YOU ARE NEVER TOO OLD TO DANCE BUT
YOU WILL GROW OLD FASTER IF YOU DON’T
Translated by Zee Gorman, Author of "the Altethlon Chronicles", available on Amazon.com
常常有人问我："史老师，你说说看，跳舞有什么好处？"我说："好处很多，在告诉你之前，你先看看我，现在70岁，跳舞已有57年，依然手脚灵活，能动能跳，后背笔直，没有大肚，思维敏捷，头脑灵活。这就是跳舞的好处在我身上的表现。"
People often ask me: "Mr. Shi, would you please tell me: What are the benefits of dancing?" My answer is: "Dancing has many benefits. But before I tell you, take a look at me first. I am 70 years old, and I have danced for 57 years. Today I am still flexible and nimble. I can run; I can jump. My back is straight. I don’t have a beer belly. My mind is agile and fast. I am a living example of the benefits of dancing."
老了吗？老了。70岁，当然老了，毋容置疑。但你必须老得健康，老得优雅，老得无病无痛，老得不需人照顾，怎么达到？跳舞一途。 Am I an old man? Yes. I am 70. I am an old man. No doubt about it. But we can grow old healthy and elegant, free of ailment and pain. We can be independent with no need for others to take care of us. How can we do that? Dancing is only way.
打太极拳不是也很好吗？是的，太极拳是一项很好的运动，在习舞者的眼里看出去，那也是一种舞蹈，却是没有音乐的舞蹈。尽管现在也有丝竹音乐相伴，但那不是真正意义上的合着音乐节拍的动作，只是在一个有音乐的环境中做着与音乐毫不相干的动作而已。而且数十年做同一个动作，同一种节奏，缺乏对大脑的刺激和锻炼。 What about Tai Chi you say? Yes, Tai Chi is good exercise. From the perspective of a dancer, Tai Chi is a type of dance—dance without music. While people do play traditional "silk and bamboo" music when they do Tai Chi, their moves do not follow the music per se. They are only moving their bodies in a musical environment. Their moves bear no particular relation to the music whatsoever. The moves never change, neither does the rhythm. Therefore, Tai Chi lacks the type of stimulation and training to the brain that dancing affords.
瑜伽不是也不错吗？是的，瑜伽很好，在习舞者的眼里看出去，也还是一种舞蹈，但动作比较单一，也是没有音乐相伴，长期做同样的动作，也同样缺乏对大脑的刺激和锻炼。同时瑜伽最缺乏的就是从膝盖以下小腿到脚腕，脚趾的训练，这是瑜伽的最大的不足，而这一部分对人体的平衡和健康却极为重要。 What about Yoga? Isn’t that pretty good? Yoga is quite good. Again, from the perspective of a dancer, it is also a type of dance. But its moves are simple and there’s no music. The same moves get repeated year after year. There’s no strong stimulation or training for the brain either. In addition, Yoga does not exercise the parts of your body from the knees down—your calves, ankles and toes, which play a major role in maintaining our balance and health. I find this to be the biggest weakness of Yoga.
研究显示，从足趾到脚腕神经丰富，特别是脚底，常常刺激它，有利健康。网络上常有帖子说，经常踮半脚尖有长寿之功效，姑且不论此话虚实，但脚下这一部分的确非常重要。这方面的训练，舞蹈最强，从你到教室在把杆上做第一个动作开始，直到离开教室，你的小腿，脚腕一直在小脑的驱使下一张一弛，寻找重心。这样，你的脚底各部位的神经也就一直处于交替受压迫，受刺激的状态。为了保持平衡，身体上其他肌肉也被全部动员来配合。你在获得平衡的同时，脚底下的神经受到刺激，身体各部位的肌肉也都被唤醒，你也就获得了健康。 Studies show that our toes and ankles, especially the bottom of our feet, are rich in nerves. Frequent stimulation can improve our health. Some blog posts online claim that often standing on tippy toes can increase life expectancy. I can’t prove or disprove this theory. But if you believe it, the dancing is the best way to get yourself standing on tippy toes. From the first exercise on the flexibility bar, to the last exercise before you leave the classroom, you will continue exerting forces on your calves and ankles, making them tense and relax alternatively while you find the center of your gravity. The nerves on the bottom of your feet also receives pressure alternatively and thus gets stimulated. To keep balance, all the muscles on your body will be activated. As you gain balance through these moves, you gain health.
舞蹈，只有舞蹈才是全方位的锻炼。不同的音乐，不同的舞步，不同的组合，不同的舞蹈风格，让习舞者每在教室里，手指、手腕、手臂、脚趾、脚腕、大小腿、胸、肩、颈、后背、大脑、小脑同时并用，只要你的舞姿不漂亮，你的组合没记住，那就告诉你，你的上述数项要求之中一定有一项做得不好，而为了做好，你必须运动你的大脑，所以我说，舞蹈就是大脑的健身器，是开启大脑某一部分的金钥匙。 Dancing—only dancing—trains our bodies comprehensively. The wide varieties of music, rhythms, arrangements, and styles allow dancers to activate their fingers, wrists, arms, toes, ankles, calves, thighs, chests, shoulders, neck, back, brains and cerebellum all at the same time. If you can’t strike a perfect pose, you know you have missed part of the arrangement. To fix that you must use your brains. I can even say that dancing is the best exercise equipment for your brain. It is the golden key to opening up your brains’ capacities.
由于舞蹈的多样性，所以学舞蹈没有年龄的限制，什么时候开始都可以。你不会因为年纪渐长而无法起舞，却会因为你不愿起舞而加速衰老。只要能走路，就可以跳舞。但必须长久以往，严格遵守老师的要求，如此才能达到最基本的目的。如果今天不来，明天缺席，三天打渔，两天晒网，浅尝辄止，舞蹈的种种好处就不会快递到你府上。除非你有天赋，否则你可能学到的只是机械性的动作，那不是舞蹈，没有舞韵。动作好学，感觉难找，这就是舞蹈，需要不间断地练习才能达到。 Because of the versatility of dancing, there’s no age limit to starting. You are never too old to dance, but you will grow old faster if you don’t. If you can walk, you can dance. The only requirement is that you keep doing it, and you abide by you teacher’s instructions. Only then you can reach the main goal. If you stop and go all the time, the many benefits of dancing won’t knock on your door. Only the most talented dancer can hit the rhythm and rime immediately. Most people begin by making mechanical moves and it takes a period of persistent practicing to find the right feel. Only then they are truly dancing.
资料显示，常年坚持跳舞有以下诸多好处：
跳舞时，眼睛直视前方，远方，有时只需用眼角的余光确定自己的位置，这给了眼睛一个绝佳的放松休息时间，长期习舞者眼疾相对较少便是明证。
Studies show that years of dancing have many benefits: When you’re dancing, your eyes look straight forward to the distance. You may occasionally use your side vision to keep yourself in the right position. Your eyes get the opportunity to relax. People who dance for years rarely have eye problems. That’s a fact.
练习舞蹈，会使你对不同环境中自己所处的位置有敏捷的认知。封闭的教室，开放的舞台，你每做一个动作，每变换一次队形，都要把自己放在一个与环境相适应的位置上，既要留下空间做你自己的动作，又不能妨碍左右的舞者。你要与前后左右舞者或对齐，或成不同的队形和造型，又必须在约定的音乐节奏中完成。这样长年的训练，你的大脑，小脑都会受到极大的锻炼。很多舞蹈演员平时做事，开车都非常灵活，这与舞蹈对空间，节奏的训练是密不可分的。 Dancing practices can increase your sensitivity to your position in a space. Whether you are in an enclosed classroom or an open stage, every time you make a move or change formation, you will learn to place yourself in the appropriate spot in relation to the others. You will learn to leave room for your own dancing and at the same time not invade the space of the others. You must complete a formation change with precision within the time limit of a section of music. This type of training in the long run will greatly increase the efficiency of your brains and cerebellum. Many professional dancers have great aptitude in many ordinary chores such as driving because of the spatial and rhythmic training they receive in dancing.
经常坐在电脑前的人或多或少都会有一些颈椎、肩部的问题，许多治疗完全无法减轻不良症状，而正确的舞蹈姿势要求背部挺直放松，长期坚持会对颈椎及肩部的不适有很大改善。
People who often sit in front of computers suffer problems on their necks and shoulders. Many of such problems are difficult to cure. The correct way of dancing helps you learn how to straighten and relax your back. Putting yourself in this pose frequently can help ease the discomfort in your cervical spine and your shoulders.
长期习舞者的心脏及心血管系统，呼吸系统都比较好。由于在跳舞的时候心脏搏动加快，可以大幅提高摄氧量，这样向身体各个器官输送的氧量也会大大增加，各个器官的工作质量自然大幅提高。舞蹈会加速血液循环，促使静脉血流回心脏，使冠状动脉有足够的血液供给心肌，从而预防各种心脏病。进行规律性的长期跳舞可发达肺部呼吸肌肉，使每次换气量变大，肺功能增强。 People who dance for years also have healthier heart, lungs, and arteries. Dancing increases your heart rate, pumping more oxygen to all parts of your body and as a result greatly increases the efficiency of all of your organs. Dancing also helps with blood circulation, pushing blood through veins back to the heart, and allowing the coronary artery to supply more blood to the heart, which prevents heart diseases. Regular long-term dancing strengthens the muscles around the lungs, and giving the lungs greater capacities and efficiencies.
跳舞对身材的改变是最明显的，特别是对腰，臀，腹三个部位。很多习舞者都有过这样的体验，开始跳舞一段时间后，体重没有明显减轻，但是身材明显改善了，尤其是腰变细了，腰线变的更漂亮。我很多成年学生都给我讲过这个感受。跳舞还顺便消耗了裹在肝上的脂肪，得脂肪肝的机率大大减少，这在很多习舞者身上都有验证，绝非虚言。 The most prominent impact of dancing is on our body shape, especially our waistline, butt and abdomen. Many dance students report that after a period of dancing, while their weights have not gone down, their body shapes see obvious changes. Their waists are smaller, and their backs gain a beautiful silhouette. Many of my adult students have told me the same thing. Dancing also burns the fat around our liver, and decreases the chance of fatty liver diseases. Many dance students have confirmed these positives effects. I did not make them up.
相对长时间的跑步，舞蹈对膝盖的损害有限。如果能坚持在有经验的老师监督下训练，并严格遵守要求去发力，循序渐进，膝盖不但不会受到损害，反而力量会越来越大，对抗意外的能力也越来越强，特别是把杆部分的训练，更是膝盖的营养剂。 Dancing causes much less damage to our knees compared to jogging. If you can strictly follow the instructions of an experienced dance teacher, which is to exert force on your knees in a correct way and slowly increase pressure over time, not only will you protect your knees, but also you will be able to strengthen them so they can endure sudden impact more effectively. Exercises on the flexibility bar are especially beneficial to your knees.
长期习舞，腿上的肌肉看上去比较结实有弹性，一定体积的肌肉中毛细血管的分布数量也比一般人多，可以更高效地吸收氧气、养分。长期习舞者因为平衡好，脑子反应快，走路时遇到意外，身体各个部分的肌肉就会迅速在大脑的指挥下协调运作，保持平衡，免于意外造成的伤害，这已出现在很多长期习舞者身上。我自己，我的学生都有类似的经验。 Long-term dancing builds solid and elastic leg muscles. Dancers have more capillaries in their muscle mass, compared to non-dancers, which facilitates the absorbance of oxygen and nutrients. Long-term dancers have better balance and their brains react faster to unexpected events. When they trip while walking, their brains can send signals to all parts of their body more quickly, which in turn will coordinate better to counter-act in harmony, thus avoiding injury. Many dancers have similar experience, including me and my students.
我有一个同学初来美国时，骑脚踏车送外卖。有一次踩车欲从汽车司机一测快速通过，司机突然开门，他连人带车被从侧面甩出，但同学在地下打了一个滚，一个保护动作从地下站起，啥事没有，但脚踏车的车架却歪掉了。这就是长年练舞蹈的好处，不然，他可能需要在病床上躺半年，再加撑枴走路了，也许还会更严重。这个例子可能比较极端，而对一般的磕磕碰碰，习舞者都可以如履平地，例子多了去了，此处不赘。总之，世上没有包治百病的良药，只有舞蹈最接近此称号。 A friend of mine was working as a bicycle delivery boy when he first came to the United States. Once as he was trying to zip by a car, the driver suddenly opened the car door, which threw him and his bike into the air. My friend instinctively used a protective move, rolled on the ground once, and stood up, uninjured. His bike on the other hand was totaled. Had he not been a long-term dancer, he would have been bed bound for months and had to walk with a cane later. The consequences could have been even worse. This may sound extreme, but in our daily life, we all may have minor missteps that cause a bump here and there. Dancers tend to get hurt much less. I know a ton of stories like this one. All in all, there’s no medicine that cure everything, but there is one medicine that can help you prevent most ailment or hurt. And that is dancing.
在结束本篇之时，我愿借用我上海舞蹈学校芭蕾舞科师兄朱国良的诗歌来作为本篇的结束语，也希望诸多的成年习舞者继续保持活力，健康长寿。
韶华虽逝人未休
风韵犹存当年袖
借得天上瑶池转
再舞人间二百秋
Before I conclude, I would like to quote a poem by Mr. Zhu Guoliang--my class elder in the Ballet Branch of Shanghai Dance Institute. May all of the adult dance students keep up with their vitality and good health, and live a long life!
My youth has faded but my body isn’t resting
I still have the elegance and tricks of yesteryear
If I can spin around Yaochi—Her Fairy Goddess’ abode in heaven
I would dance for two hundred more years on Earth!
编写：史钟麒
By George Shi--Dance Instructor/Renowned Chinese Ballet Dancer
11/25/2016
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