2006年VOA标准英语-New Dance Fad Poised to Make Major Step Off

By Doug Levine
Washington
14 October 2006

A new dance craze that's been popping up in cities across the U.S. is poised¹ for a major takeoff. Make that a major step off. A team of New York music producers are making big strides in the evolution of stepping.

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Swinging and swaying are most certainly allowed, and since the rules and technique are still in the formative stages, so are dipping, twirling, and simply just "chilling (relaxing)." If there were any official instructions on how to step, the first and foremost might be, feel the music.

Being one of the nation's centers of jazz and blues², Chicago, Illinois, became the first to step. But, as its popularity grew, stepping began popping up in other cities like New York and Miami. New York City's Da Producers have jumped on the stepping bandwagon in a big way. The four-man production team brought a recent remix of Marvin Gaye's "Let's Get It On" into dance clubs citywide, followed by the release of "The Official Steppers CD."

Da Producers Kwasi Pecou says stepping isn't necessarily a brand new phenomenon. "Stepping has been going on for a while. It's a spin-off of be-bop, and then it turned into the 'bus stop (line dance)', and then in different areas it's called different things, hand dance and swing dance and things of that nature. Stepping was the name born out of Chicago. It's like a social event where they get dressed up and go out. Couples practice routines together, and they have contests and things of that nature. So it's pretty big. They have different sects³ all over the country," he says.

Kwasi confirms that the days are long gone when stepping was exclusive to a privileged few. "It was more low-key than anything. You had to know somebody or be privy⁴ to the event in order to get invited. But now, it's becoming mainstream⁵. A lot of people are doing it and a lot more people are doing it. They're having stepping conventions all over the country every year," he says.

A record number of steppers recently attended a convention in Miami where music from "The Official Steppers CD" was in full swing. The CD was co-produced by Miles Dalto, who says the beauty of stepping is being able to lose yourself in the music. "What's great about it is that it has lots of instruments. It's not so much programmed music. It has more of that 'Motown old-school' kind of vibe," he says. "When I did the remix for 'Let's Get It On' for Marvin Gaye ['Remixed'], [I wasn't prepared for] the response I was going to get from the steppers. I was told that this was like an anthem⁶ for them; it was like a theme song almost. Because it was so 'Marvin Gaye meets the steppers' kind of groove⁷, and we just put it together like that and got a great response."

Next up for Da Producers is the release of Miles Dalto's debut⁸ album "Urban Sunrise." Steppers, soul fans and those who like their jazz in a smooth funk groove will find the title cut a step in the right direction.

1 poised   

a.摆好姿势不动的

参考例句：

• The hawk poised in mid-air ready to swoop. 老鹰在半空中盘旋，准备俯冲。
• Tina was tense, her hand poised over the telephone. 蒂娜心情紧张，手悬在电话机上。

2 blues   

n.抑郁，沮丧；布鲁斯音乐

参考例句：

• She was in the back of a smoky bar singing the blues.她在烟雾弥漫的酒吧深处唱着布鲁斯歌曲。
• He was in the blues on account of his failure in business.他因事业失败而意志消沉。

3 sects   

n.宗派，教派( sect的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Members of these sects are ruthlessly persecuted and suppressed. 这些教派的成员遭到了残酷的迫害和镇压。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• He had subdued the religious sects, cleaned up Saigon. 他压服了宗教派别，刷新了西贡的面貌。 来自辞典例句

4 privy   

adj.私用的；隐密的

参考例句：

• Only three people,including a policeman,will be privy to the facts.只会允许3个人，其中包括一名警察，了解这些内情。
• Very few of them were privy to the details of the conspiracy.他们中很少有人知道这一阴谋的详情。

5 mainstream   

n.（思想或行为的）主流；adj.主流的

参考例句：

• Their views lie outside the mainstream of current medical opinion.他们的观点不属于当今医学界观点的主流。
• Polls are still largely reflects the mainstream sentiment.民调还在很大程度上反映了社会主流情绪。

6 anthem   

n.圣歌，赞美诗，颂歌

参考例句：

• All those present were standing solemnly when the national anthem was played.奏国歌时全场肃立。
• As he stood on the winner's rostrum,he sang the words of the national anthem.他站在冠军领奖台上，唱起了国歌。

7 groove   

n.沟，槽；凹线，（刻出的）线条，习惯

参考例句：

• They're happy to stay in the same old groove.他们乐于墨守成规。
• The cupboard door slides open along the groove.食橱门沿槽移开。

8 debut   

n.首次演出，初次露面

参考例句：

• That same year he made his Broadway debut, playing a suave radio journalist.在那同一年里，他初次在百老汇登台，扮演一个温文而雅的电台记者。
• The actress made her debut in the new comedy.这位演员在那出新喜剧中首次登台演出。