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Friday, March 4, 2011

Dance You Are Going to Be Glad You Watched This

Posted by Jen Graves on Fri, Mar 4, 2011 at 4:17 PM

John Lennon da Silva makes a grown man cry. And the charm of the whole thing is made even better by the fact that you can't understand what they're saying.

Better than Susan Boyle.

Comments (22) RSS

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Beautiful!

Posted by downtownkitty on March 4, 2011 at 4:39 PM

It's always a delight to be surprised and moved by something so unexpected.

Posted by ingopixel on March 4, 2011 at 4:47 PM

Is there anything more badass than a stoic motherfucker weeping??? cool dance.

Posted by dznqbit on March 4, 2011 at 5:07 PM

It's so original that I wonder if it won't have bigger ramifications.

Posted by Vince on March 4, 2011 at 5:08 PM

Oh my GOD I have faith in humans once more.

Posted by Sargon Bighorn on March 4, 2011 at 5:12 PM

I agree with @4. Has this merged hip hop and ballet in a way that the artforms themselves are changed?

Posted by Timothy on March 4, 2011 at 5:29 PM

Dance is the coolest of all art forms.

Posted by mitten on March 4, 2011 at 6:01 PM

Damn. Thank you so much.

Posted by gloomy gus on March 4, 2011 at 6:41 PM

Wow. Amazingly cool. The kid is a contortionist, but uses his ability to do something beautifully original, rather than the usual freakshow.

Thanks!

Posted by Reverse Polarity on March 4, 2011 at 7:16 PM

I do understand what they're saying, and it's still beautiful.

Posted by TVDinner

on March 4, 2011 at 7:46 PM

From a little research (please jump in with corrections) it appears that he is 20 years old, named in honor of John Lennon, and is a poor student that saw Swan Lake at a school outing, and did the choreography himself. At the beginning the judges are pretty mean to him, with the blonde woman going so far as to say that his costume doesn't have anything to do with his song choice, and he's even asked if he's familiar with the song he picked. Someone made Yoko Ono aware of this, she watched it, and posted her thoughts on her Facebook:

https://www.facebook.com/yokoonopage/pos…

"Dear @DonnieMather, i am totally and deeply touched. Thank you for letting me see this. Please send my love to the incredible artist/dancer. He made me choke up. With love, yoko"

Posted by popolito on March 4, 2011 at 10:25 PM

A dying swan is always a sad, sad thing.

This guy is one big (skinny) double joint, isn't he? Wonder what Tchaikovsky would have thought about those trainers.

Posted by Bauhaus I on March 5, 2011 at 12:56 AM

I am in awe of the diversity of beauty humans are able to create.

That was dumbfounding.

Posted by Fish Wrench Asteroid on March 5, 2011 at 1:33 AM

So that's what happen when you mix the physically impressive part of hip hop with the majesty of classic music. More!!

I have to disagree with @7, though. There are plenty of books that are capable of bringing emotions as powerful.

Posted by Kyrie on March 5, 2011 at 2:07 AM

Looks like a well-practiced and choreographed form of rave dance styles to me. Pop-n-Lock + Liquid.

The kid is good, but I don't know why everyone is crying.

It's not the best I've seen even here in Seattle.

Posted by veo_ on March 5, 2011 at 1:49 PM

Of course, the dancing I've seen was to electronic music. But I guess if you do it to Classical music somehow it's more beautiful and artistically valid.

Posted by veo_ on March 5, 2011 at 1:52 PM

"the fact that you can't understand what they're saying."

Speak for yourself -- Se voce no podesse entender o portugues, nao significa que os outros -- inclusive eu -- nao pode.

Posted by carnivorous chicken on March 5, 2011 at 9:07 PM

@17
Care to translate for the rest of us rubes?

Posted by madman4eva on March 5, 2011 at 9:21 PM

"If you can't understand Portuguese, it doesn't mean others, including me, can't." Not trying to be snarky, but there are two problems here. The first is writing in the second person when the writer doesn't know everyone in her audience -- including some who actually do speak Portuguese. The second is the general American problem of people not speaking any other language but English, and assuming that no other Americans do as well, which I think is underlying the first. Kind of a pity.

Posted by carnivorous chicken on March 6, 2011 at 10:05 AM

Anybody catch the choreography to the French-Arab hip-hop "Tekitoi" on SNL ?

Posted by Cornichon

on March 6, 2011 at 11:31 AM

Funny, I wonder which came first: Lil Buck dances to the same song with Yo Yo Ma: http://youtu.be/C9jghLeYufQ

Posted by snakes on April 16, 2011 at 12:10 AM

carnivorous chicken don"t make areply saying not to assume something when you make a bash at americans because you think none of them speak any other languages Anata wa baka desu ka?

Posted by CrystallineDark on June 4, 2011 at 12:44 AM