I have been watching almost every Olympic sport, finding that by living in the bubble of 8 to 10 hours a day of winter competitions, I am having my first break in over a year from 8 to 10 hours of tRump. I don’t have the news on; I’m infrequently on Facebook; I’m immersed in bobsleds and ski jumping and luge and even the biathalon. I am certain that were I just a kid, I would want to become a snowboard cross racer or a big air trickster.
But the sport that truly touches my heart is figure skating, most especially ice dance. And I want to talk about a breakthrough that is not getting enough attention. The American Shibutani siblings won a Bronze Medal in a partnership that smashes through the traditional narrative.
Ice dance is all about passion, romance, and the elevation of heterosexuality. This is quite literally the case. When the brother and sister decided that they would commit to partnering each other, many people in the game tried to dissuade them, pointing out how incestuous it might appear. Said Alex after their win, “For all the people who think it’s a deficit to skate as siblings, we’ve made it our strength.”
The Shibutanis have challenged that absolute hetero-love narrative. And in winning Olympic medals, they have shown that passion comes in many forms and that passion for the dance, for the ice, for other kinds of love must be a legitimate story to tell at the highest levels. Alex noted their broader vision for the sport, beyond just the idea of romance. “That’s not fair to ice dance, and probably hurting ice dance’s feelings. Ice dance wants to be whatever it can be.”
I’ve been astonished at how little discussion this amazing achievement has prompted. People in the skating world do not seem to know what to do. The Shibutanis’ free program was magnificent; their connection is unparalleled; but few talked about them at all after the medals were won.
Now it is time to take further steps to enhance ice dance. We need some relief from the hetero-dominance and from the strict man/lead - woman/follow prescription. This applies to the new emphasis on tricks and jumps and tosses – where there could be far more role switching than we now see.
We also need to allow same sex couples to compete and we need to welcome role switches. Right now the International Skating Union (ISU) punishes skaters who participate in the Gay Games by ice dancing with a same-sex partner. (Check out the clip below from the Gay Games.) Worse still, the ISU constitution calls for "one Lady and one Man" in each pair. I was thrilled to see an open discussion in mainstream media and a petition calling for the end of the use of the ridiculous terms “lady” – while men are men. Here you have these courageous ski/snowboard women toughing it out in dangerous, astonishing contests that are called “Ladies” events. They’re dressed in these puffy hardy sports gear, not pearls and twin sweater sets. Enough already. More than enough.
Must we always have to fight inch by inch, over and over, about gender restrictions in each individual sport, in each individual sub-culture? It is all so counter-productive. As we saw in the Shibutanis' extraordinary Olympic performance, breaking the limitations and challenging the assumptions leads to a richer art.
Here is Maia and Alex Shibutani’s Bronze medal-winning dance (although it’s an unsatisfactory video).
And here are Birgit Aust and Bettina Keil skating at the 2010 Gay Games (Cologne). I think their dancing and their outfits are both lovely.
you have me hooked on figure skating,Katz! It is like music made visible. And I didn't know that there were Gay Games. That's wonderful! Thanks for your posts and the great videos!
Posted by: Amy Rose | 25 February 2018 at 09:58
Amy, the Gay Games are a huge event - I believe in numbers as big as the Olympics. They have been going for decades - long enough to have rifts and split in half and all sorts. Ice dancing is dance and as you put it so nicely, dance is music made visible. Exactly so!
Posted by: Sue Katz | 25 February 2018 at 10:05
How lovely! Did you ever skate? I can only guess how it must feel to swoop at speed like that...
Posted by: Marj | 25 February 2018 at 13:21
I too love Ice Dance, where grace and interpretation are more important than jumping prowess. Of course my love of the sport was cemented by my groundbreaking compatriots, Torville and Dean in Sarajevo. For the first time, it was the man who was the better dancer, the beter skater, the better interpreter of the music. They changed the sport in many ways and I distinctly recall them doing a move where she lifted him instead of vice versa. Alas, it was a one-off. We appear to have made very little progress since then.
For the record, I much preferred the French silver medalists, so lyrical and fluid, to the overly brash Canadians. The "Shib-Sibs" were very good but not in the same league as skaters. It *was* nice to see a different narrative. Hopefully, more will follow.
Posted by: Gema Gray | 25 February 2018 at 14:27
Gema, I totally agree with every word you say here. I posted Torville and Dean's win last week to remind people. And there is no question that the French team was the most exquisite on the ice. The gold was given to the Canadians, with their rather SM theme, because of politics (end of their career etc).
Posted by: Sue Katz | 25 February 2018 at 15:28