2007年VOA标准英语-Planet B-Boy Documents Break Dancing's Far Flun

By Carolyn Weaver¹
New York City
19 July 2007
 

A new documentary by director Benson Lee, Planet B-Boy, is about a dance form called b-boying, or break dancing. Invented on the streets of New York in the early 1970s by black and Latino youths, it’s become a global phenomenon. And since 1990, champion teams from around the world have met and competed annually² at an international championship started by German enthusiasts⁴.

The 2005 “Battle of the Year” included top b-boy crews from more than 20 countries

At the world Battle of the Year in Germany, b-boy teams from more than 20 countries share living and practice space for days, eyeing each other's moves all the while. Planet B-Boy focuses on several top crews that competed in 2005’s championship, including those from the U.S., France, Japan and South Korea. When the nightly contests begin, the b-boys battle until only two crews remain.

The film shows how b-boying developed more than 30 years ago as part of the urban culture of hip³ hop⁵ music. An early b-boy who goes by the name Trac2 explained it to the filmmakers, saying, "B-boy comes from the terminology⁶ 'beat boy,' because we dance to the specific beat of a record. It's a gesture of a fight, without actually touching⁷ someone, but with the same intensity⁸ of a battle of a gang."

As the film shows, the 1983 Hollywood movie Flashdance took break dancing outside the U.S. for the first time. In the years since, it has moved into almost every corner of the planet. Planet B-Boy director Benson Lee said that in the last decade, Internet video sites have also spread the dance to new generations.

"They learn by watching and observing and playing back these videos in slow motion, and emulating⁹ the moves, and that's basically how a lot of b-boys are born, actually,” he said in an interview.

Filmmaker Benson Lee directed Planet B-Boy

Lee said that the art of b-boying, however, is individuality. "You know, a lot of dancers in the conventional dance world, they spend many years to look the same,” he said, “while b-boying right off the bat condemns¹⁰ copying, and really inspires these dancers to come up with their own character, their own quality, their own moves. It is the ultimate freedom as a dance form."

In recent years, breakers have begun to choreograph¹¹ some of their performances.  An MTV-like video from Planet B-Boy shows b-boys dressed as North and South Korean soldiers dancing together along the demilitarized zone between the two countries. They are a South Korean crew called the Drifterz.

But b-boying is rooted in improvisation¹², especially in "battles," where opposing crews try to outdo each other on the spot. Benson Lee says that the competition actually brings people together. "It's not just like, 'We are the world, and let's hold hands across the globe,’” he said. “It really is, 'Let's come together, and show each other what we've got. Let's compare and compete, and actually further our own skill level by exchange.' And a lot of people misinterpret that as aggression¹³, as violent -- because they don't understand the vocabulary, perhaps."

1 weaver   

n.织布工；编织者

参考例句：

• She was a fast weaver and the cloth was very good.她织布织得很快，而且布的质量很好。
• The eager weaver did not notice my confusion.热心的纺织工人没有注意到我的狼狈相。

2 annually   

adv.一年一次，每年

参考例句：

• Many migratory birds visit this lake annually.许多候鸟每年到这个湖上作短期逗留。
• They celebrate their wedding anniversary annually.他们每年庆祝一番结婚纪念日。

3 hip   

n.臀部，髋；屋脊

参考例句：

• The thigh bone is connected to the hip bone.股骨连着髋骨。
• The new coats blouse gracefully above the hip line.新外套在臀围线上优美地打着褶皱。

4 enthusiasts   

n.热心人，热衷者( enthusiast的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• A group of enthusiasts have undertaken the reconstruction of a steam locomotive. 一群火车迷已担负起重造蒸汽机车的任务。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Now a group of enthusiasts are going to have the plane restored. 一群热心人计划修复这架飞机。 来自新概念英语第二册

5 hop   

n.单脚跳，跳跃；vi.单脚跳，跳跃；着手做某事；vt.跳跃，跃过

参考例句：

• The children had a competition to see who could hop the fastest.孩子们举行比赛，看谁单足跳跃最快。
• How long can you hop on your right foot?你用右脚能跳多远？

6 terminology   

n.术语；专有名词

参考例句：

• He particularly criticized the terminology in the document.他特别批评了文件中使用的术语。
• The article uses rather specialized musical terminology.这篇文章用了相当专业的音乐术语。

7 touching   

adj.动人的，使人感伤的

参考例句：

• It was a touching sight.这是一幅动人的景象。
• His letter was touching.他的信很感人。

8 intensity   

n.强烈，剧烈；强度；烈度

参考例句：

• I didn't realize the intensity of people's feelings on this issue.我没有意识到这一问题能引起群情激奋。
• The strike is growing in intensity.罢工日益加剧。

9 emulating   

v.与…竞争( emulate的现在分词 )；努力赶上；计算机程序等仿真；模仿

参考例句：

• The possibilities of producing something entirely new by emulating nature's very wide crosses are enticing. 用自然界的非常广泛的杂交方法创造出全新植物种的可能性是诱人的。 来自辞典例句
• The human emulating this archetypal patterning will be quite the accomplished businessperson. 这类原型模式者会是一个很成功的商人。 来自互联网

10 condemns   

v.（通常因道义上的原因而）谴责( condemn的第三人称单数 )；宣判；宣布…不能使用；迫使…陷于不幸的境地

参考例句：

• Her widowhood condemns her to a lonely old age. 守寡使她不得不过着孤独的晚年生活。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The public opinion condemns prostitution. 公众舆论遣责卖淫。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

11 choreograph   

v.设计舞蹈动作

参考例句：

• Achim had choreographed the dance in Act II himself.阿希姆自己设计了第2幕的舞蹈动作。
• She has danced,choreographed,lectured and taught all over the world.她在世界各地跳过舞、编过舞、讲过学、也教过书。

12 improvisation   

n.即席演奏(或演唱)；即兴创作

参考例句：

• a free-form jazz improvisation 自由创作的爵士乐即兴演出
• Most of their music was spontaneous improvisation. 他们的大部分音乐作品都是即兴创作的。

13 aggression   

n.进攻，侵略，侵犯，侵害

参考例句：

• So long as we are firmly united, we need fear no aggression.只要我们紧密地团结，就不必惧怕外来侵略。
• Her view is that aggression is part of human nature.她认为攻击性是人类本性的一部份。