Hot on their heels, Maia and Alex Shibutani from Team USA finished second using a medley of Perez Prado songs. The Shibutanis, a brother and sister team, skipped out on Friday’s Opening Ceremony in order to prepare for their performance in the team event.
Through the short dance phase, Canada leads the rest of the field in the team event with 27 points. Team USA is in second place with 23 points. The next closest team, made up from Olympic Athletes from Russia, tallied 21 points.
After Wednesday night’s team event – which included performances from Nathan Chen married pairs team Alexa Scimeca Knierim and Chris Knierim – the United States sat in second place behind Canada.
One highlight from the short dance included not one, but two ice dance teams incorporating the Grammy-nominated smash hit “Despacito” by Luis Fonsi and Daddy Yankee. South Korea’s Yura Min and Alexander Gamelin as well as China’s Wang Shiyue and Liu Xinyu both used the tune.
The team event continues on Saturday with the ladies’ short program phase which includes 10 skaters. Newly-crowned U.S. national champion Bradie Tennell will make her Olympic debut in the event.
After the ladies’ short program in the team event, the field is reduced to just five countries. The pairs’ free skate portion of the team event continues Saturday night, with the Knierims representing the United States.
You can also watch live practice rink footage, below.
