OK, pop quiz, which of the two in the video is one of the top-rated hip-hop dancers in the world, and which is a classically trained ballet dancer?

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VICvKnSZBHc&hl=en_US&fs=1]

It may not be the most difficult question in the world, but Alex Wong is an incredible talent. (He’s the Asian one, in case you hadn’t guessed.) A former Principal Soloist at Miami City Ballet, he quit his job to compete in “So You Think You Can Dance”. (That’s an American TV competition for dancers who have to demonstrate skill in a wide variety of styles, from ballroom to krump, from contemporary to African jazz. It’s been one of my favourite programmes for a while now. There’s rarely an episode where I’m not teary eyed, at least once. The skill, power and emotional value of the performances are almost beyond belief.)

For Alex, every performance for him in the show has been superlative. Then, during rehearsal earlier in the week, he severed his Achilles tendon. He’s out of the show.

Icarus soared too close to the sun once more.

And it sucks.

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