美国国家公共电台 NPR New Alvin Ailey Choreographer Presents 'Ode' To Victims Of Gun Violence

 

RACHEL MARTIN, HOST:

We turn to art to try and process the world around us - the joys and the tragedies. Tonight, the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater will premiere a new dance piece in New York. It is called "Ode." The choreographer¹ says the work is an ode to gun violence in America, and it was inspired by the deaths of Trayvon Martin and others. Jeff Lunden reports.

JEFF LUNDEN: There are no gunshots in "Ode," but it begins with one dancer lying motionless on the floor, as a piano plays stark², detached chords.

(SOUNDBITE OF DON PULLEN'S "SUITE³ (SWEET) MALCOLM (PART 1, MEMORIES AND GUNSHOTS)")

LUNDEN: The dancer gets up and is eventually joined by five other dancers in flowing, circular motions. They dance together as an ensemble⁴, but then one dancer falls and crumples⁵ to the floor. He's picked up by another dancer, but then two of them fall.

JAMAR ROBERTS: The inspiration for the piece was a couple of years ago when there was this long stint⁶ of what appeared to be racially biased⁷ shootings by the police.

LUNDEN: Jamar Roberts is the first resident choreographer for the Ailey company and created this dance.

ROBERTS: And that really disturbed me. And like, I started to think about what does it mean? You know, what does it mean to me? What does it say about our world? What does it say about our community?

LUNDEN: "Ode" is set to a solo jazz piano score by the late Don Pullen called "Suite (Sweet) Malcolm (Part 1, Memories And Gunshots)."

ROBERTS: You know, piano embodies⁸ the beautiful, the celestial⁹, the sublime¹⁰. But it also has, like, this percussiveness¹² about it that I really like.

(SOUNDBITE OF DON PULLEN'S "SUITE (SWEET) MALCOLM (PART 1, MEMORIES AND GUNSHOTS)")

LUNDEN: The piece has three distinct sections.

ROBERTS: One being life, the middle section being death or despair and the end section being afterlife or some type of resolution.

LUNDEN: When "Ode" premieres tonight, six men will perform it. But in a couple of weeks, the same dance will be performed by an all-female cast. Ghrai DeVore-Stokes is the soloist¹³ and had questions for the choreographer about the casting.

GHRAI DEVORE-STOKES: Once he told us what it was about - about victims and families and survivors¹⁴ of gun violence in America, we kind of understood the two dynamics¹⁵ - because the female cast, of course, we're mothers, we're sisters, we're aunts, we're daughters and also sometimes victims. But it is a predominantly male-centric issue.

LUNDEN: Dancer Jeroboam Bozeman does the same steps with the all-male cast. He says some of the movement, particularly during the percussive¹¹ middle section, is angular and intense. And some is in slow motion. But it's all very personal.

JEROBOAM BOZEMAN: These things impact me as a black male and a dancer living in America. So having small imagery of bodies laying down slowly, I think of it as laying bodies to rest and kind of giving them that closure for them to ascend¹⁶.

(SOUNDBITE OF DON PULLEN'S "SUITE (SWEET) MALCOLM (PART 1, MEMORIES AND GUNSHOTS)")

LUNDEN: As he's worked on "Ode," Jamar Roberts has not only coached the dancers on the steps, but the meaning behind them - paying homage¹⁷ to the lives lost and the survivors who carry on.

ROBERTS: I think that art has power. I think it has the power to bring things to light - you know? - and have people see the world in ways that they may not have seen. And dance says it without words, and I think that that is one of the most beautiful things about this art form is that we don't use our words, but everybody knows exactly what the feeling is.

LUNDEN: And audiences across America will be able to feel the power of "Ode" this winter as the Alvin Ailey company takes it on tour.

For NPR News, I'm Jeff Lunden in New York.

(SOUNDBITE OF DON PULLEN'S "SUITE (SWEET) MALCOLM (PART 1, MEMORIES AND GUNSHOTS)"

1 choreographer   

n.编舞者

参考例句：

• She is a leading professional belly dancer, choreographer, and teacher. 她既是杰出的专业肚皮舞演员，也是舞蹈设计者和老师。 来自辞典例句
• It'stands aside, my choreographer of grace, and blesses each finger and toe. 它站在一旁，我优雅的舞蹈指导，并祝福每个指尖与脚尖。 来自互联网

2 stark   

adj.荒凉的；严酷的；完全的；adv.完全地

参考例句：

• The young man is faced with a stark choice.这位年轻人面临严峻的抉择。
• He gave a stark denial to the rumor.他对谣言加以完全的否认。

3 suite   

n.一套(家具)；套房；随从人员

参考例句：

• She has a suite of rooms in the hotel.她在那家旅馆有一套房间。
• That is a nice suite of furniture.那套家具很不错。

4 ensemble   

n.合奏(唱)组；全套服装；整体，总效果

参考例句：

• We should consider the buildings as an ensemble.我们应把那些建筑物视作一个整体。
• It is ensemble music for up to about ten players,with one player to a part.它是最多十人演奏的合奏音乐，每人担任一部分。

5 crumples   

压皱，弄皱( crumple的第三人称单数 )； 变皱

参考例句：

• This kind of paper crumples easily. 这种纸容易起皱。
• This kind of cloth crumples easily. 这种布易起绉。

6 stint   

v.节省，限制，停止；n.舍不得化，节约，限制；连续不断的一段时间从事某件事

参考例句：

• He lavished money on his children without stint.他在孩子们身上花钱毫不吝惜。
• We hope that you will not stint your criticism.我们希望您不吝指教。

7 biased   

a.有偏见的

参考例句：

• a school biased towards music and art 一所偏重音乐和艺术的学校
• The Methods: They employed were heavily biased in the gentry's favour. 他们采用的方法严重偏袒中上阶级。

8 embodies   

v.表现( embody的第三人称单数 )；象征；包括；包含

参考例句：

• The new treaty embodies the aspirations of most nonaligned countries. 新条约体现了大多数不结盟国家的愿望。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• This document embodies the concern of the government for the deformity. 这个文件体现了政府对残疾人的关怀。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

9 celestial   

adj.天体的；天上的

参考例句：

• The rosy light yet beamed like a celestial dawn.玫瑰色的红光依然象天上的朝霞一样绚丽。
• Gravity governs the motions of celestial bodies.万有引力控制着天体的运动。

10 sublime   

adj.崇高的，伟大的；极度的，不顾后果的

参考例句：

• We should take some time to enjoy the sublime beauty of nature.我们应该花些时间去欣赏大自然的壮丽景象。
• Olympic games play as an important arena to exhibit the sublime idea.奥运会，就是展示此崇高理念的重要舞台。

11 percussive   

adj.敲击的

参考例句：

• When it is dragged over pliant areas, an additional percussive tap could indicate this collision. 当它被拖到受范区域时，一个附加的敲击声提示这种碰触。 来自About Face 3交互设计精髓
• Pneumatic DTH (Down-The-Hole) hammer is one of main pneumatic percussive-rotary drilling equipments. 风动冲击器是气动冲击回转钻进的主要设备之一。 来自互联网

12 percussiveness   

Percussiveness

参考例句：

13 soloist   

n.独奏者，独唱者

参考例句：

• The soloist brought the house down with encore for his impressive voice.这位独唱家以他那感人的歌声博得全场喝彩。
• The soloist had never performed in London before.那位独唱者过去从未在伦敦演出过。

14 survivors   

幸存者，残存者，生还者( survivor的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The survivors were adrift in a lifeboat for six days. 幸存者在救生艇上漂流了六天。
• survivors clinging to a raft 紧紧抓住救生筏的幸存者

15 dynamics   

n.力学，动力学，动力，原动力；动态

参考例句：

• In order to succeed,you must master complicated knowledge of dynamics.要取得胜利，你必须掌握很复杂的动力学知识。
• Dynamics is a discipline that cannot be mastered without extensive practice.动力学是一门不做大量习题就不能掌握的学科。

16 ascend   

vi.渐渐上升，升高；vt.攀登，登上

参考例句：

• We watched the airplane ascend higher and higher.我们看着飞机逐渐升高。
• We ascend in the order of time and of development.我们按时间和发展顺序向上溯。

17 homage   

n.尊敬，敬意，崇敬

参考例句：

• We pay homage to the genius of Shakespeare.我们对莎士比亚的天才表示敬仰。
• The soldiers swore to pay their homage to the Queen.士兵们宣誓效忠于女王陛下。