Dance Lessons in COVID Era

11/29/2020 梁桦 HUA LEE

I have always had a dream in my 19 years armature dancing career, that is to systematically study Chinese classical dance which is the genre I never had experience with. The unique beauty in the controlled moves, reserved rhythm, and rich body language is incomparable in any other dance form. The influences of traditional Chinese culture, martial art, Chinese opera, Tai Chi, etc. are deeply rooted in Chinese classical dance. The “bearing” (inner feeling) in addition to beautiful “form” is so intriguing to the audience that Chinese classical dance is simply hypnotizing to watch. Residing in a medium city with small Chinese community, the chance of finding a professional dance teacher is next to zero. Reserving time for learning dance is also a luxury for a working woman juggling career, parenthood, and family life. When COVID hit, we had to gradually adapt to the new norm of spending majority of our awake hours at home. With the frustrations came an unexpected opportunity. An ad in the social media caught my attention; Teacher Jasmine’s dance classes went virtual. After viewing her long resume in education, dance performance, choreography, and program production, I signed up immediately. Without mirrors in the home “studio”, no peers on the dance floor, inevitably virtual learning and teaching dance is a completely different experience and a huge challenge for mature students of my age. Teacher Jasmine teaches with generous patience; she explains every move and posture in great details and takes every student’s progress into consideration in the lesson plan. In addition to the dance moves, each dance class is structured in such a way that cultural background is incorporated into the learning of each dance piece. The small hand gesture or nuances of a grand open spin of the entire body are explained with cultural elements thus adding layers of fun to the dance moves.

舞伴人生，岁月如歌

28 年前，年轻的我只身一人来到美国，求学、结婚、生子，再找工作、养育孩子、开拓职场生涯。忙碌中不曾想过，少年时代爱好的舞蹈有一天会成为生活中不可或缺的一部分。

二十年前，我跟所有的华裔妈妈一样，每周末驱车带三个女儿去中文学校，学习中文之余，也希望她们能有机会接受中国文化的熏陶。中文学校缺少舞蹈老师，为了自己的孩子，久别舞台的我毛遂自荐教孩子们中国舞，同时带领平时难得关爱自己的妈妈们跳舞健身。一年年过去，孩子们长大了，离家了，我也坚持跳舞19年。舞蹈让我身体健康、精力旺盛，让我在生活中各个角色中切换自如。

跳舞多年，我一直有一个心愿，那就是找机会系统地学习中国古典舞。古典舞的身韵及肢体语言所传递的东方韵味、独特的内敛美感一直深深吸引着我。在肩挑职业和母亲双重责任的岁月里，这无疑是奢望；而在中国人不算多的中等城市，遇见合适老师的几率也几近为零。2020 年，在为病毒施虐而焦虑不安中，人们慢慢习惯了每天居家的单调，而发达的网络意外地为我们打开了一扇窗，看到了一片不曾拥有的天地。偶然再社交媒体上看到一平老师的古典舞网课海报，我立刻报名参加。上网课没有镜子，不能纠正动作，加上没有舞伴，教与学都面临挑战。一平老师丰富的专业经验，深厚的文化修养，加上对程度不同的学员诲人不倦的耐心和细心，让几个月的网课成绩斐然。细看学员在室外录制的舞蹈组合录像，学员的技术和韵味一天天提高。而在学习和反复练习呼吸、控制、身韵、提沉之时，2020 焦虑似乎也在慢慢治愈。乱世中，一曲深情伴一段曼舞，生活依然美好！