VOA标准英语2010年-Belly Dancing Gets an American Twist

"Belly¹ Dancing Super Stars" is a professional belly dancing troupe² that has been touring the world hoping to improve the perceptions of this ancient dance form and reinforce its relations with its region of origin. What's more, the group's creator has a background you probably would not expect.
Miles Copeland is best known for managing bands like the Police and R.E.M.
"I really started trying to promote Arabic music... I did a big single with Sting called 'Desert Rose'...and it proved that Americans will buy music coming from [the] Middle East if it's put in the right context," he said. "So I started releasing records by Andy, who's an Iranian [singer] who lives in L.A. [Los Angeles]. I put a lot of Arabic artists out [released a lot of records by Arabic artists]."But it was not until Copeland held a belly dancing contest to promote one of the artists he manages that he realized belly dancing has a following in the United States. "Lo and behold³ we had 180 dancers [who] flew in from all over America for this contest," said Copeland. "So I was like, 'wow...I never realized there were so many belly dancers in America.'"Eight years later, the Super Stars, including 14 American women, have performed more than 800 shows in 22 countries. But it was not easy.
"We had to convince people that yes, belly dance does belong on a proper stage, it is not just something for a restaurant with one soloist⁴ while you are eating your dinner," Copeland said. "The other challenge I had, of course, is that when I got involved, they were all 'oh my God here is this rock and roll impresario⁵, he is gonna destroy belly dance'..."Copeland hopes not only to leave his mark on yet another music genre⁶, but also to send a message to the Middle East, where he spent most of his childhood. "[The] Sunday Times in England wrote, "Belly Dance Super Stars are the world's most important dance troupe. Because they are the only dance troupe in the world that is actually made out of American ladies... by seeing the Belly Dance Super Stars you are seeing Americans appreciating a foreign culture."While the message to the outside world is important, Petite Jamila, the troupe's veil dancer, thinks the reason behind the group's huge American following is adaptation.
"America is extremely accepting to it because they see an avenue for something that they can also place their own trademark⁷ on," she said.
World renowned⁸ tribal⁹ belly dancer, Moria Chappelle, has certainly left her trademark.
"The style that I do is tribal fusion¹⁰ belly dance which is unique to America as sort of an American interpretation¹¹ of Middle Eastern movement ... and using antique textiles and antique jewelry¹² ... but then putting to modern music," said Chappelle.
The ultimate goal is to reach the success level of such dance troupes¹³ such as "Riverdance," "Stomp¹⁴" or even the ballet. The troupe has yet to be profitable, but Copeland said he has found other rewards along the way. "When I get a letter from some lady saying that I've given her husband back, when I have a man come up to me and say that I've made him feel proud of his culture... we had ladies come up to us in Morocco and say thank you," said Copeland. "When you see the effect that you have on people. As long the rewards are there and you are not going totally bankrupt, you think we are gonna get there eventually financially... it's worth it."Worth it to the performers and to Copeland, who has a long history of risk taking... and success.

1 belly   

n.肚子，腹部；(像肚子一样)鼓起的部分，膛

参考例句：

• The boss has a large belly.老板大腹便便。
• His eyes are bigger than his belly.他眼馋肚饱。

2 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。

3 behold   

v.看，注视，看到

参考例句：

• The industry of these little ants is wonderful to behold.这些小蚂蚁辛勤劳动的样子看上去真令人惊叹。
• The sunrise at the seaside was quite a sight to behold.海滨日出真是个奇景。

4 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。

5 impresario   

n.歌剧团的经理人；乐团指挥

参考例句：

• The impresario will present an expanded series of concerts next season.下个季节将举办一次大型的系列音乐会。
• The impresario had buttoned his astrakhan coat.乐团经理扣好了羔皮外套。

6 genre   

n.(文学、艺术等的)类型，体裁，风格

参考例句：

• My favorite music genre is blues.我最喜欢的音乐种类是布鲁斯音乐。
• Superficially,this Shakespeare's work seems to fit into the same genre.从表面上看， 莎士比亚的这个剧本似乎属于同一类型。

7 trademark   

n.商标；特征；vt.注册的…商标

参考例句：

• The trademark is registered on the book of the Patent Office.该商标已在专利局登记注册。
• The trademark of the pen was changed.这钢笔的商标改了。

8 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。

9 tribal   

adj.部族的，种族的

参考例句：

• He became skilled in several tribal lingoes.他精通几种部族的语言。
• The country was torn apart by fierce tribal hostilities.那个国家被部落间的激烈冲突弄得四分五裂。

10 fusion   

n.溶化；熔解；熔化状态，熔和；熔接

参考例句：

• Brass is formed by the fusion of copper and zinc. 黄铜是通过铜和锌的熔合而成的。
• This alloy is formed by the fusion of two types of metal.这种合金是用两种金属熔合而成的。

11 interpretation   

n.解释，说明，描述；艺术处理

参考例句：

• His statement admits of one interpretation only.他的话只有一种解释。
• Analysis and interpretation is a very personal thing.分析与说明是个很主观的事情。

12 jewelry   

n.（jewllery）（总称）珠宝

参考例句：

• The burglars walked off with all my jewelry.夜盗偷走了我的全部珠宝。
• Jewelry and lace are mostly feminine belongings.珠宝和花边多数是女性用品。

13 troupes   

n. （演出的）一团, 一班 vi. 巡回演出

参考例句：

• There are six Kunqu opera troupes left in the country. 整个国家现在只剩下六个昆剧剧团。
• Note: Art performance troupes include within and outside of the system. 注：艺术表演团体统计口径调整为含系统内、系统外两部分。

14 stomp   

v.跺（脚），重踩，重踏

参考例句：

• 3.And you go to france, and you go to stomp! 你去法国，你去看跺脚舞！
• 4.How hard did she stomp? 她跺得有多狠？