The Hi story of the Waltz 华尔兹舞的历史

Many people consider tango to be the world's first 'forbidden dnce'. This is not so. The first dance to earn this distinctionwas the waltz, due to its nature and origins.

许多人都认为探戈是世界上第一种被视为“禁舞”的舞蹈，事实却并非如此。因其特点和渊源，华尔兹舞才是第一种获此“殊荣”的舞蹈。

Waltz comes from the Germanword 'waltzen', which means 'to turn'. The turn is the essence of the waltz step. The waltz is done in 3/4 time with an accent on the first beat of every measur. Each series of movements is a turning step and a close. Today, it is often danced on a light foot, although this was not always the case.

“Waltz”一词来源于德语单词“waltzen”，意为 “旋转”，而旋转正是华尔兹舞步的精髓。华尔兹舞是四三拍（译注：即以四分音符为一拍，每小节有三拍的节拍），重音在每小节的第一拍上。每组动作都由一个转身动作和一个并合动作组成。现在的华尔兹舞步大多轻快灵巧，但历史上的华尔兹舞却并不是这样。

Precursorsto the waltz were the allemandeand the minuet. The allemande was a statelydance done in two lines. Partners faced each other and moved back and forth, sometimes going under the arms of the other line, or processing down the middle. The minuet was a square step dance performed in a rigidand stately manner. The waltz itself is Viennese, and it evolvedin Austria and Bavaria under such names as the Dreher, the Laendler and the Deutscher. It was created as a peasant dance in early Austria, and involved robustmoves and lots of space. Often, partners were hurledinto the air in moves that occasionally led to injury. Because peasants wore loud, thick shoes, it was also very noisy. When it first became popular in Viennese dance halls in the late eighteenth century, these aspects began to change.

华尔兹舞的前身是阿勒曼德舞和小步舞。阿勒曼德舞舞姿庄重，男女双方分列成两排，面对面站定，前后移步。有时，一方从另一方手臂下方回旋；有时，男女双方列队沿中线前进或后退。小步舞是一种方形舞步，舞姿刻板而庄重。华尔兹舞起源于维也纳，在奥地利和巴伐利亚得到发展，并得名“旋转舞”“兰德勒舞”和“德国舞”。华尔兹舞诞生于早期奥地利的农村地区，舞步强健有力，需要宽阔的场地。舞者们常常被投向空中，这样的动作偶尔会让他们受伤。因为农民们穿的鞋往往很厚实，走起来声响大，所以当时这种舞蹈跳起来非常聒噪。18世纪末，当华尔兹舞在维也纳的各家舞厅中开始风靡时，它的这些方面也开始发生改变。

The waltz was termed the 'forbidden dance' for one reason: When it moved into Viennese dance halls, partners were allowed to touch! This was unheard of, and led to the dance being slanderedby many officials of the church and leaders of the Austrian community. Because it was a favored dance of the young, however, it continued to be danced. Because of its transition to dance halls and city gatherings,it evolved into a light dance for polishedfloors and parties. Its music also changed, becoming more refineand orchestrated. Notableinstruments used to play it were the piano, the violin and the bass. In 1787, it was brought to the operatic stage, inviting huge debate. Mozart was a huge fan of the waltz, and in one of his operas, Don Giovanni, three waltzes are played at once in one scene! Clearly, the dance could not be stopped.

华尔兹舞之所以被称为“禁舞”有这样一个原因：当华尔兹舞进入维也纳的各家舞厅时，跳舞的人可以彼此接触对方的身体。这种舞蹈方式是前所未闻的，因此遭到了许多教会神职官员和奥地利社会许多领导者的诋毁。不过，由于受到年轻人的喜爱，仍旧有人跳华尔兹舞。由于华尔兹舞转移到舞厅和都市聚会上，它便逐渐演变为一种轻柔舒缓的舞蹈，很适合在抛光地板上和宴会派对上跳。它的音乐也随之发生了变化，变得更为高雅，并被谱写成了管弦乐曲。钢琴、小提琴和贝斯都曾是为华尔兹舞伴奏的重要乐器。1787年，华尔兹舞被搬上了歌剧舞台，这曾招致了巨大的争议。莫扎特是华尔兹舞的铁杆粉丝，在其创作的《唐乔瓦尼》这部歌剧中，三支华尔兹舞在一幕剧中同时上演！显然，华尔兹舞的风靡之势是不可阻挡的。

By the 1800's, Paris had fallen in love with the waltz. It did not arrive in England until later, where it was first denounceand then accepted. A final public acceptance of it in 1819 allowed the waltz to reach the popularity that it still has today.到了19世纪，巴黎已和华尔兹舞结下了不解之缘。之后华尔兹舞才来到了英国；在这个国度里，它起先被痛斥，而后才被人们接受。英国民众最终于1819年彻底接受了华尔兹舞，这使得华尔兹舞广为流行起来，并且一直流行到今天。

Today, the waltz is danced in all corners of the world. Its predecessorshave mostly died away,but in their place the waltz is acclaimedin Asia, Australia, America, Canada and South America as a favorite dance. Its label as the 'forbidden dance' has been taken instead by the tango, a dance that arose from the slumsof Argentina.

现在，世界各地的人都在跳华尔兹舞。华尔兹舞的前身大多都已销声匿迹了，不过，华尔兹舞取而代之在亚洲、澳大利亚、美国、加拿大和南美洲都广受赞誉，成为人们至爱的一种舞蹈形式。它“禁舞”的称号也被探戈——一种起源于阿根廷贫民窟的舞蹈——所取代。