譯/莊蕙嘉、核稿/樂慧生
芭蕾舞者 失去了巨大的一年
In ballet when you lose a year, you lose a lot. It takes years of sacrifice and training to become a professional, and the performing life of a dancer is short.
在芭蕾的世界，失去一年，損失可大了。經過多年犧牲訓練才能成為一個專業舞者，表演生涯卻頗為短暫。
For elite ballet dancers, a solid career lasts around 15 years — and that comes after roughly a decade of schooling. Could this pause alter the evolution of dance generations?
對菁英芭蕾舞者而言，穩定的職涯約可維持15年，唯須先經10年左右正式學習。這波中斷會改變舞蹈界的世代演進嗎？
"They're losing a year to a year and a half of their career that they're not going to get back," Jonathan Stafford, New York City Ballet's artistic director, said. "It's not like they can make it up on the back end. Everyone eventually is going to age out."
「他們損失一年至一年半的職涯，而且無法追回。」紐約市芭蕾舞團藝術總監強納森•史代佛說。「這並非他們之後能補上的事，到頭來每個人都會不再適齡。」
Ballet dancers need mental toughness to prevail in ordinary times. But this collective timeout is unlike anything they have experienced in their careers.
芭蕾舞者平時就需有堅強的心智方能出類拔萃，碰上這波集體性暫停卻跟他們職涯中任何經歷都大不相同。
"It has to be brutal — physically and psychologically," Mikhail Baryshnikov said in an email. He recalled having "tough tests" — times in his career when injuries had forced him to take off a few months. "But it's hard to imagine what it's been like for dancers sidelined by the pandemic."
「這對身心肯定都是嚴苛考驗。」米夏•巴瑞辛尼可夫在電郵中表示。他回憶職涯中多次因受傷被迫休息數月，遭遇「嚴酷試煉」。「但是，很難想像舞者因為疫情無法表演是何種光景。」
How does a dancer stay motivated and challenged? Some won't have jobs to return to, and those who do don't know when performances will return to normal. And the clock keeps ticking.
舞者如何維持積極向上和接受挑戰的心志？一些人將回不去原來的工作崗位，回得去的也不知演出何時能恢復正常。而時光繼續流逝。
"I can't imagine any point in my career being dealt this card," said Wendy Whelan, the associate artistic director of City Ballet where she was a leading dancer for 30 years. "You are taking up steps — up, up, up, up, up — and you don't want to get knocked off of any one of those steps at any point. Then, when you get there, you want to hang on to it as long as you can."
「我無法想像職涯中任何時間點碰上這種情況。」曾任紐約市芭蕾舞團首席舞者30年的該團副藝術總監溫蒂•韋倫說。「你順著台階往上爬，一階階攻頂，不想在任何時刻從任何一階上被打下來。而當你登頂後，會想在那兒待得愈久愈好。」
Stafford said he wasn't worried about dancers regaining their athleticism and movement quality; he even thinks their technique will be better, a result of working more slowly and focusing on the basics. But it will take time — months of classes and then rehearsals — to get them back to where they were last March.
史代佛說，他並不擔心舞者無法回復運動能力與動作品質，甚至認為他們的技巧會更好，因為能以較慢步調練習及專注於基礎。但需要相當時間，數月課程再加上排練，才能讓他們重回去年三月的狀態。
Dancers are practical; this year has shown that they are also incredibly resilient. While the shutdown has meant time away from performing, it has also given dancers an opportunity to experience life beyond their art, and many have relished the pause. They are taking college classes or teaching or having surgery they have put off, knowing there is time to recover. There are lots of babies on the way.
舞者是務實的，這一年顯示他們也極具韌性。封城雖意味無法表演，卻也給舞者體驗舞蹈以外人生的機會，許多人很享受這段空檔。他們去大學上課、教課或接受擱置的手術，因為知道有時間可以休養。許多新生命即將誕生。
"I am convinced that they're going to come back more well rounded, more interesting, softer in a way," Whelan said, adding: "This time has been so healthy. Unfortunate, yet healthy."
「我確信他們再回來時會更全面而完整，更有趣，或者也可以說更柔軟。」韋倫說，她又說：「這段時光十分健康，不幸，卻健康。」
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