秪黃裕美輯譯

In GIMP, a performance choreographed by choreograph Heidi Latsky, a troupe of abled and disabled dancers explores beauty in its many forms. An hour before the curtain rises on the most important performance of her life, Heidi Latsky paces the stage, tortured by questions and doubts.

在由舞蹈家海蒂‧萊斯基編舞演出的GIMP舞蹈團中，身強體健和肢體殘障的舞者正探索各種不同形式的美。在她一生中最重要的演出登場前一個鐘頭，海蒂‧萊斯基在舞台上來回踱步，因種種問題和疑慮而天人交戰。

Will audiences understand her vision, and that of the unique performers they are about to see Or will they find their performance too shocking, too disconcerting, too weird

觀眾能了解她的用心和他們將看到的獨特表演嗎？或者他們會覺得他們的表演太觸目驚心，或太令人驚惶不安，太不可思議？

What will they think of the beautiful young woman with the porcelain skin, whose exposed shoulder-blade quivers in a solo that spotlights her missing left arm, or the raw athleticism of another performer whose shortened, twisted arm is groped by her able-bodied suitor in a frenzied, erotic courtship that consumes the center stage

看到這個年輕漂亮、肌膚如玉的女人（上圖耟美聯社），裸露的肩胛骨在獨舞中抖動，聚光燈打在她失去的左手臂上，或者在舞台中央，在強壯的愛慕者瘋狂肉慾的求愛下，正摸索另一位正展現赤裸裸熱愛舞蹈的舞者短一截的扭曲手臂時，他們做何感想？

Will they applaud, or recoil Will they even show up

他們會鼓掌叫好還是畏怯退縮？甚至，他們到底會不會來捧場？

Latsky, 51, is best known as a choreographer and one-time principal dancer with the Bill T. Jones/Arnie Zane company. Her skill and stage presence have won national acclaim. But until 2006, when she received an unusual commission to compose a piece for a young woman with no fingers and no lower legs, Latsky had never worked with disabled performers. What began as a huge leap of faith gradually evolved into a performance, and a troupe.

51歲的萊斯基原是舞蹈家，一度是比爾提瓊斯現代舞團台柱，她的舞蹈技巧和表演曾贏得全美喝采肯定。但直到2006年接到一件不尋常的委託，為一個沒有手指和小腿的年輕女子編舞前，萊斯基從未和殘疾舞者合作，接著就由剛開始的信心大躍進，逐漸提升為表演和成立舞團。

And a name: ''GIMP,'' Latsky says, ''is about shattering perceptions, about provoking people to think, really think, about body image and beauty and disability and dance.''

萊斯基解釋說，舞團取名GIMP「是為了 粉碎觀感，並撩撥觀眾認真思考身體的意象、美、殘障和舞蹈。」

Latsky's energy and enthusiasm are infectious. Her toughness is legendary. Dancers say no one pushes them harder, physically and emotionally, forcing them to mine something deep within themselves.

萊斯基的能量和熱誠很有感染力，她尤其以要求嚴格著稱。舞者表示，不管在軀體上或情感上，沒有人像萊斯基那樣逼他們挖掘自身深不可測的潛力。

But how could Latsky demand faster turns from someone without legs How could she ask people who had spent their entire lives controlling how they moved to relinquish that control In the end, Latsky said, the work became as much about trust as about dance: trust that they could mix two worlds --dance and disability--and forge a performance powerful enough to showcase the beauty of both universes, and transcend them.

但萊斯基怎麼要求一個沒有雙腳的人更快速旋轉？她怎麼要求那些一輩子想控制自己行動的人停止控制？萊斯基說，到頭來，這個工作不只是舞蹈，而是信任：相信他們可以融合舞蹈和肢障兩個世界，並打造一場夠強的表演，以展現跨越兩個世界的美。

Her first recruit was a lanky 40-year-old, with long, stiff legs and a lurching gait that captivated Latsky the moment she saw it. Lawrence Carter-Long, an advocate for the Disabilities Network of New York City, had never considered his atrophied legs to be anything but a frustrating distraction from the high-energy pursuits of his life. Born with cerebral palsy, Carter-Long has always relied on his strengths--his wit, charm, good looks-- to compensate for the fact that falling is part of his life.

她請來的第一個舞者身體瘦削、兩腿僵硬細長、走路搖搖晃晃，萊斯基一看到他就著迷。40歲的卡特隆原來在紐約市鼓吹「殘障網路」，他做夢也沒想過，他那雙萎縮的腿，除了是他這一生追求高度體能運動令人灰心喪志的障礙，還能有什麼功能。卡特隆天生腦性痲痺，他多半靠他的強項，包括智慧、魅力和帥氣的臉孔，來彌補他這輩子走路跌跌撞撞的事實。

Even in his dreams, he had never imagined himself as a dancer. And then, at a performance in 2007, Carter-Long met Latsky. Looking at him, she saw a face that reminded her of Nureyev and a gait that was as extraordinary as the famed dancers leaps. ''I think your gait is beautiful,'' Latsky told a stunned Carter-Long. ''I want to create a dance around the way you walk.'' Rehearsals were grueling. His limbs ached. His feet bled. He fell constantly. But Carter-Long's confidence grew. And over time, his body changed--as did his gait.

他做夢也沒想過自己會是個舞者，但在2007年的表演中，卡特隆遇見萊斯基。從他身上，她看到一張臉孔，使她想起紐瑞耶夫（前蘇聯叛逃到美國、首屈一指的舞蹈家），他的舞步更如同這位名舞者飛躍的舞步一樣不同凡響。「我認為你走路的樣子很美，我想從你走路的樣子編創一支舞。」嚴酷的排練很累人，他兩腿酸痛，兩腳流血，經常跌倒。但卡特隆越來越有信心，久而久之，他的身體改變了，他的舞步也跟著改變。

Jeffrey Freeze, a principal dancer in Latsky's company, could see it too. At 39, Freeze is a technically brilliant dancer who has performed all over the world. But when Freeze began trotting beside Carter-Long in rehearsal one day, his dancing life changed forever. Watching them, Latsky had a vision. What if she created a duet for the two men--one that highlighted their different walks. She knew the terror Carter-Long would feel paired beside Freeze's virtuosity. But Freeze would be equally unnerved by having to slow down. The tension would inspire the dance. And so ''Two Men Walking'' was born.

萊斯基舞團首席舞者佛利茲也把一切看在眼底。39歲的佛利茲舞蹈技術出類拔萃，他曾到世界各地表演，但當有一天綵排時，佛利茲開始在卡特隆身邊起舞，從此改寫他的舞蹈生涯。萊斯基看著他們，忽然產生靈感。如果她為這兩個男人編一支舞，來凸顯他們走路方式的不同呢？她知道，在佛利茲精湛的舞蹈技巧旁，卡特隆相形見絀會做何感想。她也明白，佛利茲必須放慢腳步，也會頓失勇氣自亂陣腳。這股張力啟發了這支舞碼。「兩名男子走路」這支舞就這樣誕生了。

By the summer of 2008 the troupe has grown to six--three able-bodied and three disabled performers. By November last year the troupe have performed excerpts in Vermont and a full run in Albuquerque. But they know if GIMP is to succeed in the dance world, it needs reviews in New York. By now Latsky is dreaming of taking GIMP it all over the country, all over world.

到2008年夏天，這支舞團已經成長到6個成員，身強體健和肢殘的舞者各三位。到去年11月，這支舞團已經到佛蒙特州演出精華的舞碼，並到阿布奎基演出完整的舞碼。但他們心裡有數，GIMP如果要在舞蹈界立足，一定要通過紐約的檢驗。萊斯基現在正夢想帶著GIMP到全美各地、甚至全世界演出。

For three nights in March GIMP electrified the Grand Street theater on Manhattan's Lower East Side. Audiences clapped and cheered and cried and standing ovations continued long after the performance had ended. People didn't want to leave the theater, didn't want to break the spell. Many seemed as perplexed as they were moved. Many struggled to figure out exactly what they were feeling.

三月間一連三晚，GIMP的演出震撼紐約曼哈坦下東城的格蘭街劇場。觀眾鼓掌喝采流淚，表演結束後仍起立鼓掌，久久不歇。觀眾不想離開劇場，不想破壞那種魔咒，很多人感動之餘，有點迷茫困惑，也有很多人試圖釐清他們到底在想什麼。

For Latsky, the most gratifying response was the way people told her how grateful they were--for the beauty of the performance, for its power to sweep them into another world, a world where dance and disability and differences collide, a world of risk and passion and art, a world so utterly different from their experience that they felt honored to have been wrapped in its spell.

萊斯基最欣慰的回應是很多人告訴她，他們很感激這場演出所呈現的美感，所產生的那股足以把他們帶到另一個世界的力量，在那個世界，舞蹈和殘疾和肢體差異互相撞擊出火花，那是個充滿冒險和熱力及藝術的世界，那個世界和他們的經驗落差極大，他們能籠罩在這個魔咒下，感到很榮幸。

In this photo taken on March 21, 2009, Jeffrey Freeze, top, and Lawrence Carter-Long perform in New York.

在這張攝於今年3月21日的照片（美聯社）中，圖上方的佛利茲和下方肢殘的卡特隆正在紐約演出。