VOA常速英语2007年-US Choreographer Blends Egyptian and Western Da

By Mohamed Elshinnawi
Washington, D.C.
26 December 2007
 

In a time of war in the Middle East, when scholars study what some call "the clash of cultures," there is an American dancer whose career has run counter to that notion. American dancer and choreographer¹ Diana Calenti, now a celebrity² in Egypt, has spent two decades blending Western dance with traditional Egyptian dance. Mohammed Elshinnawi explains.

Twenty three years ago, Diana Calenti went to Egypt to teach dance at the American University of Cairo. She says she was attracted to Egyptian folkloric³ dance, which tells a story through movement and music. And she combined the traditional approach with Western ballet and modern dance.

The Egyptian Ministry⁴ of Culture asked her to develop and modernize⁵ the performance of a famous folkloric dancing troupe⁶. She explains, "I was a trained dancer when I went there, so my body was trained and skilled, so I just simply applied⁷ what my body was and absorbed the movements from Egypt."

Over several years of mixing various types of American and Egyptian dancing, Diana Calenti became a celebrity in Egypt. She was granted Egyptian citizenship⁸ and was appointed as director and choreographer of the Modern Folkloric Egyptian Dance Company.

Her love for the land of the Pharaohs, she says, began with Egyptian music when she was a child. "My first exposure really came in New York when I was growing up. I grew up in a very ethnic⁹ neighborhood, as a lot of New Yorkers have, so I heard a lot of kinds of music and I was fascinated with the sounds of the music from there."

With the help of her Egyptian-Canadian husband, Calenti co-produced a fictional¹⁰ movie called "Search for Diana." The movie tells a story of a young American woman who feels somehow she is drawn¹¹ to Egypt by an archeologist who was uncovering Pharaohs tombs.

 

Now, Diana Calenti is in the eastern U.S. state of Maryland, where she has formed a troupe to teach young American dancers how to perform Egyptian folkloric dancing. "You talk to them about the music and the culture it comes from, because the music comes out from the society and the culture and they are very smart girls. Once they begin to understand, it is easy for them to get into the idea of the movement."

Alexia Whaley, a 16-year-old member of the newly-formed Calenti Dancing Troupe says her experience with the Egyptian dancing introduced her to a unique expression of human feelings. "I came to find out that the Egyptian dancing is more spiritual, it comes from your soul, you really have to put your mind into everything that you do."

The Egyptian Embassy in Washington hosted the first performance of the troupe, and American spectators say they liked the cultural connection. After watching the show, one American professional dancer, who called herself Stephanie, says she is more convinced now that dancing is a real cultural bridge. "Art, music and dance is a way of helping¹² different cultures communicate themselves and to foster tolerance¹³ and understanding worldwide."

Diana Calenti agrees and says she deeply believes in her mission of connecting cultures through common expression of human feelings.

1 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

2 celebrity   

n.名人，名流；著名，名声，名望

参考例句：

• Tom found himself something of a celebrity. 汤姆意识到自己已小有名气了。
• He haunted famous men, hoping to get celebrity for himself. 他常和名人在一起, 希望借此使自己获得名气。

3 folkloric   

adj.民间传说的；民俗的

参考例句：

• In the rush to go folkloric watch out for collision of cultures. 在民俗化的热潮中，要提防不同文化的冲突。
• Lunch blowout beside the pool, accompanied by folkloric dancing (Vanity Fair) . 盛大的午餐在游泳池边进行，还有民族舞蹈助兴（名利场）。

4 ministry   

n.(政府的)部；牧师

参考例句：

• They sent a deputation to the ministry to complain.他们派了一个代表团到部里投诉。
• We probed the Air Ministry statements.我们调查了空军部的记录。

5 modernize   

vt.使现代化，使适应现代的需要

参考例句：

• It was their manifest failure to modernize the country's industries.他们使国家进行工业现代化，明显失败了。
• There is a pressing need to modernise our electoral system.我们的选举制度迫切需要现代化。

6 troupe   

n.剧团，戏班；杂技团；马戏团

参考例句：

• The art troupe is always on the move in frontier guards.文工团常年在边防部队流动。
• The troupe produced a new play last night.剧团昨晚上演了一部新剧。

7 applied   

adj.应用的；v.应用，适用

参考例句：

• She plans to take a course in applied linguistics.她打算学习应用语言学课程。
• This cream is best applied to the face at night.这种乳霜最好晚上擦脸用。

8 citizenship   

n.市民权，公民权，国民的义务(身份)

参考例句：

• He was born in Sweden,but he doesn't have Swedish citizenship.他在瑞典出生，但没有瑞典公民身分。
• Ten years later,she chose to take Australian citizenship.十年后，她选择了澳大利亚国籍。

9 ethnic   

adj.人种的，种族的，异教徒的

参考例句：

• This music would sound more ethnic if you played it in steel drums.如果你用钢鼓演奏，这首乐曲将更具民族特色。
• The plan is likely only to aggravate ethnic frictions.这一方案很有可能只会加剧种族冲突。

10 fictional   

adj.小说的，虚构的

参考例句：

• The names of the shops are entirely fictional.那些商店的名字完全是虚构的。
• The two authors represent the opposite poles of fictional genius.这两位作者代表了天才小说家两个极端。

11 drawn   

v.拖，拉，拔出；adj.憔悴的，紧张的

参考例句：

• All the characters in the story are drawn from life.故事中的所有人物都取材于生活。
• Her gaze was drawn irresistibly to the scene outside.她的目光禁不住被外面的风景所吸引。

12 helping   

n.食物的一份&adj.帮助人的，辅助的

参考例句：

• The poor children regularly pony up for a second helping of my hamburger. 那些可怜的孩子们总是要求我把我的汉堡包再给他们一份。
• By doing this, they may at times be helping to restore competition. 这样一来, 他在某些时候,有助于竞争的加强。

13 tolerance   

n.宽容；容忍，忍受；耐药力；公差

参考例句：

• Tolerance is one of his strengths.宽容是他的一个优点。
• Human beings have limited tolerance of noise.人类对噪音的忍耐力有限。