Marlie and the Shibutanis will stay with Marina Zueva as their head coach. If there was one team that may have gone with Igor, it would've likely been Marlie. The Shibutanis have been kissing the ass of Marina Zueva forever and rarely mention Igor. There has always been the notion that Zueva prefers Virtue and Moir. While Skate Canada has not confirmed that Voir will stay with Zueva, they themselves have long credited Zueva.
The internet has buzzed about Marina stealing teams from other coaches, including Gordeeva and Grinkov from Stanislav Zhuk. It is important to note that before Marina, Igor's technical expertise only got his teams to the penultimate group at Worlds. Both Igor and Marina have pull. Who has more pull may very well be the question. Igor is known to be the technician. Marina will need to hire a technician to work the top teams. These coaches have all stepped over dead bodies to get to the top of the medal rostrum. The atmosphere in Canton is notoriously competitive, intense and not cut out for everyone.
The combination of Zueva's romantic style with Igor's technique and latin flair is what brought these teams to the top. It may be difficult for Marlie to stand out in the future. Previous students from Canton point out that the notion that Zueva is the sole choreographer is far from the truth. Igor was the force behind Silverstein and Pekarek's Great Expectations free dance. Liz Coates, Igor's colleague prior to Marina, was responsible for training and polishing the teams, rather than being the technician or choreographer. Many of the Igor and Marina programs were collaborative efforts. This is likely not the last we shall hear of this situation.
Valentin Piseev wants to offer Shpilband the world, yet he claims he intends to remain in Michigan. There has been no word as to whom Madison Chock and Evan Bates will work with.
Maybe they feel this is the best for them and that changing their training environment would be too risky at this point, I cannot help but be somewhat disappointed that Marlie did not follow Igor. He really seemed to hint that he would discuss this option when he mentioned having a talk with them, and it is sad to imagine the conversation in which they told him no.
ReplyDeleteYes, agreed, extremely disappointed that they did not follow. Igor must have felt shattered, like his whole world had fallen apart, when he heard the news.
DeleteI don't know if it is foolish but I'm still hoping a reconciliation could be possible.
Oh wow I'm so surprised by this. If a team would have gone with Igor it would have been D/W. It's going to be interesting to see how this affects the teams because it will be hard for Marina to handle everything on her own.
ReplyDeleteSo I wonder, is Marina the real politician then?
ReplyDeleteWill we ever know the truth? Probably not.
ReplyDeleteWhy can't people ever stay together. No one ever knows how good they got it. Good luck at the Olympics.
ReplyDeleteThe shibs need to retire. They really never were podium worthy. I consider them a top 50 team at best. Until incest becomes the theme that they want, the shibs will be very limited in what they can do. No brother/sister team is going to be anything but very very limited.
ReplyDeleteThe Kerrs beg to differ.
DeleteWhat the Shibs need are more thoughtful pieces of choreography. It's possible to dance well and not be sexual. Just ask any social dancer anywhere on the planet.
Also there is the example of Duchesnays, the 1992 Olympic silver medalists. Their program by Christopher Dean were quite innovative.
DeleteWhich one was behind Bates' switch from Emily to Madison Chock?
ReplyDeleteI'm confused as to why people are thinking Marlie would have gone with Igor when they (along with Voir and the Shibs) were the ones calling for him to be fired?? Why is everyone convinced this is about Marina when the reports were that the three teams demanded it. Surely that crucial element of the story couldn't, wouldn't have been pulled out of thin air. Not when the three teams would have been furious at the slander and could so easily refute it.
ReplyDeleteBecause Charlie White's mother denied that the skaters initiated it. Besides the original article seemed highly implausible anyways; there were too many contradictions and holes for that to be the reason why Shpilband was fired.
DeleteHonestly, it broke my heart when I heard that Meryl & Charlie were going with Marina instead of Igor. The whole story does not make sense. Anybody who knows anything about dance at this level could not doubt Igor's heart or work ethic.
ReplyDeleteIt's always been clear Marlie don't doubt Igor's heart or work ethic. The warmth between them and Igor has always been obvious. Even their very PC press statement immediately showed some effort to be warm toward him in the best sense. There's been word in Canton in the past that Marlie supported him against some pressure in the recent past. This breakup finally became inevitable, the rink acted and Marlie chose the stability of their home rink. They've been together since they were 8 years old--they crave stability. You have to feel sad for all involved.
ReplyDelete