[中][ENG] 舞跡可尋 In Search of a Dance Story

圖片由俞若玫提供。Photo provided by Cally Yu.

以舞蹈與社區對話

Conversing with the Community through Dance

社區藝術計劃「銀青乒乓」，旨在以藝術讓長者和年輕人溝通。你一球我一拍，透過藝術為長者充權，同時希望年輕藝術家從長者身上獲益。銀青乒乓始於2013年，以土瓜灣十三街作為基地，定期有不同節目：畫畫、舞蹈、敲擊、傾偈會、種植等等。《舞蹈手札》特意邀請計劃的策展人俞若玫和曾參與銀青乒乓與香港青年藝術協會（Hong Kong Youth Arts Foundation，下稱YAF）合作活動的年輕舞者黎德威分享他們在過程中的心得。

The community Grey & Green Ping Pong Art Project began with the aim of facilitating a dialogue between the elderly and youngsters through art. By empowering elderly people with art, it seeks to have the young artists involved learn just as much from their elderly counterparts. Based in the 13th and 5th Streets area of To Kwa Wan, Grey and Green Ping Pong Art Project made its debut in 2013, and has periodically organized a variety of programs since then including painting, dancing, percussion, chit-chat sessions, and even planting. dance journal/hk invited the project curator, Cally Yu, and the dance artist, Lai Tak-wai, who participated in a collaborative partnership between Grey & Green Ping Pong and the Hong Kong Youth Arts Foundation (YAF) to share their experiences during this unique collaboration .

銀青乒乓鼓勵不同年齡層的人共舞。Grey & Green Ping Pong Art Project – people of different ages dancing together. 圖片由俞若玫提供。Photo provided by Cally Yu.

溝通作為藝術的本質

俞若玫對於活動設計抱有執著，堅持每個活動必須有一定的時間長度，才可以有足夠溝通的機會，並有所建立。雖然銀青乒乓已經成立四年，但她至今仍然不斷改善活動，一步步走近成立的宗旨。對於俞若玫，社區舞蹈是一種Collaboration（協作），而協作藝術的本質基礎是溝通：「身體與另一身體接觸的一刻，可以來得很親密，純粹得不需要解釋。打開自己，接納他人，在互相尊重的情況下才可以跳得盡興。有時候年輕的參與者與長者共舞時，也不及長者們開懷。」

當然，溝通也非必然成功，有時也是跌跌碰碰的。計劃曾安排長者和年輕藝術家一對一為期三個月的共同創作，以「落牙」為創作題目，不限形式。但過程中有長者和藝術家意見不合而令創作過程遇上阻滯，過程中放開自我、擁抱其他觀點也是協作成功的要素。

Communication as the Essence of Art

Yu’s persevering attitude towards the project’s design made sure that the duration of each activity of the project was long enough for it to build up what it set out to achieve. With four years of history behind it, Yu’s patience tweaking and making continuous improvement project by project has ultimately seen Grey and Green Ping Pong Art Project reach its goal and live up to its motto. To Yu, community dance is a form of collaboration, and the basis for collaborative art is communication. “When a body touches another body, it can be so close that the purity and intimacy of the contact can defy explanation. To be able to dance to one's heart’s content, one must be totally open, with unconditional acceptance and mutual respect for others. Sometimes, it does not come as easily for some young participants as for the elderly."

However, it has not always been a rosy road to success for Yu. The project once organized a three-month collaborative creation between its elderly members and young artists, taking “As the leaves fall” as the theme with no limitation to the form. During the process, disagreements arose causing roadblocks to the creative process. Opening oneself and embracing others’ views are essential elements to collaborative success.

圖片由俞若玫提供。Photo provided by Cally Yu.

一場關於「美」的對話

一群長者視戲曲為「美」的代名詞，當他們接觸現代舞定會覺得非常新奇，同時當現代舞者碰上長者們，其實引發另一番思考。

去年年末，銀青乒乓與YAF合作，與一眾長者在賽馬會社區表演藝術雙年展2016：「小城 ．小大舞」中演出，更邀來了現代舞者黎德威與長者們進行了六星期的工作坊和排練。他花了不少心思去調整工作坊去符合長者需要，例如多安排休息時間，避免高難度動作，他還引導長者從生活取材創作。但最令黎德威出乎意料之外的是他們投入程度之高：「雖然他們的身體條件有限，但總會盡力嘗試。相反專業舞者就像進入了另一個層面，會關心身體動作研究、構圖、等等。但對於長者，動作和舞蹈形式可以很簡單，享受舞動身體表達情感的過程已經算是美。」雖然他發現自己與長者的審美很不同，但他亦樂見一眾長者在過程中慢慢擴闊對舞蹈的認識。

A Conversation Concerning ‘Beauty’

Many elderly people consider, Xiqu a synonym for beauty. Not having come across contemporary dance before, they find everything about it new and exciting. And when contemporary dancers meet the elderly, the encounter provides some very interesting and inspiring food for thought.

Around the end of last year, Grey and Green Ping Pong Art Project initiated a collaborative project with YAF involving the project’s elderly, to perform in the Jockey Club Community Arts Biennale 2016. Along with the performance was a six-week workshop-cum-rehearsals led by contemporary dancer Lai Tak-wai. Lai took a lot of time adjusting the level of the workshop to suit the needs of the elderly – such as arranging more rest time and avoiding difficult movements . He also guided participants to take creative inspiration from life during the choreographing of the piece. But what surprised Lai most, was how devoted these elderly were to the project. “Although there were many limitations to what their bodies could do, they still tried their very best. Professional dancers tend to approach dance from another level, with more concerns in the pursuit of virtuosity, composition, and body movements. But for the elderly, movement and dance form can be very simple, with beauty coming simply from enjoying the moment and expressing their emotions through motions.” Although Lai found that he and the elderly have different aesthetic notions, he was happy they were able to broaden their knowledge and horizons in dance through this experience.

圖片由俞若玫提供。Photo provided by Cally Yu.

圖片由俞若玫提供。Photo provided by Cally Yu.

反觀舞蹈初衷

俞若玫認為不能忽略長者即興藝術的能力：「他們生活經驗豐富，非常擅於說故事。即使事情再苦悶，不論以身體、聲音、語言，他們總能夠找到以幽默、嬉戲的方式表達。在我而言，這種即興和轉化的能力，是舞蹈美學的一種，甚至連不少專業舞者都未必具備這個能力。 」銀青乒乓的長者們都沒有受過專業舞蹈訓練，沒有框架，沒有既定舞步，沒有學術基礎。他們以身體說故事，純粹地、自由地表達情感。俞若玫看到長者發自內心的舞姿，存在感和專注度不比專業舞者低。也許專業舞者會透過長者純粹的舞步、對生活和自然的敏感重新看見自己對舞蹈的初衷。

社區藝術－既是透過藝術與社區對話，也是與社區進行關於藝術的對話。

Introspecting Dance's Original Aspiration

Yu thinks that the capacity for the elderly to artistically improvise should not be ignored. “Having a rich palette of life experiences in their hands, they are good story tellers. Whether with their bodies, sound, or language, they can always find humor in the hardship and boredom of life and express it with playfulness. To me, this ability to improvise and transform is a form of dance aesthetics that some professional dancers may not possess.” The elderly of the Grey and Green Ping Pong Art Project had not received any professional dance training before. They did not have any preconceptions or established frameworks for dance, or academic foundations. Purely and freely expressing their emotions, they narrated through their bodies and from their hearts, exhibiting a level of energy and a sense of presence no less than any professional dancer. Perhaps our professional dancers can rediscover the original intention of their art through the naïveté of the dance steps of these elderly, and their exuberant sensitivity to life and nature.

Community art is an art form that not only communicates with the community through art, but also converses with it about art.