The Shibutanis in 2011. |
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Personal information | ||||||||||||||||
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Full name | Maia Harumi Shibutani | |||||||||||||||
Country represented | United States | |||||||||||||||
Born | July 20, 1994 New York, New York |
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Residence | Ann Arbor, Michigan | |||||||||||||||
Height | 1.55 m (5 ft 1 in) | |||||||||||||||
Partner | Alex Shibutani | |||||||||||||||
Coach | Igor Shpilband Marina Zueva |
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Former coach | Patti Gottwein Rich Griffin Damon Allen Erik Schulz |
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Choreographer | Igor Shpilband Marina Zueva |
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Skating club | SC of New York | |||||||||||||||
Current training locations | Canton, Michigan | |||||||||||||||
Former training locations | Colorado Springs, Colorado | |||||||||||||||
Began skating | 1998 | |||||||||||||||
World standing | 6 (As of 17 June 2011[update])[1] | |||||||||||||||
Season's bests | 4 (2010–2011)[2] 15 (2009–2010)[3] 19 (2008–2009)[4] |
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ISU personal best scores | ||||||||||||||||
Combined total | 163.79 2011 World Figure Skating Championships |
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Short dance: | 66.88 2011 World Figure Skating Championships |
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Free dance | 96.91 2011 World Figure Skating Championships |
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Medal record
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Maia Harumi Shibutani (born July 20, 1994 in New York City) is an American ice dancer. She competes with her brother Alex Shibutani. They are the 2011 World bronze medalists, 2011 Four Continents silver medalists, 2009 World Junior silver medalists, 2011 U.S. national silver medalists, 2011 NHK Trophy champions and 2010 U.S. Junior national champions.
Contents |
Maia Shibutani was born to Chris and Naomi Shibutani, who met as Harvard musicians.[5] She lived in Colorado Springs from 2005 through 2007. She moved to Ann Arbor, Michigan in 2007.
Maia Shibutani was originally home-schooled.[5] She graduated from Clague Middle School in 2008 and entered Huron High School in the fall of 2008.
Maia Shibutani began skating at age four.[6] She originally trained as a single skater and tested up to the juvenile level in singles. In March 2003, she and her family attended the World Championships in Washington D.C. Her brother said, "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."[6]
Maia and Alex Shibutani teamed up to compete in ice dancing in the spring of 2004.[6] During the 2004–2005 season, their first season of competition, they competed on the juvenile level, which is the lowest competitive level in the U.S. Figure Skating testing structure. They competed at the 2005 North Atlantic Regional Championships, the qualifying competition for the U.S. Junior Championships, and won the competition.[7] 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. They won the silver medal overall.[8]
In the 2005–2006 season, they moved up to the Intermediate level. The Shibutanis won the Southwestern Regional Championships, their qualifying competition for the 2006 U.S Junior Championships.[9] 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.[10] They worked as guest bloggers and aides for the media staff for U.S. Figure Skating at the 2006 U.S. Championships,[11] and again at the 2006 Four Continents, which were held in Colorado Springs.[12]
In the 2006–2007 season, they moved up to the novice level, which is the first and lowest of three levels that compete at the U.S. Championships. At the 2007 Midwestern Sectional Championships, their qualifying competition for the national championships, the Shibutanis competed under the ISU Judging System for the first time. 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 2007 U.S. Championships.[13] At Nationals, the Shibutanis placed second in both compulsory dances and then won the free dance to win the novice gold medal by a margin of victory of 2.06 points ahead of silver medalists Sara Bailey & Kyle Herring.[14] This was their second consecutive national title.[15]
In the 2007–2008 season, the Shibutanis moved up to the junior level nationally. However, 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 2008 U.S. Championships. 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.
In the 2008–2009 season, Maia became age-eligible for the international junior circuit. The Shibutanis made their junior international debut on the ISU Junior Grand Prix. At their first event, the 2008-2009 ISU Junior Grand Prix event in Courchevel, France, 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 Kharis Ralph and Asher Hill.[16] They were then assigned to their second event, the event in Madrid, Spain. At this event, they placed second in all three segments of the competition and won the silver medal, placing 4.24 points behind champions Ekaterina Riazanova and Jonathan Guerreiro.[17] These two medals qualified them for the 2008-2009 ISU Junior Grand Prix Final, for which they were the third-ranked qualifiers.[18] Qualifying for the event had also qualified them for the 2009 U.S. Championships.
The Junior Grand Prix Final was being 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, 4.79 points behind original dance leaders Madison Chock & Greg Zuerlein.[19] The Shibutanis placed 3rd in the free dance.[20] They placed 4th overall.[21]
The Shibutanis went on to the 2009 U.S. Championships, where they competed on the junior level for the second consecutive year. At the event, the Shibutanis placed second in the compulsory dance,[22] the original dance,[23] and the free dance.[24] They won the silver medal, placing 6.78 points behind Chock and Zuerlein.[25] This was their fifth consecutive medal at a national-level competition. Following the competition, the Shibutanis were named to the team to the 2009 World Junior Championships.[26]
At Junior Worlds, the Shibutanis placed 5th in the compulsory dance, 4th in the original dance, and 2nd in the free dance. They won the silver medal, placing 10.40 points behind Chock and Zuerlein.[27]
In the 2009–2010 season, the Shibutanis won both their junior Grand Prix events and won the bronze medal at the Junior Grand Prix Final. They again skated at the junior level at US Nationals, which they won. At 2010 Junior Worlds, they finished off the podium in fourth place. This was their final junior event.
In the 2010–2011 season, the Shibutanis moved to the senior level. They finished fifth at the 2010 Nebelhorn Trophy, moving up from eighth after the short dance with a strong free dance showing.[28] They won the bronze medal at both the 2010 NHK Trophy and the 2010 Skate America, making them the first dance team to medal at both Grand Prix events in its first senior season. They were the first alternates for the Grand Prix final.[29]
The Shibutanis finished second at U.S. Nationals and were chosen to compete at the Four Continents and World Championships. They won the silver medal at Four Continents. At the World Championships, they were in fourth after the short dance, 4.09 points behind third-placed Nathalie Péchalat / Fabian Bourzat. In the free dance, they scored 4.34 ahead of Pechalat and Bourzat, both of whom had fallen. The Shibutanis finished third overall by 0.25 points and won a bronze in their World Championships debut, a feat not even Virtue and Moir, the current Olympic Champions had accomplished.
The Shibutanis started their 2011–2012 season with a silver medal at the 2011 Finlandia Trophy.
For the Grand Prix season, the Shibutanis were assigned to the 2011 Cup of China and 2011 NHK Trophy. They placed 2nd at the Cup of China. A week later they placed 1st at the NHK Trophy, edging Kaitlyn Weaver and Andrew Poje for gold by .09 points. It was the Shibutanis' first senior Grand Prix title. Their combined results qualified them for the Grand Prix Final. [30]
Maia and Alex Shibutani originally competed as single skaters. Their singles coach, Kathy Bird, arranged for them to work with their first dancing coaches Andy Stroukoff and Susie Kelley.[31] The Shibutanis also worked with Mary Marchiselli. During their juvenile season, their programs were choreographed by Josh Babb.
After moving up to the Intermediate level following the 2004–2005 season and performing well at the non-qualifying competitions, the Shibutanis went to Colorado Springs, Colorado to work with choreographer Tom Dickson. During that off-season, they were being coached by Judy Blumberg 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 move coaching centers to a better training environment and so moved to train in Colorado Springs under head coach Patti Gottwein.[31][5] During that time, they also worked with Rich Griffin, Damon Allen and Eric Schulz.
Following the 2007 U.S. Championships, the Shibutanis changed coaches to Igor Shpilband and Marina Zueva in Canton, Michigan.[31] One factor in the decision to change coaches was the issue of university for Alex Shibutani, who at the time of the coaching change, had two years left of high school and was considering his university options.[32]
Season | Short dance | Free dance | Exhibition |
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2011–2012 | Batucada by DJ Dero, Skip to the Bip by Club des Belugas, Jazz Machine by Black Machine |
Sun Valley Serenade by Glenn Miller Orchestra: In The Mood, Moonlight Serenade, Chattanooga Choo Choo |
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2010–2011 | The Carousel Waltz by Richard Rodgers |
Smile Charlie Chaplin soundtrack Let's Face the Music and Dance by Irving Berlin |
The Prayer by Charlotte Church & Josh Groban La Vie En Rose by Louis Armstrong |
Original dance | |||
2009–2010 | Itsuka Mata by Tetsuro Naito Ao-ki Kaze by Ryutaro Kaneko |
Tango Rhapsody by Luis Bacalov La Vie en Rose by Louis Guglielmi |
La Vie En Rose by Louis Armstrong |
2008–2009 | Selections from Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day by Paul Englishby |
Cinema Paradiso by Ennio Morricone |
Japanese Kodo Music |
2007–2008 | Japanese Kodo Music | Piano music by Jean-Marie Senia |
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2006–2007 | Memoirs of a Geisha by John Williams |
(with Shibutani)
Event | 2004-05 | 2005-06 | 2006–07 | 2007–08 | 2008–09 | 2009–10 | 2010–11 | 2011–12 | |
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World Championships | 3rd | ||||||||
Four Continents Championships | 2nd | ||||||||
World Junior Championships | 2nd | 4th | |||||||
U.S. Championships | 1st N. | 4th J. | 2nd J. | 1st J. | 2nd | ||||
U.S. Junior Championships | 2nd Ju. | 1st I. | |||||||
Grand Prix Final | 5th | ||||||||
Cup of China | 2nd | ||||||||
NHK Trophy | 3rd | 1st | |||||||
Skate America | 3rd | ||||||||
Nebelhorn Trophy | 5th | ||||||||
Finlandia Trophy | 2nd | ||||||||
Junior Grand Prix Final | 4th | 3rd | |||||||
Junior Grand Prix, Croatia | 1st | ||||||||
Junior Grand Prix, USA | 1st | ||||||||
Junior Grand Prix, Spain | 2nd | ||||||||
Junior Grand Prix, France | 1st | ||||||||
North American Challenge Skate | 2nd N. | ||||||||
Midwestern Sectionals | 1st N. | 3rd J. | |||||||
Southwestern Regionals | 1st I. | ||||||||
North Atlantic Regionals | 1st Ju. | ||||||||
Ju. = Juvenile level; I. = Intermediate level; N. = Novice level; J. = Junior level |