance and third place overall. They completed their season with a fifth-place finish at the .
Maia and Alex Shibutani at the
The Shibutanis began their season by winning bronze at . On the Grand Prix circuit, they earned standing ovations for , their
free dance. They won silver at
and gold at the , for their second career Grand Prix event title.
They qualified for the
as the fourth ranked team based on qualification criteria that had been modified in an attempt to account for the partially cancelled Trophee Bompard event. Their combined short dance and free dance score from NHK Trophy of 174.43 points was the highest total score amongst all competitors during the Grand Prix season. At the Grand Prix Final event, they placed 4th in the short dance. The night before the free dance, Alex became severely ill with food poisoning. They chose to compete nonetheless, and managed to get another standing ovation for their free dance. They finished 4th in the free dance and 4th overall. They withdrew from the exhibition so that Alex could recover.
At the , the Shibutanis placed second behind
during the short dance, but moved up following the free dance to win their first senior US title.They earned standing ovations from the audience at both segments of the competition.
The Shibutanis next competed at the . They set personal bests and finished first in both segments of the competition for their first ISU Championship title.
The Shibutanis ended their season at the . There, they set new personal bests and finished second in both segments of the competition for their second world medal.
At the , the Shibutanis won their s they edged out Chock/Bates by 1.01 after placing first in the short dance and second in the free. The siblings took silver at the
(South Korea), having ranked second in both segments to Canada's Virtue/Moir.
(Finland), they ranked fifth in the short dance and fourth in the free dance, ending up third overall by a margin of 0.37 over Canada's Weaver/Poje. The siblings received their third world medal, bronze.
The Shibutanis made their season debut at the . They scored 77.30 in the short dance and 111.94 in the free dance to place first in both events and won the gold medal, with 189.24 points. At their second GP event, , they again won both the short and free dance for a total of 194.25 and first place overall, qualifying for the
in Nagoya.
Exhibition
performed by
Samba: Mambo Jambo/Mambo No. 8
by , Kelly Gordon
covered by
That's Life (remix)
performed by Frank Sinatra,
arranged by Ryan "Ryanimay" Conferido
choreo. by , Aye Hasegawa, Randi Strong, and others
by , Kelly Gordon
covered by
Hip Hop: That's Life (remix)
performed by Frank Sinatra,
arranged by Ryan "Ryanimay" Conferido
choreo. by , Aye Hasegawa, Randi Strong, and others
Evolution:
(Mirror in Mirror)
performed by Anne Akiko Meyers, Akira Eguchi
Truman Sleeps
The Departure
rearranged by Alex Shibutani
performed by members of The
choreo. by Maia Shibutani, Alex Shibutani, , Oleg Epstein,
and others
choreo. by
Waltz, march, waltz:
choreo. by , Cheryl Yeager
choreo. by
choreo. by Peter Tchernyshev
choreo. by Maia Shibutani, Alex Shibutani
Paso Doble: The Last Corrida
(Roses from the South)
by Johann Strauss II
choreo by. Peter Tchernyshev
by Michael Jackson
by Michael Jackson
Wanna Be Startin' Somethin'
by Michael Jackson
by Michael Jackson
March: Ojos Azul
by Incantations
Waltz: Dolencias
by Incantations
Polka: Sikureada
by Incantations
Waltz and polka:
Samba: Batuca
by DJ Dero
Samba: The Girl From Ipanema
Samba: Samba de Janeiro
by Bellini
by DJ Dero
Skip to the Bip
by Club des Belugas
Jazz Machine
by Black Machine
The Prayer
The Carousel Waltz
The Prayer
Itsuka Mata
by Tetsuro Naito
Ao-ki Kaze
by Ryutaro Kaneko
Tango Rhapsody
La Vie en rose
by Louis Armstrong
Japanese Kodo music
Japanese Kodo music
Piano music
by Jean-Marie Senia
The Shibutanis with the other medalists and their coaches at the
GP: ; CS: ; JGP:
(with Alex Shibutani)
International
TBD = Assigned, WD = Withdrew
International
Southwestern Reg.
North Atlantic Reg.
Levels: V = Juvenile, I = Intermediate, N = Novice, J = Junior
(with Alex Shibutani)
January 5–7, 2018
December 7–10, 2017
November 24–26, 2017
October 20–22, 2017
March 29 – April 2, 2017
February 15–19, 2017
January 14–22, 2017
December 8–11, 2016
November 18–20, 2016
October 21–23, 2016
March 28 – April 3, 2016
February 16–21, 2016
January 15–24, 2016
December 10–13, 2015
November 27–29, 2015
October 30 – November 1, 2015
October 1–3, 2015
March 23–29, 2015
February 9–15, 2015
January 18–25, 2015
December 11–14, 2014
November 14–16, 2014
November 7–9, 2014
October 24–26, 2014
October 1–5, 2014
March 24–30, 2014
February 6–22, 2014
January 5–12, 2014
November 8–10, 2013
October 18–20, 2013
March 11–17, 2013
February 8–11, 2013
January 19–27, 2013
November 23–25, 2012
November 8–11, 2012
March 26 – April 1, 2012
February 7–12, 2012
January 22–29, 2012
December 8–11, 2011
November 10–13, 2011
November 3–6, 2011
October 6–9, 2011
April 24 – May 1, 2011
February 15–20, 2011
January 22–30, 2011
November 12–14, 2010
October 22–24, 2010
September 23–26, 2010
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