“跨艺”主持人、英国学者MARTIN在做“跨艺”论坛的总结时,提到希望能有关于中国大陆和台湾舞蹈交流的一些议论。应该说,不对这一现象做一回应,委实委屈了两岸正在利用“跨艺”计划而进行的健康而富有成效的舞蹈交流。

“跨艺”项目起始于2009年的北京舞蹈学院,由中英两方人员参加,名曰“舞动无界”。2010年,台北艺术大学作为第三方组织了当年的“跨艺”活动:“跨艺”的舞台上,不仅有了中西之间的交流,更从此开始有了大陆与台湾的互动。这是一个了不起的跨越。

大陆和台湾隔绝了很久,彼此都发展起了各自的舞蹈事业,相互间具有很强的互补性。如何让两岸的舞蹈文化产生良性的互动,从而携手共同为中华民族的崛起贡献在舞蹈上的智慧,“跨艺”这个平台显然树立起了两岸舞蹈交流的理想模式和典范。通过“跨艺”,两岸舞者、编导、学者亲密无间的交流,舞蹈艺术跨越了一切阻隔,文化上的相似性和语言的相通,的确让两岸的舞蹈交流产生了空前的效果。

这无疑是“跨艺”的有一大贡献!透过“跨艺”,我们不但近距离地认识和了解了台湾舞人,更通过与他们的无缝接触,感受到了台湾舞蹈事业的进步和发展,这应该是“跨艺”的一个让人始料未及的副产品和大收获。

参加本届伦敦“跨艺”的台湾青年编导苏威嘉认为,在他看来,舞者是无文化差异的,只有优劣之分。当然,对这个判断我还是要略保留一下自己的看法的,因为,面对来自不同背景的舞者所具有的差异性这个问题不只我一个人如是想,大多数编导也都对此表露了自己相同的认识。

将大陆舞者和台湾舞者放在同一个平台上观察,的确可以看出他们之间鲜明的不同:大陆舞者的身体条件和训练水准十分突出,而台湾舞者的适应能力和开放意识也的确值得我们学习。

在排练过程中,我们可以十分清晰地感到了台湾舞者的活力,我一直都觉得他们身上有一种集体所共有的特质,但搜肠刮肚却怎么也找不到一个合适的词汇来描述和形容,直到有一天跟北京舞院研究生处主任赵铁春教授谈及此事时,他使用的一个词汇顿时让我觉得他总结得准确而到位,而且完全表达出我的那种感觉,那就是:积极主动。

的确,无论是在排练厅里还是在舞台上,台湾舞者鲜明地展示出一种难以言传的积极主动,一种积极而明朗的心态,一种主动而无畏的态度,但这种积极主动分明又透露着一份谦恭和礼貌,给人感觉极好。当然,台湾舞者在舞台上的那种投入而尽意的表现力,也给我留下了深刻的印象。那种水准,让我们看到了台湾舞蹈发展的整体质素。

据向台湾学者陈雅萍求证,台湾的舞蹈文化中现代舞创作是主流,因此,本此参与“跨艺”的三位台湾编导何晓玫、董怡芬和苏威嘉,都以他们对于舞蹈艺术的认识高度和良好的艺术感觉,为“跨艺”舞台增色不小。透过他们的创作理念,让我们仿佛看到了台湾舞蹈文化的面貌。

至于与台湾舞蹈学者们的交流,更是让每天相处共同相处的我们有水乳交融之感。台湾学者大都有很好的西方学习背景,因此在治学的视角、观念和方法上也都能与国际接轨,这一点让我们有了切身的感受。同时,他们谦逊而厚德的品格,也让我们分明感受到了中华文明的优良素质。

两岸的舞蹈发展,虽规模不同、体制各异,但都在以往的积累中发展出各有特色的优长,而且具有互补性。“跨艺”,让我们彼此相聚;“跨艺”,让我们相互沟通。只要我们彼此带着诚意、带着虚心,我们共同创造历史的未来就会越来越近。

Translation…

Jiang Dong’s London Reflections 09: ArtsCross Blending Mainland and Taiwanese Dance on the Stage

In summing up the ArtsCross forum, the British Scholar Martin noted that he would like to hear some discussion on the meeting of mainland and Taiwanese dance. If we failed to engage in such discussion, we would not be doing justice to the way in which the participants from both sides of the Taiwan Straits made use of ArtsCross to engage in a healthy and rich exchange around dance.

The ArtsCross project began in the Beijing Dance Academy in 2009. Participants from China and the UK took part in the project, and it was called Danscross. In 2010, the Taipei National University of the Arts became the third participant in the project, organising that year’s ArtsCross activity. The ArtsCross stage not only witnessed cultural exchanges between China and the West, but also saw interactions between Mainland China and Taiwan. This represented a fantastic leap forward.

Mainland China and Taiwan have been cut off for a long time, and each has developed its own dance culture, which complement one another in many ways. In seeking to promote positive interactions between mainland and Taiwanese dance culture, and allowing wisdom derived from dance to contribute to the rise of Chinese culture, ArtsCross established a new model for dance cultural exchange between the mainland and Taiwan. Through the medium of ArtsCross, the mainland and Taiwanese dancers, choreographers and scholars engaged in uninhibited dialogue. Dance culture transcended all barriers, and thanks to cultural and linguistic similarities, the exchanges between the mainland and Taiwanese participants generated unprecedented results.

This was, without doubt, one of the major achievements of the ArtsCross project! Through ArtsCross, we not only got to know Taiwanese dancers up close, we also got to appreciate the development of Taiwanese dance, thanks to our very close interactions. This was truly one of the unexpected added benefits of ArtsCross.

Su Wei-Chia, a young Taiwanese choreographer participating in the London ArtsCross said that, in his opinion, there were no real cultural differences between the dancers; it was just that some were stronger in some areas than others. Personally, I will reserve judgement on this question. I was after all not the only one who felt that there were in fact cultural differences between the dancers. In fact, the majority of the choreographers held the same opinion.

When dancers from the mainland and Taiwan are put together on a stage, it is certainly easy to see clear differences between them: the physical condition and level of training of the mainland dancers is highly pronounced, while the adaptability and open-mindedness of the Taiwanese dancers is something we can really learn from.

During the rehearsals, the energy of the Taiwanese dancers was clear for all to see. Through the whole process, I felt like they had a kind of communal quality, but try as I might, I could not find the language to describe what I felt. It was not until was back in Beijing, discussing this point with Zhao Tiechun, the Director of the Beijing Dance Academy Research Student Department, and he used a description which I immediately realised was a very accurate description, expressing exactly what I wanted to say: “Proactive Initiative.”

Whether in the rehearsal hall or on the stage, it is certainly the case that the Taiwanese dancers exhibit a kind of proactive initiative which is hard to describe. A kind of proactive and open state of mind. This proactive initiative is obvious while at the same time betraying a sense of modesty and courtesy. It is extremely pleasant. Of course, the devotion and expressive force exhibited on stage by the Taiwanese dancers left me with a strong impression. This high level of performance demonstrated the overall level of quality which has developed in Taiwanese dance.

Based on what I heard from the Taiwanese academic Chen Yaping, modern dance creation is now mainstream within the Taiwan dance scene. Because of this, the three Taiwanese choreographers, Ho Hsiao-Mei, Tung I-Fen and Su Wei-Chia, who were participating in this session of ArtsCross, were able to use their keen sense and artistic feeling to add a lot of colour to the ArtsCross stage. Their creations allowed us to experience Taiwanese dance culture.

In our daily exchanges and interactions with the Taiwanese dancers, we really felt that we got on extremely well. The Taiwanese academics nearly all had Western academic backgrounds and, as a result, were all able to connect with the international participants from an academic, conceptual and methodological perspective. This also left a deep impression. Their modest and virtuous characters gave us a strong sense of the best sides of Chinese culture.

While dance has evolved differently in the Chinese mainland and in Taiwan, at different scales and through different frameworks, both forms have developed strengths and special characters, which strongly complement one another. ArtsCross allowed us to come together; ArtsCross allowed us to communicate with one another. As long as both sides come armed with sincerity and open-mindedness, we will continue to move towards a future where we can create history together.

江东伦敦跨艺旅思09:“跨艺”平台上的大陆与台湾的舞蹈交融

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.