W.O.W.
Sunday, August 24, 2008 at 12:34 AM

1st time I've ever watched rhythmic gymnastics (the performing kind).
1st time felt so captivated.
1st time suddenly feel 一阵莫名的感动.

Russia's Kanaeva is more than just GREAT. Somehow she just has the magical charms to capture the audience's attention once she starts her performance. Just can't take your eyes off her. Every move every swing every expression. There is flow, there is fluency, there is rhythm, there is artistic value, there is integration of the performer and the apparatus and the music, there is emotions. You don't just use your eyes to see the performance. You actually can FEEL it. I guess this is what they call 出神入化. When I watched, it just gave me a very special feeling. And once she finished her 1st round, you'll probably already can feel the difference between her and other gymnasts. You just know, OMG she's the one, this girl is going to WIN. Unless she made mistakes. That's how good she is.

Ukraine's Bessonova's no simple figure too, esp her performances with the hula hoop and the ribbon. The former was so full of grace and integration, the latter was dynamic and magnificent, 刚柔兼具. Both were very captivating. It's really not an easy thing to incorporate artistic value into gymnastics. A pity she ended up with a bronze (again) due to a mere difference of 0.40 point. I actually prefer her performance to Zhukova (the silver medalist) coz' Bessonova's performances gave me more feel and flow.

Amazing how you can feel a simple gymnastics performance as such (though their moves certainly aren't simple at all). Awe (in ET's words)? Maybe partly =) It's a total enjoyment to watch the 2 perform.

(Dammit Channel 5 had to cut out the 3rd round of the finals, and I don't have SCV to watch my track & field events. BOO.)

rhapsody in blue.