Art and dance

Amongst the videos I was sent today, these two really stand out, for different reasons.

The first one is beautiful and moving. Kseniya Simonova, a sand artist from Ukraine, participated in a talent show on TV and won. Apparently she joined the competition because she wanted to help a kid who needed the money for an operation. Her art tells the story of Ukraine during the Second World War. It’s amazing how her hands create animated stories right in front of our eyes. The storyline is further enriched by the music, making Kseniya’s storytelling a truly unique experience.

Here’s a snippet from a Guardian article about Kseniya’s performance.

“…she recounts Germany conquering Ukraine in the second world war. She brings calm, then conflict. A couple on a bench become a woman’s face; a peaceful walkway becomes a conflagration; a weeping widow morphs into an obelisk for an unknown soldier. Simonova looks like some vengeful Old Testament deity as she destroys then recreates her scenes – with deft strokes, sprinkles and sweeps she keeps the narrative going. She moves the judges to tears as she subtitles the final scene””you are always near”.

(Thanks to Despina for forwarding)

The second video is about dancing. Not just any dance but the particular one that Matt from Connecticut performs in different places around the world. He’s my new hero and he happens to live in Seattle. I may try to meet this guy 🙂 Apparently, he did this little dance of his during one of his trips and uploaded it on YouTube. It became popular enough that he got sponsored to travel around and do it in even more countries. It’s really entertaining to watch and I am seriously jealous of the places that he’s been 🙂

Matt has a web site where you can read all about him and see all his videos. Here’s one of them…

(Thanks to Karen for forwarding)