Dancing 2008

beowulf573 · Post by **beowulf573** » Sat Jun 28, 2008 7:09 am

The videos this guy makes are simple, but something about just makes me smile. Perhaps it's just so many people having a good time that's infectious. There's a wonderful moment half-way through in India.

http://www.wherethehellismatt.com/video ... fbid=la_C-

(A guy travels around and films himself dancing and then edits the bits together)

beowulf573 · Post by **beowulf573** » Sat Jun 28, 2008 7:35 am

Here's one of those weird coincidences, I just played this for my wife and and she said, "That girl is singing in Bengali!" I did some digging and it turns out it's a poem by <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rabindrana ... bindranath Tagore</a>, a famous Bengali poet who won the Nobel Prize in 1913. He's my wife's favorite poet.

Here's an English translation:

Stream of Life

The same stream of life that runs through my veins night and day
runs through the world and dances in rhythmic measures.

It is the same life that shoots in joy through the dust of the earth
in numberless blades of grass
and breaks into tumultuous waves of leaves and flowers.

It is the same life that is rocked in the ocean-cradle of birth
and of death, in ebb and in flow.

I feel my limbs are made glorious by the touch of this world of life.
And my pride is from the life-throb of ages dancing in my blood this moment.

Doug_Tipple · Post by **Doug_Tipple** » Sat Jun 28, 2008 12:16 pm

I've seen the video three times so far, and I love it. There is so much energy and joy. It is interesting to see how many places I have also had the opportunity of visiting, and I remember what I was doing when I was there. The polished stainless-steel bean in Centennial Park in downtown Chicago is so unusual that even the old folk begin to dance and look at themselves in the mirrowed surface of the bean, and the short dance scene in the desert at Wadi Rum, Jordan reminds me of how hot it was and how good the watermelon tasted as it was cut by the huge knives of our Arab drivers.

Yes, I agree that mid-way through the video the dance scene in India was a special moment. The wherethehellismatt video does have one limitation, however, and that is that Matt seems to be stuck with only one dance routine. His legs go up and down, and his elbows do the same. He never spins, bends, or varies his basic theme. He even ran completely out of steam and stopped in the Solomon Islands. It must have been really hot and humid that day.

I appreciate the words from Tagore's poem: "The same stream of life that runs through my veins night and day runs through the world and dances in rhythmic measures." I believe that, and it is a joyous realization.

mutepointe · Post by **mutepointe** » Sat Jun 28, 2008 12:41 pm

I liked how other people did their own style of his dance move and how they made it look graceful.

susnfx · Post by **susnfx** » Sat Jun 28, 2008 1:58 pm

If you go to his website (www.wherethehellismatt.com) and click on "about Matt" you can read how it came about. His dance is his own thing and he knows it's bad--that's part of its humor to me. I love the scenes with the little kids--how can you watch that and not smile?

Beowulf, I love that poem and I'm so glad you posted it. It fits perfectly with the video, too. Thanks!

Susan