when stones come to life...

"Every once in a while...a number comes along that is so magical and when everything happens one with the universe."

And indeed everything became one with the universe when my two favorite dancers, Melanie and Marko, performed a Travis Wall contemporary routine in the first live episode of So You Think You Can Dance Season 8.

It was like watching some Greek god and goddess creating an artwork through precisely calculated and harmonized movements. It is poetry in motion--poignant and pure.

The combination of superb technique and stunning choreography was just breath-taking and emotionally-enthralling. The chemistry, dynamics, and emotions emanating from the routine was amplified through the use of a great piece of music- Turn To Stone by Ingrid Michaelson (This song was perfect for the routine. I fell in love with this song when it was featured in the Grey's Anatomy finale where Izzy married Alex).

I remember watching this performance three nights ago and I could feel my pulse racing, hands sweating, and eyes wide to what was happening in front of me; that usually happens whenever I am exposed to rare remarkable form of art.

This will win an Emmy. Mia Miachaels may not be here this season, but I am really glad that Travis Wall is truly becoming a master of his craft. Two highly technical dancers and a genius choreographer- What do you expect to see? :P

This season is shaping to be the best so far, and for the first time in SYTYCD history, no one got eliminated from the results show...because they were that good!. I am really excited for this season, but I hope they change the stage. It seems to lack the illusion of space. Hehe. Anyway, go Melanie and Marko! (Marko is a Filipino did you know, and Tadd, the B-boy).

What a gloomy day... so perfect. :)

so you think again

The new season of the Emmy-winning dance reality show So You Think You Can Dance is finally here, and so like my downloader, the right side of my brain is going haywire. No other show can capture the artistic and entertaining attributes of dance than this, the way it showcases new talents and mind-blowing choreography (I am looking forward to Dee's, Sonya's, Travis' and of course Mia Michael's).

One of my favorites this season is an art major from Fordham University, Melanie Moore (She looks like Dr. Sarah Tacredi of Prison Break, doesn't she?). I fell in love with her the first time she danced a contemporary piece to Alexander Desplat's The Meadow. I just adore her technique, but I love her quirky personality more.

Another standout for me is Marko Germar, the one with a bullet still lodged in his right shoulder bone because of an encounter with an armed robber. He seems really cool and I love the way he blends hip hop and contemporary in his movements. I loved his audition. I may be a bit biased though because he danced to James Morisson's If You Don't Want To Love Me on his audition.

And what a way to open the new season with a captivating contemporary piece by Stacey Tookey to the tune of In This Shirt by the Irrepressibles.

The amalgam of great technique and artistic choreography is just breath-taking and dynamic--a piece of heaven indeed.

elephant in the room

Discovering a new artist is like listening to a whole new different genre of music. It's musically liberating, to hear such words and melodies that are often heart-felt, honest, and unadulterated.

How heavy are these words?
They're heavier than air
That rushes past your face as you drive away from me again.

How heavy are these hands?
They're heavier than blood
That rushes to my head as you walk away from me again.

And I hope you can see
I'm more than this, this heap at your feet
Who are you to judge me?

-Richard Walters, Elephant in the Room

this is it. are you ready?

I am expecting a finale that will rival Peter Jackson's The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King. Am I expecting too much? :P

Nonetheless, Harry Potter will go down in my book as one of the best series translated on the big screen. It would be really bittersweet to walk out of the cinema after watching this. But I guess, there is still the Wizarding World in Universal Studios-Orlando to cheer me up--my very last Potter frontier.

to build a home

There are only few songs that could bring about happiness, artistically wrapped within a melancholic symphony of loss and the bittersweet concept of letting go.

And I built a home
For you
For me
Until it disappeared
From me
From you
And now, it's time to leave and turn to dust.

-To Build A Home by The Cinematic Orchestra