Yo-Yo Ma & Lil' Buck

 

This is a video of world renowned cellist Yo-Yo Ma performing "The Swan" by Camille Saint-Saëns while LA dancer Charles Lil' Buck Riley interprets sound into movement. His liquid movements are a perfect response to Yo-Yo Ma's music and prove to be an immensely engaging few moments between an unlikely duo. 

The interaction of these two improbable artists was lucky enough to be caught on camera by Spike Jonze and furthermore, Yo-Yo Ma has an unexpected sense of humor at the end of the clip. This is a video of world renowned cellist Yo-Yo Ma performing "The Swan" by Camille Saint-Saëns while LA dancer Charles Lil' Buck Riley interprets sound into movement. His liquid movements are a perfect response to Yo-Yo Ma's music and prove to be an immensely engaging few moments between an unlikely duo. The impromptu video was caught by Spike Jones who had this say:

The other day, I was lucky enough to be at an event to bring the arts back into schools and got to see an amazing collaboration between Yo-Yo Ma and a young dancer in LA, Lil Buck. Someone who knows Yo-Yo Ma had seen Lil Buck on YouTube and put them together. The dancing is Lil Buck's own creation and unlike anything I've seen. Hope you enjoy. —Spike Jonze

These comments and video are courtesy of the blog Opening Ceremony.

The thing I enjoy most about this video is the way the two communicate with each other through their art. Through their pacing, rhythm, dynamics, and gestures, the two are engaged in a non-verbal conversation – each in the language of their own specialty. It might seem bizarre that these two would lock in and read each other so fluently, but this is what great performers and artists do. Watch the video twice and keep one eye on Yo-Yo Ma to see how he allows the dancer room to cadence and phrase his gestures. Their is an inherant physical component to performing and an even more obvious physical component to dancing (especially when it involves this much balance and flexibility). Yo-Yo Ma and Lil' Buck are marvelously successful because they move in such graceful synchronization. Finally, I love Spike Jonze for having the immediate forethought to share this happening with the blogosphere. 

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