yes, they can dance

ryan conferido and melody lacayanga, you rock!

they are the remaining finalists in this fox show called 'so you think you can dance,' a dance show produced by the people behind the successful american idol franchise. i've been wanting to blog about ryan and melody (and half-filipino allan frias -- a clueless friend asked me, 'kaano-ano niya si jasmine?' to which i responded with a blank look) since the show started but i haven't found time until i saw my friend mathew blog about it.

yes, they are pinoys and (i hope) they are proud of it. some people do not cannot see why pinoys in the u.s. get all happy and hyped up when they hear of fellow pinoys making it big in the mainstream. we want them to win competitions because they have the talent (hello, jasmine!) not because they are "supported" by a voting block, the fil-am block. we want them to break into the mainstream so that other people of color could get the same opportunity.

my friends j and m and myself were at the grove last week. we ordered food at L.A. Korea, a Korean restaurant at the farmer's market. we were waiting for our food when we noticed this kid, spiky hair and all. there was something in him i could not specifically pinpoint but i could sense the confidence. a few days later, j called and told me that the kid with the spiky hair, and ryan conferido is one and the same. the last time i saw him on tv prior to seeing him at the grove was when he had this slick, 70s-like hairdo a couple of weeks ago. it did not occur to me that it was him.

damn, if i knew, i would've asked him to dance like he's never danced before. because right now, whether he likes it or not, whether he wins the title or not, he is already a role model to the thousands of fil-ams growing up in search of a role model that looks like them and talks like them.