文字难度：★★★
Kathleen Kores, her pumpkin-colored hair flowing over a 2)blazing red 3)velour blouse, moved along the floor of her studio in Glastonbury the way a snake moves in the grass, smoothly and silently. Then, in a 4)split-second 5)maneuver, she bent a knee and threw a hip to one side like a weapon.
Her class tried to 6)follow suit, but that smoothness 7)eluded them. “No bouncing!” Ms. Kores 8)admonished.
Belly dancing was long thought to be the 9)province of entertainers dancing seductively for men and of Middle Eastern women who learned the moves early. But interest has spread throughout the whole world quickly because of the 10)tempo and the moves, which reflect the art of the body. As with most dance styles, belly dancing looks a lot easier than what it actually is. Trying to master belly rolls, hip drops, 11)backbends, and backward/forward 12)shimmies amongst other sensual moves requires hours of practice and plenty of core strength.
凯思琳·科瑞斯一头南瓜色的秀发飘垂在她那耀眼的丝绒红色短上衣上,在其位于格拉斯顿伯里的舞室地板上,她流畅而安静地舞动着,仿若一条在草丛中蜿蜒的蛇。接着一瞬间的移动,她屈膝,像掷武器一般把臀部甩到一边。
她班上的学员们试图模仿,动作却无法转换得那么流畅。“不要弹跳!”科瑞斯小姐提醒道。
长久以来,人们认为肚皮舞是专给艺人跳来引诱男人的,也认为是中东女性的专属,她们很小就学习跳这种舞。但由于其节奏和舞步展现了身体的艺术,这种舞迅速激起了世界各地人们的兴趣。像大多数舞蹈一般,肚皮舞看起来要比真正跳起来容易得多。设法掌握腹部起伏、臀部下沉、后仰、其他性感舞步中穿插的后摆和前摆这些动作,这需要长时间的练习和足够的躯干核心力量。
“I’ll dance until my hips or my last joint won’t move,” Kores said. “Belly dancing is the only way to face old age and to feel the joy of living and being a woman.”
Carey Murphy of 13)Lebanon, one of the more experienced dancers in Ms. Kores’s class, took lessons at the 14)Mohegan Sun casino when she worked as a 15)dealer there.
“It’s something to help you be more sensual, without being overtly sexual,” Ms. Murphy said during a break in class. Ms. Kores nodded approvingly. “I say to them, ‘All you need is a body.’”
You can see this in the class: A mother in pink sweats and a T-shirt holds her baby facing outward in her arms and sways her hips slowly to the rhythm of jingling bells. A girl in a 16)tank top and scarf tied around 17)track pants jumps up and down and weaves 18)intricate.
“我会一直跳肚皮舞,直到我的臀部或最后一个关节不能动弹为止,”科瑞斯说道,“肚皮舞是面对老龄、感受生活以及作为女人的喜悦的唯一途径。”
来自黎巴嫩的凯里·墨菲是科瑞斯小姐的班上较有经验的舞蹈学员之一。之前在金神大赌场里做荷官的时候,就已经在那里学习了肚皮舞。
“肚皮舞可以使你变得更性感,却又不会过分露骨,”墨菲小姐在一次课间休息时说道。科瑞斯小姐点头赞同。“我跟她们说,‘你所需的只是一个身体。’”
你可以在课上看到这样一个场面:一位身穿粉红色运动裤和一件T恤的母亲将怀里的宝宝脸朝外,随着叮当作响的铃铛的节奏慢慢摆动着她的臀部。一个女孩身穿背心和运动长裤,腰间绑着纱巾,前前后后地跳动,迂回舞动,手势舞步极为复杂。
Ms. Kores was 19)inundated with calls from women asking her to teach them the moves once the stars, like 20)Shakira, adopted belly dancing in their music videos.
“I believe that you cannot appreciate something fully if you don’t understand where it comes from and how it developed. Belly dance 21)is riddled with stereotypes and misconceptions—22)harems, 23)exotic dancers, seven veils—which were created by the fascination with the Orient in the 19th century and Hollywood movies in the early 20th,” said an experienced belly dancer Joanne Mallia.
She explained, “It was in the middle of preparing my Masters 24)dissertation I felt the need to do something active as a stress reliever. I heard about belly dance classes in Birkirkara led by a Canadian teacher, and I thought it would be an ideal way to exercise and have some fun at the same time. So I joined and fell in love with it almost immediately. I haven’t looked back since.”
自从明星们,比如夏奇拉,在其音乐视频中跳起了肚皮舞,众多女士都纷纷请求科瑞斯小姐教她们跳这种舞。
“我相信,如果你不了解一件事物的来源和发展历程,你就无法欣赏它。关于肚皮舞,充斥着众多老套论调和误解——后宫舞姬、艳舞女郎、七层面纱 舞——这一切的产生源于人们对19世纪的东方以及20世纪初好莱坞电影的迷恋。”一位富有经验的肚皮舞者乔安娜·玛利亚说。
她解释道:“我是在准备硕士论文中途感觉自己需要做些积极的运动来释放压力。我听说在比尔基卡拉,有一位加拿大老师开设了肚皮舞班。我想这是个兼顾运动和娱乐的理想途径。于是我报了这个班,几乎一下子就爱上了这种舞。自那以后,我就没停下来。”
上头几节课时,乔安妮对于肚皮舞不要求舞者有惊人的肌肉拉伸能力或敏捷性这一实情感到很开心。她承认:“肚皮舞的舞步实际让人感觉来得很自然——它们主要讲求专心和协调。时间一天天过去,我在肌肉控制、协调性和节奏把握方面的能力得到了提高,那些舞步明显变得更容易了!肚皮舞最根本的目的在于释放骨盆和腹部力量,打开你的心。”
During her first lessons, Joanne loved the fact that belly dancing didn’t require an incredible stretching power or 25)agility. She admitted that, “The moves actually felt natural—they required concentration and coordination more than anything else. As time went by, the moves obviously became easier as I developed greater muscle control, coordination, and appreciation of rhythm! The dance’s deepest intention is to liberate the 26)pelvis, free the belly, and open the heart.”
Though Joanne’s family wasn’t quite convinced of her new passion, they soon realized that she was quite serious about it and nowadays they fully support her and often attend her shows. “My two sisters and cousin actually joined belly dance classes a couple of years ago. Thankfully, none of my relatives and friends believe the stereotype of the belly dancer—the one where the dance is reduced to the status of 27)erotic entertainment for men. That’s what the early Hollywood movies showed—a sexy dancer surrounded by 28)salivating men. I always strive to be 29)authentic and true to the dance when I perform, especially when it comes to using the correct movements and costumes according to the type of music,” she clarified.
“The reason belly dance has become popular is that it’s a dance that celebrates a woman’s femininity, but also size diversity. You don’t have to be a skinny 30)ballerina. It’s a dance form that’s very forgiving.” Then there is what Ms. Mallia called the “31)bling” of belly dancing: the jewelry, the hip scarves that 32)jangle with every thrust, the finger 33)cymbals known as 34)zills. “Half the fun of belly dance is the bling, half the fun is the girlfriends.”
“This is more a celebration of your womanhood. The beauty of it is not just the moves and the tempo. Most importantly, it’s a way of moving and feeling your body.”
尽管乔安妮的家人对于她新涌现的激情持有一定的怀疑,但他们很快便意识到她对肚皮舞是认真的。如今,他们完全支持她,还常常观看她的演出。“事实上,我的两个姐妹和一个堂姐妹几年前就去上肚皮舞班了。谢天谢地,我的亲戚朋友中,没有谁相信有关肚皮舞者的那个老套论调——将这种舞蹈贬为供男人娱乐的艳舞。好莱坞的早期电影里就有这样一幕——一个性感的舞者被垂涎三尺的男人们团团围住。当我表演时,我总是努力真诚地对待这一舞蹈,努力忠于这一舞蹈,特别是当根据音乐的类型选择相应的舞步和服装时,”她阐明道。
“肚皮舞日渐流行起来的原因在于它是一种赞美女性特质且不论燕瘦环肥,人人都适合跳的舞蹈。你不需有芭蕾舞者般瘦削的身材。它是一种对舞者身形要求不严格的舞蹈形式。”接下来要提一下被玛利亚小姐称为肚皮舞之“亮闪闪”的东西:珠宝、随着每一下推力叮当作响的臀巾、套在指上被称作金属圆片的钹。“肚皮舞的一半乐趣在于‘亮闪闪’的饰物,另一半乐趣在于其他女性舞伴。”
“这种舞不仅仅是对你的女性特质的一种赞美。它的美不仅在于其舞步和节奏。最重要的是,它是一种舞动和感受你的身体的方式。”
