Does beauty still exist beyond perfection?

Have been reading about Liu Yan,
a 26 year-old Beijing Dance Academy dancer
is one of China's best classical dancer.

That's why, it's not unexpected that
she was chosen to dance a solo
during the Olympics opening ceremony.

During rehearsal on 27 July 2008,
Liu Yan who was part of
the Silk Road dance, fell more than
three metres from the moving platform,
landing on her head and back after
a miscalculation by other performers
who were supposed to catch her.

She suffered a dislocation of her eleventh vertebra,
causing nerve and spinal damage. As a result,
she has lost all feeling below the waist.

The Olympics opening ceremony director
Zhang Yimou was quoted saying:
"You're the deepest pain in my heart,
if I could see you stand on your feet again,
it would make me much more excited
and happier than any praise I've received."

On the day of the actual opening ceremony,
her solo was danced by a replacement.

This is Liu Yan,
a year before the accident.






So beautiful.
Yet so fleeting.
So sad.

Hope she can walk again.