世界名人故事之演员明星 第7期:Ninette de Valois 妮内特·德瓦卢瓦

 　　9 Ninette de Valois 9 妮内特·德瓦卢瓦

　　Dame¹ Ninette established ballet in a Britain that had no ballet tradition.  妮内特·德瓦卢瓦夫人在英国创建了芭蕾舞团，而当时的英国人从未接触过芭蕾舞。

　　Her Royal Ballet School became the cradle of an English ballet style,  她的皇家芭蕾舞学校是英式芭蕾舞的摇篮，

　　and her dance company evolved into the renowned² Royal Ballet of Covent Garden. 她的舞蹈团最终发展成科文特加登的著名皇家芭蕾舞团。

　　Ninette de Valois was the stage name of Edris Stannus, born into an Anglo-Irish military family in County Wicklow, Ireland, June 6,1898.  妮内特·德瓦卢瓦是她的艺名，她的真名是爱德莉·斯坦奴，1898年6月6日出生于爱尔兰维克罗郡的一户英裔爱尔兰军人家庭。

　　The family moved to England when she was 7，and at age 13 she was performing in Lila Field’s Wonder Children in commercial theater.  她7岁的时候，全家搬到了英格兰，13岁时，她就在一家商业剧院出演芭蕾舞剧《莱拉原野的神奇孩子》。

　　She went on to ballet, performed at seaside resorts when she was a teenager,and “danced the Dying Swan on every pier³ in England, she said.  青少年时期，她继续跳芭蕾舞，经常在海滨的度假胜地演出。“我几乎在英国每一个码头上表演《垂死的天鹅》”，她说。

　　At that time, ballet in Britain was just a novelty turn in the variety theaters. 当时，芭蕾舞在英国的杂耍剧院里只不过是一个新颖的节目。

　　De Valois took lessons from Italian dance master Enrico Cecchiti, and joined Diaghilev’s Ballets Russian company for two years.  德瓦卢瓦师从于意大利舞蹈大师恩里科·切凯蒂，并在现代芭蕾创始人佳吉列夫领导的俄罗斯芭蕾舞团效力两年。

　　She gave up dancing at 26 when she learned she had been struggling with the effects of undiagnosed childhood polio.  直到26岁，当得知她一直与之抗争的病是童年时未经确诊的小儿麻痹症后遗症时，她才不得不告别舞蹈生涯。

　　It was no tragedy, she said. I wasn’t that great. “这算不上悲剧，我也没那么伟大，”她说。

　　In 1926, De Valois opened her London Academy of Choreographic Art, and formed a small group of dancers.  1926年德瓦卢瓦开办了伦敦舞蹈艺术学院，组建了一个小舞蹈团。

　　She began a collaboration⁴ with Lilian Baylis at the Old Vic theater, teaching movement to the actors and giving ballet performances.  同时她也开始在老维多利亚剧院与莉莲·贝蕾斯合作，教授舞蹈演员舞蹈动作并上演芭蕾舞剧。

　　In 1931 she moved to Baylis, second theater, Sadler’s Wells, 1931年她迁到贝蕾斯的第二剧院——赛德勒·维尔斯剧院，

　　persuaded Frederic Ashton from the Marie Rambert ballet company to join her company as choreographer⁵.  并劝请玛丽·兰伯特（英国著名舞蹈家）芭蕾舞团的佛瑞德里克·阿什顿加入她的舞蹈团担任舞蹈指导。

　　It grew steadily⁶ and became the Sadler’s Wells Ballet. 该团不断稳步发展，后壮大成为赛德勒·维尔斯芭蕾舞团。

　　She was strict, imperious, and did not accept laziness or incompetence⁷ in her dancers.  她严格、甚至苛刻，从不姑息迁就舞蹈学员的懒情和不合格。

　　If she walked into classroom, our backs would stiffen⁸ and our knees would start to shake. 每当她走进教室，我们就觉得背开始发僵, 两腿开始颤抖。

　　A word from her could make or break you, a former student said. 因为她的一句话可以成就你，也可以毁掉你。”她以前的一个学生说。

　　She was made a dame, the equivalent of a knight⁹, in 1951, and France made her a chevalier of the Legion d'Honneur in 1950.  1951年，她被授予女爵士头衔，这是与骑士同级的爵位，1950年法国授予她法国勋级会荣誉军团骑士勋位。

　　In 1980, Queen Elizabeth II made her a member of the exclusive Order of the Companions of Honor, 1980年女皇伊丽莎白二世册封她为勋爵士荣誉评审团成员，该团在英国具有无上的荣誉，

　　for men and women who have done “conspicuous national service.” 并且该团的荣誉勋章一般只授给那些对国家有杰出功勋或业绩的人们。

1 dame   

n.女士

参考例句：

• The dame tell of her experience as a wife and mother.这位年长妇女讲了她作妻子和母亲的经验。
• If you stick around,you'll have to marry that dame.如果再逗留多一会，你就要跟那个夫人结婚。

2 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。

3 pier   

n.码头；桥墩，桥柱；[建]窗间壁，支柱

参考例句：

• The pier of the bridge has been so badly damaged that experts worry it is unable to bear weight.这座桥的桥桩破损厉害，专家担心它已不能负重。
• The ship was making towards the pier.船正驶向码头。

4 collaboration   

n.合作，协作；勾结

参考例句：

• The two companies are working in close collaboration each other.这两家公司密切合作。
• He was shot for collaboration with the enemy.他因通敌而被枪毙了。

5 choreographer   

n.编舞者

参考例句：

• She is a leading professional belly dancer, choreographer, and teacher. 她既是杰出的专业肚皮舞演员，也是舞蹈设计者和老师。 来自辞典例句
• It'stands aside, my choreographer of grace, and blesses each finger and toe. 它站在一旁，我优雅的舞蹈指导，并祝福每个指尖与脚尖。 来自互联网

6 steadily   

adv.稳定地；不变地；持续地

参考例句：

• The scope of man's use of natural resources will steadily grow.人类利用自然资源的广度将日益扩大。
• Our educational reform was steadily led onto the correct path.我们的教学改革慢慢上轨道了。

7 incompetence   

n.不胜任，不称职

参考例句：

• He was dismissed for incompetence. 他因不称职而被解雇。
• She felt she had been made a scapegoat for her boss's incompetence. 她觉得，本是老板无能，但她却成了替罪羊。

8 stiffen   

v.(使)硬，(使)变挺，(使)变僵硬

参考例句：

• The blood supply to the skin is reduced when muscles stiffen.当肌肉变得僵硬时，皮肤的供血量就减少了。
• I was breathing hard,and my legs were beginning to stiffen.这时我却气吁喘喘地开始感到脚有点僵硬。

9 knight   

n.骑士，武士；爵士

参考例句：

• He was made an honourary knight.他被授予荣誉爵士称号。
• A knight rode on his richly caparisoned steed.一个骑士骑在装饰华丽的马上。