芭蕾爷爷-芭蕾

芭蕾爷爷|芭蕾 John Lowe, a war veteran, is about to perform on stage as the worlds oldest ballet dancer.At the 1)grand old age of 90, John Lowe will join dancers from the 2)Lantern Dance Theatre Companywho are more than half his age for a performance of 3)Strausss An Artists Life.The Grandfather to 11, John Lowe, of 4)Witchford, only 5)took up ballet having watched his daughter, Alison, become a professional dancer when he was 79. And at the age of 88, he 6)starred in his first ballet productionperforming as the woodcutter in 7)Prokofievs The Stone Flower.John Lowe, who fought in Malaysia and India in the Second World War before being captured by the Japanese, said he loves performing on stage.“Dancing is the most amazing feeling and you come home mentally uplifted after listening to all this brilliant music. Its fantastic exercise too,” the retired art teacher said. “I think its a wonderful thing to do and I cant understand why more men dont do it. Theres nothing 8)effeminate about ityou have to be incredibly fit to dance. I see these people crawling around,9)hunched over smoking a cigarettethey should be doing ballet.”To maintain his fitness, Mr Lowe has even installed a 10)trapeze on his living room ceiling and hangs from it each morning to increase his muscle power. He also practices three times a week in 11)Elys Chequer Studio, as well as perfecting his 12)pirouettes and 13)plis each day at his home. His home also 14)boasts a ballet15)bar where he 16)hones his knee-bends and arm movements so he can 17)prime his body for the demands of dancing.“Its a wonderful feeling. I had always wanted to dance and its never too late to learn,” he said. “I practise each day. Im lucky that I dont have any problem with the 18)routines but thats because I exercise.”Always a lover of dance, he had used his love of the 19)theater to help him through his three years as a prisoner of the Japanese during the Second World War.“I remember being in the prisoner of war camp, starving and doing hard labour, and thinking I might not make it. But look at me now. I love dance,” Mr. Lowe said.One of his dance teachers, Helen Pettitt, of the Chequer Studio, where Mr. Lowe has been training, said: “I am sure if things had been different he could have been a dancer. I have been amazed at his flexibility, and how strong he is. He doesnt jump how he would like to but he dances in his own way and he is quite amazing.”退伍老兵约翰罗伊就要上台演出了,她将成为世界上年纪最大的芭蕾舞演员。在90岁高龄之际,约翰罗伊将和“灯之舞剧团”的舞者们一起演出小约翰施特劳斯的作品艺术家的生 涯其它那些舞者的年纪是她的二分之一有余。作为11个孩子的祖父,家住威奇福德市的约翰罗伊是在看到女儿艾莉森成为职业舞者后才开始学习芭蕾舞的,当初她已经79岁。88岁时,她主演了自己的第一部芭蕾舞作品在普罗科菲耶夫的作品宝石花中饰演一名木雕师。约翰罗伊在第二次世界大战期间曾在马来西亚和印度作战,后被日本人俘虏。她说她热爱在舞台上演出。“舞动给人最神奇的感觉,而且听过全部这些出色的音乐后再回家,你的心情也开朗多了。它还是一项很棒的运动,”这位已退休的艺术老师说,“我认为跳芭蕾舞是件美妙的事情,我不明白为何大多数男人全部不愿意学。跳芭蕾舞并不显得女人气你得有相当健康的体魄才能跳。看着那些人在四处晃荡,弯着腰驼着背在抽烟,我会想,她们全部应该去学跳芭蕾。”为了保持身材健美,罗伊先生甚至在自家客厅的天花板上装了一副吊架,天天早上练习悬吊来增强自己的肌肉力量。她不但每七天三次到伊利方格舞室练习,还天天在家练习完善她的皮鲁埃特旋转和屈膝动作。她家里还装了一个练习芭蕾舞用的靠墙扶手,用来练习屈膝和手臂动作,方便她强身塑形为舞蹈演出做好准备。“这种感觉真是太妙了。我一直想要跳舞,而学习是永远全部不会嫌迟的。”她说,“我天天全部在练习。我很庆幸自己在把握舞蹈动作上没有任何问题,不过那是因为我有锻炼。”罗伊一直热爱舞蹈,二战期间她被日本人俘虏后,就是凭借着对舞台的热爱熬过了三年的艰苦时光。“我还记得在战俘营里的那段日子,不但要忍饥挨饿,还要从事苦力劳作,我认为自己熬不过去了,但看看现在的我。我热爱舞蹈。”罗伊先生说。海伦佩蒂特是方格舞室的舞蹈老师之一,罗伊先生就在那里练舞。她说:“我相信假如当初情况不一样的话,她很可能会成为一名舞者。我惊讶于她身体的柔韧性和她的强壮。即使她在跳跃动作上显得力有不逮,但她有自己的一套舞蹈方法,真的很令人惊叹。”本文为全文原貌 未安装PDF浏览器用户请先下载安装 原版全文