我們到底帶著多少偏見進入排練場？

這次的跨藝，加入了幾位英國的舞者，這與前兩年只有臺灣與大陸舞者的狀況有些不同。去年，在觀察排練的過程中，我觀察到舞者使用身體重心的方式不同，所以，這次有了英國舞者的加入，重心使用的方式，再一次成為我觀察的重點。

去年參加跨藝時，發現臺灣與大陸舞者身體運用的方式不同，我想這個跟教育體制有極大的關係。因為，在臺灣的舞蹈科系中，所以的學生都必須接受芭蕾、現代舞(Contemporary dance)、民族舞蹈、太極以及武術等訓練。在大陸的體系中，尤其是北京舞蹈學院，這一所大家都想擠進的舞蹈學院，因為分科分系非常清楚，所以舞者的訓練專精在於某一種特定的舞蹈形態，每一位舞者的肢體線條修長，舞蹈技巧能力極高。

去年，在觀舞的過程中，讓我印象深刻的是臺灣編舞者布拉瑞揚的舞作《勇者．北京》。因為，在同文同種的中國與台灣，竟有如此之不同。在布拉瑞揚由身體重心運用的方式觀察起，以布拉瑞揚的舞蹈而言，我發現這樣的肢體動作表現，對於兩邊的舞者都很挑戰，但在重心轉換上，臺灣的舞者在透過指導後，似乎已經可以掌握箇中的巧妙。但是，我在觀察大陸舞者時，看到舞者們的下沈（plie) 的方式，發現到他們的重心位置較高。不同的訓練重點，影響到結果的呈現。這裡，並沒有任何評論兩方的價值，純粹是個人觀察。

今年，來到倫敦，進到了排練場，看到不同文化與訓練體系下的舞者共聚一堂，我想這也是跨藝的一個重要意義，讓各國的舞者透過排練的方式，跨越一個看不見的界限，讓彼此溝通建立二十一世紀舞蹈語匯。基於之前的經驗，我帶著比較各個文化與訓練的意念，看看來自三個不同地方的舞者，訓練上的重點，會有如何的結果。

幾天前，我進入北京舞蹈學院郭磊副院長的排練，據我了解，舞蹈已經排完，已經進入動作修正的部分。舞蹈中有英國、大陸與臺灣的舞者同聚一堂參與排練。郭老師的舞蹈是以江西的儺舞為發展主題，舞蹈中戴著各種顏色的面具，主題動作中包含了大量的下蹲的動作與跳躍。當舞者開始排練時，戴著面具，讓我驚訝的是，在我觀看的那一段舞蹈段落中，編舞家給的動作讓舞者看起來居然非常相似，由動作的質地觀察，在此舞作中，舞者並沒有因為來自不同的地方，讓我可以由當天練習的動作分辨不同國籍間舞者的差異！（在排練的過程中，郭老師還稱讚英國舞者Katty跳得最好）。後來我得知，這位英國舞者本身就有接受過其他東方舞蹈的訓練，所以，在動作的表現上，她並沒有顯現出太多的不同。另外，舞蹈的本身有大量的跳躍與下蹲動作，一位好的舞者在掌握這些動作上會有一定的水準與程度。

到底從身體動作中，可以獲知的訊息到底有多少？東西方的隔閡到底在哪裡？昨天跟編舞家座談，臺灣編舞家蘇威嘉這麼說:「對我來說，沒有東方或是西方的舞者，只有好舞者跟比較不好的舞者，甚至要說，只有吸收得快的舞者與吸收較慢的舞者！」

仔細想想，我們是不是常常帶入太多的偏見進入排練場？

Translattion…

How many preconceived ideas do we bring with us into the rehearsal studio?

During this year’s ArtsCross, I teamed up with some British dancers. This was a change from the last two sessions, where only mainland Chinese and Taiwanese dancers participated. Last year, while observing the rehearsals, I noticed that the way the dancers used their centres of gravity was different. So this time, with the arrival of the British dancers, approaches to using the centre of gravity once again constituted a focus for my observations.

While participating in last year’s ArtsCross, I noticed that the Taiwanese and mainland Chinese dancers used their bodies in different ways. I believe this is very much connected to the different teaching systems. In Taiwan’s dance schools, all students must take classes in subjects including ballet, contemporary dance, ethnic dance, Tai Chi and martial arts. Within the mainland Chinese system, and particularly within the Beijing Dance Academy, the school which all dancers want to attend, there is a very clear division between disciplines. Dancers are trained in one specialised form of dance, and every dancer possesses extremely good posture, figure and dance skills.

During my observations last year, I was most impressed by the piece by the Taiwanese choreographer Bulareyaung Pagarlava, Warriors/ Beijing. I was surprised that there could be so many differences between China and Taiwan, two places which share a common language and culture. While observing Bulareyaung’s approaches to using the centre of gravity, I discovered that the gestures performed by his dancers were very challenging for the other dancers. However, the Taiwanese dancers seemed to be able to grasp the technique of shifting their centre of gravity after receiving instructions. But when I observed the mainland Chinese dancers, I noticed that when they performed a “plié”, their centre of gravity was quite high. Different priorities within training produce different results. In saying this, I am not making any judgement on the value of the two approaches; I am simply noting my personal observations.

This year, London and seeing dancers from different cultural and training backgrounds together in the rehearsal studio made me realise that this is one of the most important aspects of ArtsCross — to use different approaches to rehearsing to allow dancers from different countries to transcend invisible boundaries, working together to establish a dance vocabulary fit for the 21st century. Based on previous experience, I used my understanding of the different cultures and training approaches, and observed to see what areas of training would be emphasized by the dancers from the three different places.

A few days before, I attended one of the rehearsals with Guo Lei, Vice President of the Beijing Dance Academy. As far as I could tell, the process of arranging the dance had already finished, and they had moved into the section where they were practising and polishing the moves. Dancers from the UK, mainland China and Taiwan were together in the studio participating in the rehearsal. Guo Lei’s dance piece used Jiangxi’s Nuo opera as a theme. The dancers wore a variety of differently-coloured masks, and the thematic movements included a lot of kneeling down and leaping around. When the dancers began rehearsing, donning their masks, what surprised me was that in the section of dance which I watched, the moves given to the dancers by the choreographer made the dancers appear extremely similar. Watching the movements during that day’s rehearsals, it was not possible to detect that the dancers came from different countries! (during the rehearsals, Guo Lei commended the British dancer Katie, saying she had danced the best). Later, I learned that this British dancer had formerly received training in other oriental dance forms. For this reason, she did not exhibit many differences in her movements. What is more, the dance contained a lot of leaping and kneeling down movements. For a good dancer to be able to manage these movements also requires a certain standard and degree of skill.

How much information is it really possible to glean from physical movements?? Where exactly does the divide lie between East and West? During the choreographer seminar yesterday, the Taiwanese choreographer Su Wei-Chia said, “As far as I’m concerned, there is no such thing as an ‘Eastern’ or a ‘Western’ dancer. There are only good dancers and less good dancers. There are only dancers who learn quickly, and dancers who learn more slowly!”

Thinking about this carefully, we should ask ourselves; do we bring too many preconceptions with us into the rehearsal studio?