The history of African-American social dance - Camille A. Brown

譯者: Cissy Yun 審譯者: yue chen

This is the Bop.

這是博普舞

The Bop is a type of social dance.

是一種社交舞

Dance is a language,

舞蹈是一種語言

and social dance is an expression that emerges from a community.

而社交舞是群體社會中 衍生的表達方法

A social dance isn't choreographed by any one person.

它不是由任何一個人編制的

It can't be traced to any one moment.

也不屬於任何時刻

Each dance has steps that everyone can agree on,

每一段舞蹈會經過所有參與者的同意

but it's about the individual and their creative identity.

包括他們個性和創意力的因素

Because of that,

正因如此

social dances bubble up,

社交舞廣受支持

they change,

它們改變

and they spread like wildfire.

就像野火一樣蔓延下去

They are as old as our remembered history.

從人們記錄歷史開始 就有社交舞的存在

In African-American social dances,

在美洲非裔的社交舞

we see over 200 years

我們見證著兩百年中

of how African and African-American traditions influenced our history.

非洲及非裔美國人的文化 影響著我們的歷史

The present always contains the past.

現今仍然有往日的影子

And the past shapes who we are

而昔日塑造出此刻的我們

and who we will be.

以及我們的將來

(Clapping)

（拍掌聲）

The Juba dance was born from enslaved Africans' experience

朱巴舞是由非洲黑奴

on the plantation.

在南方莊園的經歷中產生的

Brought to the Americas,

被帶到美國

stripped of a common spoken language,

剝奪了共同語言

this dance was a way for enslaved Africans to remember where they're from.

這種舞曾是非洲奴隸 提醒自己從何而來的一種方法

It may have looked something like this.

它看起來是這樣的

Slapping thighs,

拍擊大腿

shuffling feet

拖曳雙腿

and patting hands:

和輕拍雙手表現出來

this was how they got around the slave owners' ban on drumming,

這是奴隸們應付奴隸主 禁止他們擊鼓奏樂的方式

improvising complex rhythms

即興表演出複雜的節奏

just like ancestors did with drums in Haiti

就好像祖先在海地演奏鼓樂般

or in the Yoruba communities of West Africa.

或者是非洲西部的約魯巴人族一樣

It was about keeping cultural traditions alive

這是要保存及復甦傳統文化

and retaining a sense of inner freedom

和保留內部自由的意識

under captivity.

在被奴役下

It was the same subversive spirit that created this dance:

後面這種舞也是由同樣的 反抗精神創造出的

the Cakewalk,

步態舞

a dance that parodied the mannerisms of Southern high society --

模仿著南部高階社會的矯飾主義

a way for the enslaved to throw shade at the masters.

這是奴隸黑人如何嘲笑他們的主人

The crazy thing about this dance

更有趣的是

is that the Cakewalk was performed for the masters,

步態舞是為娛樂他們的主人

who never suspected they were being made fun of.

而奴隸主從來沒有質疑過 這種舞在嘲笑他們

Now you might recognize this one.

可能現在你們會知道這個舞

1920s --

1920 年代

the Charleston.

查爾斯頓舞

The Charleston was all about improvisation and musicality,

查爾斯頓舞充滿著即興和樂感

making its way into Lindy Hop,

隨後發展成林迪舞

搖擺舞

swing dancing

and even the Kid n Play,

甚至是 Kid n Play 舞

originally called the Funky Charleston.

它原先被稱為放客查爾斯頓舞

Started by a tight-knit Black community near Charleston, South Carolina,

它們起源於南卡羅來納州查爾斯頓 一個密集的黑人社區

the Charleston permeated dance halls

查爾斯頓舞風靡在所有的舞廳

where young women suddenly had the freedom to kick their heels

年輕的女孩可以盡情享受踢腿

and move their legs.

和踏腳的自由

Now, social dance is about community and connection;

社交舞是關於社區團體和其中的關係

if you knew the steps,

如果你精通這些舞步

it meant you belonged to a group.

你就屬於這個集體

But what if it becomes a worldwide craze?

但是如果這成為了一種 風靡全世界的舞步呢？

Enter the Twist.

那就是扭扭舞

It's no surprise that the Twist can be traced back to the 19th century,

扭扭舞發源於十八世紀

brought to America from the Congo

被剛果到美國的奴隸貿易傳入

during slavery.

But in the late '50s,

但在 1950 年代後期

right before the Civil Rights Movement,

美國民權運動之前

the Twist is popularized by Chubby Checker and Dick Clark.

Chubby Checker 和 Dick Clark 將扭扭舞推廣了開來

Suddenly, everybody's doing the Twist:

一夜之間，所有人都開始跳扭扭舞

white teenagers,

白人青少年

kids in Latin America,

拉丁美洲的孩子

making its way into songs and movies.

而後還被融入了歌曲和電影中

Through social dance,

通過社交舞

the boundaries between groups become blurred.

種族之間的界限慢慢模糊開來

The story continues in the 1980s and '90s.

一直到 1980 和 1990 年代

Along with the emergence of hip-hop,

隨著嘻哈的產生

African-American social dance took on even more visibility,

美國非裔社交舞的 受歡迎程度越來越高

borrowing from its long past,

受其悠久歷史的影響

shaping culture and being shaped by it.

這種社交舞不斷地塑造文化 同時也被文化影響

Today, these dances continue to evolve, grow and spread.

如今，這些舞蹈不斷地 進化、發展和傳播

Why do we dance?

我們為什麼要跳舞呢？

To move,

來運動

to let loose,

去放鬆

to express.

為了表達

Why do we dance together?

我們為什麼會一起跳舞呢？

To heal,

來治愈

to remember,

為了銘記

to say: "We speak a common language.

用來說：「我們說著相同的語言」

We exist

「我們一起存在」

and we are free."

「我們是自由的」