The Ukraine's Got Talent

What exactly qualifies as a "talent"? We've all seen auditions for Britain's Got Talent, and some (lots, in fact) of them really do make you cringe and ask what on earth possessed them to go on national television?! Occasionally, however, a rare talent will emerge that captures the nation's attention and allows it to move away from the typical singing and dancing acts that seem to fill about 80% of the show.

The winner of The Ukraine's Got Talent 2009 was Kseniya Simonova; a twenty-four year old who took up sand animation after her business shut down. She began drawing with sand on visits to the beach and progressed onwards from there. Her winning piece on the show was a sand-created story about life during the USSR's Great Patriotic War against the Third Reich in World War II. The overall performance is - in my opinion - very inspiring and engaging, and there's something almost calming and therapeutic about watching the sand form the images. What I found incredible was the way that the artist made it look so easy and natural to manipulate the sand in such a way that create clear, detailed images. The performance flowed at a steady pace and told a story that was easy to follow, and held my attention throughout - despite it not being a particularly short piece. I was pleased to see an arts-based talent win the show and inspire the nation (not to mention receiving over 7 million hits on youtube!), as I feel we're constantly bombarded with singing acts, dancing acts, etc. and it's about time that a more unique and original talent is recognized and appreciated.