Rules and Hazards Of Flowers Onstage
舞台上獻花的規矩與危險
By Roslyn Sulcas

London – Breathing hard, the Royal Ballet dancers lined up onstage here to take their bows after the premiere of David Dawson’s new piece last season. Out came the ushers bearing armfuls of flowers from the company. Then, to the disapproval of traditionalists, bouquets were handed to the men as well as the women. Long-suffering ballet fans reeled. Twitter was abuzz.
英國皇家芭蕾舞團上一季首演道森新作後，舞者喘著氣在皇家歌劇院舞台上一字排開，向觀眾鞠躬。舞團接待員捧著滿懷花束上台，獻給男女舞者。這個動作違反傳統。長期忍耐的粉絲與推特議論紛紛。

At the Royal Ballet, the great home of the floral tradition in dance, men don’t get flowers onstage. (Unless they are in drag. Which happens fairly often.) It’s one of the many customs and rules that govern the art of the bouquet in London, where flowers matter.
皇家芭蕾舞團是獻花傳統的發源地，男舞者不接受獻花（除非扮演女角，而這很常見）。在鮮花很重要的倫敦，這是獻花藝術的許多傳統與規矩之一。

At City Ballet and Ballet Theater performances, flowers are generally given by the company on opening nights and for role debuts. At the Royal Opera House, however, flowers are delivered onstage at almost every ballet performance, most provided by loyal fans.
紐約市芭蕾舞團與美國芭蕾舞團在紐約演出時，鮮花通常是舞團在開演夜與角色首次登台時獻出。倫敦皇家歌劇院卻幾乎場場都獻花，多由死忠粉絲提供。

Lee McLernon, a London lawyer who sends “about 10 to 12” bouquets a season, said that he felt it was a small way to show his appreciation. “It clicked with me that if I want to be sure a dancer I like is getting a bouquet, someone has to provide it,” he said.
倫敦律師麥克勒朗每季送出「大約10到12束花」。他說，以此聊表讚賞之意。他說：「我想到若要確定我欣賞的舞者獲贈鮮花，就得有人提供。」

London is where the art of the bouquet has been perfected, said Mark Welford, a florist near the Royal Opera House.
在皇家歌劇院附近開花店的魏福特說，倫敦的獻花藝術已臻於完美之境。

Mr. Welford said he believed the tradition dated to the early days of British ballet in the 1930s. “Dancers were really badly paid then, and people sent flowers and food and gifts,” Mr. Welford said. Later, ballerinas “were more of a fur coat and diamonds phenomenon,” he said. “There was an aura and allure that went with clutching a bouquet of flowers.”
他認為這項傳統可溯至1930年代英國芭蕾舞發展之初。他說：「當時舞者收入很差，人們會送上鮮花、食物及各種禮物。」，後來「女伶變成皮草與鑽石加身。手捧花束代表一種氣氛與魅力。」

In the great tradition of throwing loose flowers at dancers from the topmost part of the therter, flowers haven’t been the only projectiles. In 1734, the ballerina Marie Sallé caused such a sensation in London that fans threw gold sovereigns. And Colum McCann notes in the novel “Dancer,” based on Rudolf Nureyev’s life, that in Nureyev’s first season in Paris, a mink coat, erotic photos with the names and numbers of the women pictured, and 18 pairs of women’s underwear were flung onstage.
談到劇院頂層觀眾向舞者拋出鮮花這偉大傳統，鮮花並不是唯一拋出的物品。1734年，女伶瑪麗．莎莉在倫敦演出極為轟動，粉絲拋出一英鎊的金幣。麥卡恩在根據芭蕾舞蹈家紐瑞耶夫生平撰寫的小說《舞者》中提到，紐瑞耶夫在巴黎第一季演出，扔到台上的包括一件貂皮大衣、附有女粉絲姓名與電話號碼的情色照片，以及18件女用內衣。

The protocol of giving flowers isn’t that simple. Until 1997, when the Royal Opera House closed for renovation, bouquets were brought onstage by two men dressed in white wigs, knickerbockers and much gold braid.
獻花的禮節可不簡單。到1997年皇家歌劇院關門整修為止，花束一直是由兩名穿戴白色假髮、燈籠褲與金色穗帶的男子帶上台。

The Royal Opera House still employs someone to present the flowers, even if he – men are preferred for the bouquet bestowing – now wears a rather nondescript outfit and no wig. While the company policy is to give flowers to the principal female dancers on opening night, bouquets arrive at almost every performance, said Johanna Adams Farley, a stage manager for the Royal Ballet.
皇家歌劇院至今仍雇有專人上台獻花，雖然（通常偏好男性）衣著不具特色，也不戴假髮。皇家芭蕾舞台經理喬安娜．法里表示，舞團的政策是只在開演首夜向首席女舞者獻花，但是幾乎每場表演都有花束送來。

“Sometimes it can be a little delicate,” Ms. Farley said. “If flowers have arrived for a corps de ballet dancer or soloist, but the ballerina hasn’t received any, we won’t present them onstage.”
法里說：「有時有點棘手。如果有人送花給全體舞者或某一獨舞者，卻沒人送花給首席女舞者，我們就不在台上獻花。」

At the Metropolitan Opera House, said Danielle Ventimiglia a stage manager, “There is a team of men who prep the flowers. You have to pull the thorns off the roses, make sure that there is no stamen that will dye the costumes. We doctor it a little, make sure there is a pull flower for the lady.”
紐約大都會歌劇院舞台經理丹妮莉．范迪密格里亞說，「鮮花由一組男士打理。必須拔掉玫瑰的刺，確定沒留下雄蕊，以免沾染舞者的服裝。我們會略加處理，以確定女舞者會有一朵扯得出來的花。」

Ms. Ventimiglia was referring to a moment that is now almost standard in the curtain-call ritual, whereby after receiving her bouquet, the ballerina pulls out one flower, kisses it and presents it to her partner.
她指的是已成為舞者謝幕儀式標準場景的時刻。這時候，首席女舞者接過花束，抽出一朵花，親吻後獻給搭檔。

“I don’t know how that started, but it wasn’t common at the start of my career,” said Julie Kent, a Ballet Theater dancer. “I feel like it’s become a bit of a rote gesture, so if I really feel moved, I offer my partner my whole bouquet. Luckily, they usually don’t take it.”
美國芭蕾舞團女舞者茱莉．肯特說：「我不知道它是怎麼開始的，不過在我舞蹈生涯之初這並不普遍。我覺得它已經成了老梗。所以，如果我真的很感動，我會把整束花獻給我的搭檔。還好他們通常不會真的收下。」

Then there are the occupational hazards of being besieged with bouquets. Leanne Benjamin, a former Royal Ballet principal, recalled almost cutting off a finger while trying to arrange the flowers she had been given after her last Juliet.
還有被花海包圍的職業危險。皇家芭蕾舞團前首席女舞者莉妮．班傑明說，她最後一次演出「茱莉葉」後收到了一些獻花，後來在整理花朵時險些割掉一根手指。

Alessandra Ferri remembered trying not to trip over slippery mounds of blooms at the Met after her farewell performance with Ballet Theater in 2007. “You don’t want to exit your career on a silly fall,” she said.
義大利芭蕾女伶亞麗珊德拉．費里還記得，她2007年在大都會歌劇院與美國芭蕾舞團共同完成個人的告別演出時，必須小心翼翼，以免因為舞台堆滿滑溜的鮮花而跌跤。她說：「妳不會想以愚蠢的跌跤結束演出生涯。」

原文參照：
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/11/23/arts/dance/the-rules-and-hazards-of-presenting-flowers-in-ballet.html

2014-12-09聯合報/G9版/UNITED DAILY NEWS 陳世欽譯 原文參見紐時週報十二版右