Some recent adventures, early 2009.This is a hip hop routine Christie and I did together for Diana Oakes' senior project dance recital. A lot of work, but a lot of fun. Some choreography was original, some was thought up by our friend Blake Barco, and some was inspired by SYTYCD and Quest Crew. Awesome experience. These are some random clips from Senior Week put together in music video form.

This is my essay for the common ap...took forever cutting it down to size haha. Any thoughts or suggestions are appreciated =)

Yin & Yang
陰 & 陽


____I traced my opponent’s movements with my eyes, watching his stance shift slowly into an offensive position. In an instant, he had twisted into a back-kick, which I avoided narrowly with a flash-step to the left. However, he had predicted this evasion and caught the ensuing knife-hand strike sent at his throat. Before he could secure a lock, I slipped my arm out and leapt backwards, creating a comfortable distance between us. Landing lightly, I took a deep breath as we enjoyed a brief pause in our dance: the instrumental interlude after the first verse of a song.
____The training grounds were guarded by mountains on which samurai legends were born. Sakura blossoms drifted silently on the cool spring breeze, illuminated by the soft pastel colors of the sunset. My grandfather stood waiting in a relaxed stance, watching me curiously with a mildly amused expression on his face. His uniform was old and worn, but the rough material had served him faithfully through years of combat. The white had faded to a light grey, and a tattered blackbelt sat around his waist. My own uniform was brand new, purchased just a few hours earlier upon our arrival in Osaka. The sharp, jet-black, half-sleeve style was the latest trend. I was eager to test it.
____A small audience had gathered to watch this duel of opposites. My fighting style was fast and flashy, reminiscent of the glaring red neon of Tokyo, and influenced by the aggressive youth attitudes of hip-hop and breakdancing. I favored speed-based attack patterns of hand strikes and spinning kicks, which resembled the staccato solo of an electric guitar or percussionist's drum roll. My grandfather stood, calm and collected as the mist-veiled peaks that surrounded us. Empowered by a lifetime of experience and traditional training, his movements were slow and graceful, yet calculated as precisely as the movements of a calligrapher’s brush. Even at the age of sixty-five, he effortlessly evaded my barrage of attacks.
____I charged in, feinting with a flying side-kick and following up with a clean 540° roundhouse, expecting the second kick to connect. It didn’t. The final crescendo began. He had spun and countered with a double-punch to the chest and solar plexus just as I turned to face him. The force resounded through my body, and I gasped for breath as I hit the ground. Rolling backwards into a handspring, I braced for the next attack. But it never came. My grandfather was laughing, clearly enjoying the bewildered expression on my face. Sweating and sore, I stood slowly and bowed. Although a small wave of frustration passed through me, I couldn’t help but smile when he continued to laugh, lying on the field. As we sat on the cool grass waiting for the stars to wake, I resolved to pursue the day when the headstrong spirit of my current life would blend with the deep wisdom of my grandfather, creating that perfect equilibrium: the balance of Yin and Yang.

Day 1/11

Alright...let me just say that 9AM to 5PM is a long time to be drawing. -__-
Having said that I'm fairly confident I can learn a lot in this course. I'm a bit nervous because I either haven't done the stuff they're teaching since at least 9th grade studio art class (still life drawing, colored pencils, pastels, acrylic painting), or never touched the mediums before (charcoal, india ink, conte crayons) Today we worked with contour lines using ultra-fine markers, then moved into several pieces of still life drawings with soft pencils...I think I'm doing ok so far. We'll see what happens.

Behold, the workplace of Jon Shih.






(Starbucks not usually included.)