Get Amped on Ballet

I found this video the other day. I may be the only person on Planet Earth who hadn't seen it til a few days ago. The ballet, "Hand in Hand," was performed at a dance contest in China in 2007.

I am dedicating this video to anyone who has ever been told they couldn't do something or even felt a goal was out of their reach. Correct me if I'm wrong, but I believe that applies to everyone, including me.

The two dancers, Ma Li and Zhai Xiaowei, are amputees. She lost her arm in a car accident at the tender age of 19 while aspiring to become a professional dancer. Through perseverance, dedication and inspiration from other handicap people she managed to keep her dream alive.

He lost his leg in an accident involving a tractor at the age of four. When the two met she was looking for a dance partner, and found him, a cyclist athlete in training with zero dance experience. She managed to convince him to take up dance. When they first met, he thought she was crazy asking him to dance with only one leg. He also didn't realize she was an amputee as she designed her own clothes to camouflage her missing arm.

After two years of training and many falls including a fall that dislocated Xiaowei's shoulder, the pair entered the 4th annual China Central Television Dance Contest. They got second place, even though they competed against over 100 able bodied dancing pairs.

The ballet depicts overcoming life's challenges and affairs of the heart. I find myself watching the video repeatedly mesmerized by their grace and athleticism. And I feel inspired by their violet auras, meaning their job on Planet Earth is to inspire the masses to be all they came here to be. With nearly 5 million hits for this YouTube video alone, I'd say they are doing an excellent job.