文/凱文·麥克斯帕登 譯/成玉華

By Kevin McSpadden

The women usually gather in the squares early in the mornings and evenings, sometimes wearing matching outfits, preparing to dance in unison to the day’s music line-up, usually Chinese, sometimes not.

These “dancing grannies” gather by the dozens, and even hundreds, all across China, and have become an omnipresentpart of society in the past 20 years.

2 “Dancing is an all-age exercise, and it was proposed as a way for the elderly to be happy, to learn something and to contribute to the university,” said a Chinese auntie from Chongqing, referring to a community college for elderly people she attends.

She fell in love with dancing and now performs on stage and competes against other dancing troupesin China.

3 For many middle-aged and elderly women in China, often called “damas”,square dancing is the most important social activity in their lives.

她們通常在清晨和傍晚聚集在廣場(chǎng)，有時(shí)穿著統(tǒng)一的舞衣，準(zhǔn)備跟著當(dāng)日按順序播放的音樂(lè)曲目齊舞。音樂(lè)通常是中文歌曲，但有時(shí)不是。

在中國(guó)各地，這些“廣場(chǎng)舞大媽”數(shù)十人甚至數(shù)百人一聚，在過(guò)去20年間已經(jīng)成為無(wú)處不在的社會(huì)群體。

2 “跳舞是一項(xiàng)老少皆宜的運(yùn)動(dòng)，被當(dāng)成一種讓老年人快樂(lè)、學(xué)東西和為大學(xué)做貢獻(xiàn)的方式?！敝袊?guó)重慶的一位阿姨說(shuō)，她指的是她所上的社區(qū)老年大學(xué)。

她愛(ài)上了跳舞，如今還上臺(tái)表演，與國(guó)內(nèi)其他舞蹈隊(duì)比賽。

3 在許多中國(guó)中老年婦女（常被稱為“大媽”）心里，廣場(chǎng)舞是她們生活中最重要的社交活動(dòng)。

These square dancing troupes have become a family for some participants and a fascination for many passers-by.

Which begs the question, who are these dancing grannies?

How it works

4 The most important feature of square dancing is the music.

The music is typically songs that are familiar to the group and there is a cottage industryof companies that sell soundtracks for dancing grannies, said Jiaxuan Yu, a PhD student at Emory University who has studied square dancing groups for seven years.

“But basically, they just try to find something that is free. That is a very important thing,” she said.

5 Choosing the music is the group leader’s job, a revered position that comes with both respect and responsibility.

The leader selects the line-up, choreographsthe dances (which often means simplifying the proposed dance),organises the meet-ups and manages the troupe.

For people in this position, square dancing may appear more like a job than an evening hobby.

6 The best strategy for joining a dance troupe is just to show up and hang around.

對(duì)某些參與者來(lái)說(shuō)，廣場(chǎng)舞隊(duì)給了她們家的感覺(jué)；對(duì)許多路人來(lái)說(shuō)，這些團(tuán)隊(duì)則會(huì)吸引他們駐足欣賞。

這就讓人不禁要問(wèn)：這些廣場(chǎng)舞大媽是誰(shuí)？

運(yùn)作方式

4 廣場(chǎng)舞最重要的特點(diǎn)是音樂(lè)。

就讀于埃默里大學(xué)的博士生于佳煖已研究廣場(chǎng)舞隊(duì)七年。她說(shuō)，音樂(lè)通常是團(tuán)隊(duì)耳熟能詳?shù)母枨夷切┫驈V場(chǎng)舞大媽出售音樂(lè)原聲帶的公司已形成了家庭產(chǎn)業(yè)。

“但她們主要還是會(huì)找免費(fèi)的音樂(lè)。這一點(diǎn)非常重要?！彼f(shuō)。

5 選擇音樂(lè)是隊(duì)長(zhǎng)的工作。隊(duì)長(zhǎng)受人尊敬，但也要肩負(fù)責(zé)任。

隊(duì)長(zhǎng)負(fù)責(zé)挑選樂(lè)單，編排舞蹈（通常是指簡(jiǎn)化擬跳的舞蹈），組織大家碰頭，以及管理團(tuán)隊(duì)。

對(duì)擔(dān)任隊(duì)長(zhǎng)的人來(lái)說(shuō)，跳廣場(chǎng)舞可能更像是一份工作，而不是一項(xiàng)晚間愛(ài)好。

6 加入舞蹈隊(duì)的最佳策略就是親自去現(xiàn)場(chǎng)，并在旁邊轉(zhuǎn)悠。

Once you become a familiar face,the group will ask if you want to join.Often, outsiders can pick out new members because they tend to hang on the edges of the groups and their dance moves are not as in sync witheveryone else.

Typically, once a woman joins a group they tend to stick with it, both out of convenience and, more importantly,because it can transform into their most important friend group.

7 “When they are dancing with others, they are also networking, so after several months, they will become very good friends,” said Yu.

“They may do things like go grocery shopping or travel together. They may become good friends in their life outside square dancing.”

8 The value of these groups can be immense, especially as a counter to loneliness in old age.

Andy Boreham, a Shanghai-based journalist who is working on a documentary about the damas, said: “When we retire, and the kids leave home, there often isn’t that much left to do. The women I’ve talked with about square dancing can talk endlessly about the connection and sense of belonging they get when they join a dance troupe.”

一旦你成了熟面孔，該團(tuán)隊(duì)就會(huì)問(wèn)你是否想加入。外人通常一眼就能認(rèn)出新隊(duì)員，因?yàn)樗齻兺陉?duì)伍邊上踟躇，舞蹈動(dòng)作也和其他人不同步。

通常來(lái)說(shuō)，一旦加入了某個(gè)團(tuán)隊(duì)，她們就會(huì)堅(jiān)持下去，既是出于方便，更重要的是，該團(tuán)隊(duì)可轉(zhuǎn)變?yōu)樗齻冏钪匾呐笥讶骸?/p>

7 “她們一起跳舞時(shí)也是在社交，所以幾個(gè)月后，彼此之間就會(huì)成為非常要好的朋友?！庇诩褵溦f(shuō)。

“她們可能會(huì)一起去雜貨店購(gòu)物或旅游。她們可能會(huì)在廣場(chǎng)舞之外的生活中成為好朋友?！?/p>

8 這些舞蹈隊(duì)可大有裨益，在對(duì)抗晚年孤獨(dú)方面尤其如此。

安柏然是一名在上海任職的記者，正在制作一部關(guān)于中國(guó)大媽的紀(jì)錄片。他說(shuō)：“一旦退休，孩子們都已離家，可做的事所剩無(wú)幾。談到廣場(chǎng)舞，我采訪的大媽們會(huì)滔滔不絕地講述她們加入舞隊(duì)后結(jié)下的友誼和獲得的歸屬感?！?/p>

9 上海師范大學(xué)研究社會(huì)學(xué)的宓淑賢說(shuō)，女性跳舞還有個(gè)原因是，這是她們展示自身女性美的一種方式。

9Shuxian Mi, a sociologist at Shanghai Normal University, said another reason the women dance is that it is a way for them to express their feminine beauty.

“In my opinion, square dance is a reproduction of beauty. More and more women show their beauty by dancing square dance, and the emergence of short videos gives them an opportunity,” she said.

A brief history of damas

10 Most histories of collective public square dancing, called Guang Chang Wu in Chinese, point to the mass urbanisation and building boom of the 1990s as the origins of the activity.

11 While instances of public dancing were common before China opened up to the world, the public squares themselves did not exist on a large scale,according to an essay published in MIT Press in 2016.

The authors Seetoo Chiayi and Zou Haoping wrote: “While the first public park had opened in the late 19th century,these newly built or renovated squares provided additional space for the dancers who had been performing cha-cha,ballroom, and yangge (a more traditional dance) in groups in city parks.”

12 Most square dancing troupes are made up of women who happen to live near each other.

她說(shuō)：“在我看來(lái)，廣場(chǎng)舞是美的再現(xiàn)。越來(lái)越多的女性通過(guò)跳廣場(chǎng)舞彰顯美麗，而短視頻的興起給了她們機(jī)會(huì)?！?/p>

大媽簡(jiǎn)史

10 大多數(shù)集體性公共廣場(chǎng)舞蹈（中文稱“廣場(chǎng)舞”）的記錄指出，20世紀(jì)90年代的大規(guī)模城市化和建設(shè)熱潮是該活動(dòng)的起源。

11 2016年，麻省理工學(xué)院出版社發(fā)表的一篇文章指出，雖然在公共場(chǎng)合跳舞在中國(guó)對(duì)外開(kāi)放前就已司空見(jiàn)慣，但那時(shí)公共廣場(chǎng)本身卻并未大規(guī)模存在。

司徒嘉怡和鄒昊平在文中寫道：“雖然首座公共公園已在19世紀(jì)末開(kāi)放，但是這些新建或翻新的廣場(chǎng)為那些原本一直在城市公園組隊(duì)跳恰恰舞、交誼舞和秧歌（一種更為傳統(tǒng)的舞蹈）的舞者提供了更多空間?！?/p>

12 大多廣場(chǎng)舞隊(duì)的成員是住得相距不遠(yuǎn)的女性。

現(xiàn)代廣場(chǎng)舞的轉(zhuǎn)型時(shí)刻是2008年北京奧運(yùn)會(huì)。中國(guó)政府在奧運(yùn)會(huì)舉辦之前呼吁群眾出門鍛煉。

The transformational moment for modern square dancing was the 2008 Beijing Olympics, when officials called on the Chinese public to get out and exercise ahead of the Games.

13 “When China was hosting the Olympics, the trend was to encourage people to participate in physical education every day. At that time, dancing,tai-chi, or activities on the square was seen as an economical form of exercise because you do not need specific equipment,” said Yu.

“Dancing on the public square, especially for women, became a more economical and convenient way for them to exercise,” she said.

Tensions and technology

14 As the activity gained popularity, it created tensions.

People often complain that the songs are loud, and there have been occasions when troupes overstepped their bounds—such as a story of a turf warwith basketball players that escalated to a point where the dancing group took over the court.

15 A recent survey published in 2019 in thesuggests the problem may be more of perception than a reality.

13 “中國(guó)舉辦奧運(yùn)會(huì)時(shí)，鼓勵(lì)人們每天參加體育運(yùn)動(dòng)成了一種潮流。當(dāng)時(shí)，跳舞、打太極拳，或者開(kāi)展其他廣場(chǎng)活動(dòng)被視為一種經(jīng)濟(jì)的鍛煉形式，因?yàn)檫@些活動(dòng)不需要特定的裝備?！庇诩褵溦f(shuō)。

“在公共廣場(chǎng)上跳舞，尤其對(duì)女性來(lái)說(shuō)，成了一種更經(jīng)濟(jì)、更方便的鍛煉方式?！?/p>

矛盾沖突和技術(shù)加持

14 廣場(chǎng)舞活動(dòng)越來(lái)越受歡迎，同時(shí)也引發(fā)了種種矛盾和沖突。

人們常常抱怨歌曲音量太大，而且舞隊(duì)有時(shí)太過(guò)分了，比如有新聞稱，一個(gè)舞隊(duì)與打籃球的人搶地盤，最后竟占領(lǐng)了球場(chǎng)。

15 《國(guó)際環(huán)境研究與公共衛(wèi)生雜志》于2019年發(fā)表的一項(xiàng)調(diào)研表明，這個(gè)問(wèn)題恐怕只是人們的感覺(jué)而已，并不符合實(shí)際情況。

16 研究員肖捷菱和安德魯·希爾頓發(fā)現(xiàn)，按地區(qū)劃分，對(duì)廣場(chǎng)舞大媽持正面看法的受訪者占比在63.6%至78.4%之間。此外，他們隨后對(duì)廣場(chǎng)舞音樂(lè)最普遍的反應(yīng)是“沒(méi)意見(jiàn)”。

16 Researchers Jieling Xiao and Andrew Hilton found that between 63.6 per cent and 78.4 per cent of respondents had a positive view of the damas, based on different locations. Furthermore, the subsequent most common reaction to the music was “no opinion.”

The survey also found that most respondents said public squares and parks were the most appropriate places for the women to dance.

17 And for those who remain annoyed by the music, technology may be on the way to save the day. Boreham said dancing troupes are experimenting with Bluetooth headphones and speakers designed to limit sounds at certain angles.

“I think the future will bring more technology aimed at reducing noise pollution from dancing grannies, because that is really the most pressing issue in my opinion,” he said. ■

該調(diào)研還發(fā)現(xiàn)，大多數(shù)受訪者表示，公共廣場(chǎng)和公園是最適合女性跳舞的場(chǎng)所。

17 而至于那些仍然厭煩廣場(chǎng)舞音樂(lè)的人，技術(shù)也許可以為他們排憂解煩。安柏然說(shuō)，舞隊(duì)正在嘗試使用藍(lán)牙耳機(jī)和揚(yáng)聲器來(lái)限制特定方向的音樂(lè)音量。

“我認(rèn)為未來(lái)會(huì)出現(xiàn)更多用來(lái)減少?gòu)V場(chǎng)舞噪聲污染的技術(shù)設(shè)備，因?yàn)樵谖铱磥?lái)，這真的是最緊迫的問(wèn)題。”他說(shuō)。□