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Olympic figure skaters make their way to Pittsburgh

By Rachel Basinger rbasinger@heraldstandard.Com 6 min read
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Maia Shibutani and Alex Shibutani, of the United States, perform during the ice dance short dance at the Skate America, Saturday, Nov. 25, 2017, in Lake Placid, N.Y.  (AP Photo/Julie Jacobson)

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Nathan Chen performs in the mens' short program of the U.S. Figure Skating Championships, Friday, Jan. 22, 2016, in St. Paul, Minn. (AP Photo/Jim Mone)

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Evan Agostini

Olympic bronze medalist Maia Shibutani poses with her medals at the 86th floor observation deck at the Empire State Building on Tuesday, Feb. 27, 2018, in New York. (Photo by Evan Agostini/Invision/AP)

Figure skaters on the United States team became household names after this year’s winter Olympics, and now a number of those stars are making their way to the PPG Paints Arena in Pittsburgh as part of the Stars on Ice Tour slated for April 27.

Despite tough opposition, the U.S. Olympic Figure Skating Team as a whole brought home a bronze medal in the team competition while siblings Maia and Alex Shibutani — two-time National Ice Dance Champions and three-time World medalists — also took home an ice dance Olympic bronze.

In an April 7, one-on-one interiview, Maia Shibutani talked about the Olympics, the Stars on Ice tour and the excitement of it all.

“Since the Olympics it’s been quite a whirlwind,” she said. “We got back from the Olympics at the end of February and since then there’s been a lot of traveling. We have been in Los Angeles a few times, New York a few times as well as Boston.

“It’s just been really incredible because we felt a lot of support when we were in Korea but then once we got back home — just being in all parts of the country and, more recently, Florida — we’ve been feeling all the support from all the people we just randomly run in to and it’s been amazing,” said Maia Shibutani.

She added that while there can be a lot of pressure competing in the Olympics, it was also a huge honor to be representing their country on that stage.

“It’s very special because at normal competitions there are no speed skaters or athletes in other sport — we’re just with other figure skaters — and so once you’re in that Olympic environment and you’re competing alongside athletes in all sorts of different sports, that’s really special and it feels elevated,” Shibutani said. “You can’t help but sense the fact that the Olympics really do bring the world together, so there’s that pressure when you’re on the ice, but then the important thing that we realize is that it’s still a sheet of ice. It’s still all of our same competitors, so we really just do our best to embrace the moment and it worked out really well for us this time.”

Spending weeks together at the Olympics and now with each other on this show tour, she said it’s been an incredible experience so far.

“It’s really incredible that we’re embarking on this 22-city tour with each other,” she said.” We just had our first show last night and it went really well. As I look to the front of the tour bus right now its all my friends from so many years. It’s just really special that we have this opportunity to perform for audiences together,” said the ice dancer.

The Stars on Ice tour spans from April 6 through the end of May with the first show in Fort Myers, Fla. The tour was in Hartford, Conn., on April 22 before making its way to Pittsburgh and then following Pittsburgh, the skaters will head to Detroit, Mich., on May 8.

Maia Shibutani said the show environment is definitely different than skating in competitions.

“With competitive skating there’s so much nuance where you’re judged every single second — there are very technical things that some audience members don’t necessarily notice,” she said. “Figure skating is a blend of artistry and performance as well as technical difficulties, so when you watch competitive skating you might not realize how much a skater has to be focused on doing things correctly because we’re all also focused on the performance.

“When it comes to shows we can really just fully allow ourselves to skate more freely,” Maia Shibutani said. “As far as the pressure, obviously there’s a lot of pressure at the Olympic games but I know when it comes to the show we’re not all just super relaxed because we want to do our very best for all of the audiences every night that we skate.”

Maia Shibutani said it’s been seven or eight years since she and her brother have been to Pittsburgh, so she’s looking forward to coming back to the city.

“One of the things that’s great about this tour is that we get to take in 22 cities,” she said. “That’s such a rare thing for people to have the chance to do, but the fact that we get to travel as friends and perform and meet all these people, is one of the things that make Stars on Ice unique and special. Especially after the Olympic games.”

Shibutani said this is the longest tour Stars on Ice has done since the last Olympic games and she and her brother weren’t a part of that tour.

“If there are any challenges with this tour, I think stamina might be one and just making sure we continue to take care of our bodies,” she said. “But Stars on Ice is such a prestigious tour and they’re very used to putting on amazing shows, and a lot of us are experienced competitors so I think we’ll be able to manage very well. Once you get out there and hear the audience, they’re so welcoming and excited, that fuels you, so I think we’ll be all set.”

Despite narrowly missing out on the podium, two-time National Champion Nathan Chen also delivered one of the Olympics’ greatest single performances with his record-breaking free skate that featured six quadruple jumps. He followed up the Olympics by winning a Gold at the World Figure Skating Championships.

Along with the Shibutani’s and Chen, other Olympic favorites to participate include U.S. Champion Adam Rippon, 2018 U.S. Ladies Champion Brandie Tennell and National Champion Mirai Nagasu, who made history by landing the first triple axel for an American woman at the Olympics.

The tour will also feature past ice dance gold medalists Meryl Davis and Charlie White, 2018 National Ice Dance Champions and World Silver Medalists Madison Hubbell and Zachary Donohue, three-time National Champion and 2016 World Silver Medalist Ashley Wagner, National Champion Jason Brown and 2017 U.S. Ladies Champion Karen Chen.

Tickets for the 2018 Stars on Ice tour are $25 and are available at www.starsonice.com, www.ticketmaster.com, the PPG Paints Arena box office or by phone at 800-745-3000. Visit www.starsonice.com for the most up to date information and show announcements.

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