美国国家公共电台 NPR The Next Stage: How Young Venezuelan Artists Continue Their Studies In The U.S.

 

SCOTT SIMON, HOST:

Over the last several years, more than 200,000 Venezuelans have settled in South Florida. They've come to the U.S. to escape political and economic upheaval¹ and brought their children with them. From Miami, NPR's Greg Allen has the story of arts programs that help young Venezuelans adjust to life in a new country.

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GREG ALLEN, BYLINE²: In a strip mall in North Miami Beach, Arts Ballet Theatre holds classes for dancers from beginners to advanced.

UNIDENTIFIED TEACHER: Plie and stretch. Squeeze those legs when you stretch.

ALLEN: Many of the students here are Venezuelan, continuing studies they began in their home country, like 16-year-old Maria Fernanda Papa. She arrived with her family in Miami when she was 4. In Venezuela, she'd already begun dancing.

MARIA FERNANDA PAPA: And when I got here, I kept telling my parents, like, can I please do ballet; can I please do ballet, until they finally, like, put me into this amazing school.

ALLEN: It's run by Ruby³ Romero-Issaev, along with her husband, ballet master Vladimir Issaev. They came to Miami from Venezuela in 1997, a few years before Hugo Chavez came to power. Over the next two decades, under Chavez and his successor Nicolas Maduro, the country became more authoritarian⁴, and basic goods and services became harder to get. So many Venezuelans followed, including, Romero says, families with children.

RUBY ROMERO-ISSAEV: Although they knew they were going to struggle, they didn't want the children's life to change. If they were doing soccer, they had to do soccer. If they were doing ballet, they needed to do ballet.

ALLEN: With help from Miami's Children's Trust, a quasi-governmental agency, Arts Ballet Theatre and its associated ballet school are able to provide scholarships to students from low-income families, including many newly arrived from Venezuela.

Lusian Hernandez is 25 now, a soloist⁵ who dances with Arts Ballet Theatre's professional company. She came to Miami when she was 16, determined⁶ to continue her studies and launch a career. In Venezuela now, she says, there are few opportunities for dancers.

LUSIAN HERNANDEZ: Many schools had to close because of the situation. It's very expensive. You know, people doesn't have the money to pay their tuition. If you pay tuition, you can't pay rent. And also, it's very, like, insecure. So they have to leave the country, and the schools start closing.

ALLEN: There used to be three professional ballet companies in Caracas. Now there's just one, she says. And it's small. Hernandez's parents still live in Venezuela. They tell her buying pointe shoes, a must for any ballet dancer, is now all but impossible.

HERNANDEZ: Because when I was there, it was already hard to find. They were very expensive. So I'm very lucky that here, also with the support of them, we collect shoes, like, from the company dancers - leotards, stuff like that.

ALLEN: Then Hernandez and Arts Ballet send the used pointe shoes and leotards to a dance school in her hometown.

CARLOS SILVA: Go.

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ALLEN: About a dozen beginners are starting out on violins and cellos⁷ in a church in the Miami neighborhood of Coconut⁸ Grove⁹. They're part of another arts program offering scholarships called Musicall. About a quarter of the program's 300 students are from Venezuela.

SILVA: We are a very musical country.

ALLEN: Carlos Silva is professional opera singer and a teacher for Musicall. He began his vocal¹⁰ studies at a school in Venezuela that was part of El Sistema, the renowned¹¹ music education program founded in the country more than 40 years ago. Its graduates include Gustavo Dudamel, who now leads the Los Angeles Philharmonic. Silva says that under the Chavez and Maduro regimes, music education programs suffered, and many teachers left the country.

SILVA: Those who couldn't travel outside the country - they are stuck there, and they are facing a lot of problems to continue with the musical education. So now the people are starving there. So it's difficult to find a place for the music. There are priorities, and the priority there is to find something to eat.

ALLEN: Silva wants to go back to teach but doesn't know when that might become possible.

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ALLEN: Back at Miami's Arts Ballet Theatre, Ruby Romero says she's also ready to help rebuild Venezuela. But in the meantime, she has work to do here.

ROMERO-ISSAEV: Because the opportunities given to us, that we were lucky at a certain point to be here, to have a visa, to be able to work, to be able to establish our lives here, we think it's our responsibility to try to help other Venezuelan families that are bringing the kids.

ALLEN: Knowing what their families and friends are going through in Venezuela is hard for her students, Romero says.

ROMERO-ISSAEV: You see their sadness. But once they get into the studio and the music starts to play, their lives change, you know? Their minds, their hearts open, and they feel they're in another world.

ALLEN: Greg Allen, NPR News, Miami.

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1 upheaval   

n.胀起，(地壳)的隆起；剧变，动乱

参考例句：

• It was faced with the greatest social upheaval since World War Ⅱ.它面临第二次世界大战以来最大的社会动乱。
• The country has been thrown into an upheaval.这个国家已经陷入动乱之中。

2 byline   

n.署名；v.署名

参考例句：

• His byline was absent as well.他的署名也不见了。
• We wish to thank the author of this article which carries no byline.我们要感谢这篇文章的那位没有署名的作者。

3 ruby   

n.红宝石，红宝石色

参考例句：

• She is wearing a small ruby earring.她戴着一枚红宝石小耳环。
• On the handle of his sword sat the biggest ruby in the world.他的剑柄上镶有一颗世上最大的红宝石。

4 authoritarian   

n./adj.专制(的)，专制主义者，独裁主义者

参考例句：

• Foreign diplomats suspect him of authoritarian tendencies.各国外交官怀疑他有着独裁主义倾向。
• The authoritarian policy wasn't proved to be a success.独裁主义的政策证明并不成功。

5 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。

6 determined   

adj.坚定的；有决心的

参考例句：

• I have determined on going to Tibet after graduation.我已决定毕业后去西藏。
• He determined to view the rooms behind the office.他决定查看一下办公室后面的房间。

7 cellos   

n.大提琴( cello的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• We are manufacturer of high-and medium-end violins, violas, cellos and basses. 我厂是深圳专业生产制作高档、中档小提琴、中提琴、大提琴、低音提琴的企业。 来自互联网
• Our company specializes in producing violins, cellos, bases and instrument cases. 本公司是一家专业生产小提琴、大提琴、贝司和乐器箱包的企业。 来自互联网

8 coconut   

n.椰子

参考例句：

• The husk of this coconut is particularly strong.椰子的外壳很明显非常坚固。
• The falling coconut gave him a terrific bang on the head.那只掉下的椰子砰地击中他的脑袋。

9 grove   

n.林子，小树林，园林

参考例句：

• On top of the hill was a grove of tall trees.山顶上一片高大的树林。
• The scent of lemons filled the grove.柠檬香味充满了小树林。

10 vocal   

adj.直言不讳的；嗓音的；n.[pl.]声乐节目

参考例句：

• The tongue is a vocal organ.舌头是一个发音器官。
• Public opinion at last became vocal.终于舆论哗然。

11 renowned   

adj.著名的，有名望的，声誉鹊起的

参考例句：

• He is one of the world's renowned writers.他是世界上知名的作家之一。
• She is renowned for her advocacy of human rights.她以提倡人权而闻名。