Newport Coast siblings have their plans put on ice ... for now

This was going to be a big year in ice dancing for Lucas and Juliette Shadid.

The Newport Coast brother-sister team has been competing together for nearly a decade. Lucas, 17 years old, is a senior in high school. Juliette, 16, is a sophomore; both are home-schooled.

This was to be the year that they moved from the novice to the junior level, which would make them eligible for international competitions.

“They want to get that Team USA jacket,” said the Shadids’ mother, Kimberly.

Lucas and Juliette, the two youngest of five siblings, would train at Great Park Ice in Irvine each morning for about three hours. Their routine was well-established.

“Every day,” Juliette said. “Well, not anymore.”

The coronavirus pandemic has forced the Shadid siblings off the ice. A key competition in Maryland this June has been canceled. Now they have their eye on the U.S. Sectional Ice Dance Challenge in October, hoping to get another chance to perform soon.

Lucas and Juliette are serious competitors. Their mother was born in Canada and has dual citizenship, and they actually lived in Calgary, Alberta, on and off for a couple of years to train before moving back to Newport full-time in February 2019.

“We were just super-homesick, so we’ve come back here,” Kimberly said. “We missed Newport Beach. We were watching from afar the Great Park being built, and we knew it was going to change figure skating a little bit in our local area and attract higher coaches and athletes. Once it was open and completed, we decided to base our training here.”

Juliette, left, and Lucas Shadid are a local ice dance team from Newport Coast, who have been competing together for nearly a decade.

(Don Leach / Staff Photographer)

Kimberly said it’s been a tough year, but she is trying to look on the positive side. She has all five of her children living at home now. That includes middle child Alex, 21, who was a sophomore pitcher on the Orange Coast College baseball team this spring. The Pirates experienced tragedy when head coach John Altobelli, his wife Keri and daughter Alyssa were three of nine people killed in a helicopter crash Jan. 26 that also included former NBA superstar Kobe Bryant and his daughter Gianna.

Lucas and Juliette have enjoyed playing tennis or hiking with their older siblings. The oldest is Amanda, 25, who is an equestrian rider. Harry, 23, is a former golfer.

They also have a small gym set up in the family garage.

“It makes it easier that they live together,” said their coach, Christine Fowler-Binder. “They can train off-ice together. They have to perform certain lifts, acrobatic moves, where he holds her in the air for a few minutes and he sustains positions. It’s helpful that he has her there to continue to work on those elements that they have to do in their program. It’s also helpful that they can maintain their cardio together and their strength training together.”

Lucas agreed there is some advantage to living under the same roof as his dance partner.

“Our competitors, they can’t do lift practice, but we can,” he said. “We’ve also been doing ballet with our ballet instructor over Zoom. Also, U.S. Figure Skating has certain classes that are for their skaters, like ballroom/hip-hop, so those have been really nice.”

Fowler-Binder believes that the brother-sister team has a bright future. If competition is allowed to resume and they perform well, they could make it to the U.S. Figure Skating Championships, which are scheduled for San Jose in January.

“They both have the natural presence on the ice, and the ability to become the character that they’re acting or playing,” Fowler-Binder said. “Ice dancing is a lot about portraying an emotion or a character when you’re on the ice. It’s a little bit more like acting, and I think they both really do that well. They’re a beautiful team, stunning to watch.

“I think that they will be Team USA members at some point. Our goal was this year, but I don’t even know if they’re going to have international competitions for their level this year. Hopefully next year, the stars align, and hopefully they’ll be able to make the world team and the Olympics one day. They have the drive and the talent.”

This was to be the year that Lucas, left, and Juliette Shadid moved from the novice to the junior level, which would make them eligible for international competitions.

(Don Leach / Staff Photographer)

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