Olympian siblings say ice dancing a fit for Pinoys
Filipinos could excel in ice dancing. This is what two-time Olympic bronze medalists and siblings Maia and Alex Shibutani believe.
“The reason we think that [the sport] is a great fit for the Philippines is [because] we’ve heard people here really like to sing, they love music, they love to dance. So I think that ice dancing is really perfect for that,” Alex told Lifestyle during the recent reception hosted by the US Embassy at Cyan Modern Kitchen in Lanson Place.
The American competitive ice dancers, also known as Shib Sibs, visited Manila and hosted a sports clinic for aspiring Filipino ice skaters. The Shib Sibs think Filipinos would enjoy expressing their love for music more in ice dancing than in figure skating because Pinoys can focus on the dancing, storytelling, and expression of emotions rather than the technical aspects of figure skating, such as lifting and jumping.
“It’s like ballroom dancing,” Maia said. This would allow young skaters to simply enjoy being on the ice. Jumps and lifts are important in figure skating, so skaters tend to spend time trying to nail the technique needed to execute them. Ice dancing, however, is focused on skating.
‘Eclectic, dimensional’
That doesn’t mean there’s no technical aspect to it. Backgrounds in ballet and gymnastics can supplement the dancing. The siblings also took ballroom lessons for their sport.
“The reason we love it is because it is so eclectic and dimensional. It requires a knowledge of so many different things,” said Alex.
Mastering different forms of dance make it exciting and fun for the siblings. Alex said that if he had to keep practicing the same thing over and over again just to do it better, he would find it “excruciatingly painful and boring.”
Ice dancing and skating in pairs came naturally to the siblings after training as single skaters. Other ice dancers transition to ice dance because of an injury that prevent them from jumping, but they couldn’t abandon the ice.
Anyone can take on ice dancing at any age. Maia was 4 years old when she started skating, while her brother was 7. However, they know that some skaters start later, even as adults.
“I don’t believe that figure skating is specifically or exclusively aiming to go to the Olympics or being hyper-competitive,” Alex said. “It is an activity that can be enjoyed socially. It’s sports, and sports is play, and it can be fun.”
This is the reason they came to the Philippines. They want to encourage everyone, including skaters from a tropical country, to experience skating as a fun activity. But the siblings also came to meet with friends and see more of the city.
They explored Intramuros and found the place beautiful. The Shibutanis were expecting extremely hot weather, but they were lucky that it wasn’t too bad while they were here. They confessed that they had been enjoying the fresh mangoes since they arrived—and they’re packing dried ones into their luggage before they fly home.
Siblings in sync
They also arrived at the reception wearing Filipiniana. Alex wore a barong, and Maia had a pañuelo over a slip dress, both in ivory. They picked out their outfits from Kultura after being invited to explore traditional Filipino clothing.
There were many colorful options, but Maia chose her outfit for its versatility, describing it as something she could wear both indoors and outdoors, in either a formal or casual setting.
“They (our hosts) thought that this might be the most breathable,” Maia added.
Even off the ice, the siblings are in sync. They just share a glance, and one of them will step up to expound on their answers. Alex loved taking pictures of Maia with other people in the room. The duo stayed close to each other, presenting a united front in a room full of sports personalities and journalists.
Sports is the reason they get along so well. They admit that they do get on each other’s nerves, but because they enjoy what they do, they end up pushing and inspiring each other.
“Like all relationships with different people, there are tensions and things that you have to communicate,” Alex explained. “What sport has taught us is how to communicate, and how to problem-solve, and how to respect each other.”
Having to rely on only one person for success has taught both of them a lot. Both smiled when they said that they do not know if sports can be a solution to keeping siblings close. However, they credit their success to how they value family.
“We value our family relationship, our friendship as siblings, more than we value our career,” Alex said. He explained that distinguishing between the two is important because it provides perspective. He said that things don’t always go as planned.
“While figure skating and ice dance are so addictive to our lives, it’s not everything,” Alex said. “It doesn’t completely define us.”
He added that family is universal, just like sports. A third-generation Japanese American family like theirs may have cultural similarities, but it might not be so different from families in other countries.
“It really comes down to the individual experience. It’s a credit to our parents in the way that they encouraged us to always support each other,” he said.
