在舞蹈里遇見美好
——專訪杭州歌劇舞劇院院長崔巍

文/肖艷艷 楊廣夏

錢塘江畔，桂香陣陣，歌聲悠揚。在杭州錢塘江畔的一個排練場，我們見到了崔巍。她一頭干凈利落的短發，有著江南女子溫婉的氣質，交談中卻能讓人感受到骨子里透著山東大嫚（姑娘）的颯爽。

與這個排練場隔江相望的，是杭州奧體中心體育場，俗稱“大蓮花”。2023年，杭州亞運會開幕式將在這里舉行。作為開幕式副總導演，每次遙望對岸，崔巍的雙眸都閃著光。

6歲開始跳舞，到如今成為杭州歌劇舞劇院院長，崔巍說自己一輩子只專注做一件事，那就是舞蹈。從一而終，崔巍對事業如此，對杭州也是如此。

1984年，18歲的崔巍從北京舞蹈學院表演系畢業，被分配到杭州歌舞團。這位青島姑娘在這座城市一待就是30多年，并從此開啟了一段傳奇之旅。

遇見杭州

1982年，杭州成為全國首批歷史文化名城。

為打造好這張“金名片”，杭州求賢若渴。

兩年后，杭州市領導親自帶隊去北京舞蹈學院“要人才”，崔巍因此受到青睞。從此，她的人生便與杭州這座城市結下了不解之緣。從演員到編導，她對藝術和舞蹈的理解，在江南充滿詩意的空氣里舒展。

一部《阿姐鼓》讓崔巍展露鋒芒，一舉拿下中國舞臺藝術最高獎—文華獎。

這是崔巍學習編導之后的第一部作品。很多人都知道這是一部講述藏族人民熱愛生命、崇尚自然且具有生生不滅之頑強精神的藝術作品，卻很少有人了解這段舞蹈的靈感，來自幾個藏族孩子的舞步。

崔巍。Cui Wei.

為了創作《阿姐鼓》，崔巍克服嚴重高反，四進西藏采風，還曾到達珠峰大本營。

為創作《遇見大運河》，崔巍到運河沿岸采風。Cui Wei travels along the Grand Canal for the production of To Meet the Grand Canal.

“采風不是簡單地學兩個動作，而是要深入體驗，尋找觸動心靈的情感共鳴?！痹诖尬】磥?，藝術不是高高在上的，它離我們很近。生活是藝術的創作源泉，人民是藝術家的母親。

2004年，在創作《與外鄉人一起跳舞》時，崔巍特意把演出舞臺放在工地現場，演員與建筑工人一起共舞。

“當時工地附近有家小面館，大家干完活都去那里吃飯。我看到一個小伙子，只吃一碗清湯面，什么都舍不得加?！蓖瑸橥忄l人的崔巍，懂得背井離鄉的辛苦與不易，讓老板娘給小伙子加了個煎蛋、一塊大排。

“當時他騰地一下站起來。我說沒有關系，是我送你的。他看著我說，下次我還能看到你們的舞蹈嗎？”講到這里，崔巍眼中淚光閃爍，“勞動者是最辛苦的，他們需要得到社會關注，這也是我做這個作品的原因?！毖莩霎斕?，很多人流著淚看完表演，結束了也不愿走。

這些年來，在崔巍的帶領下，杭歌演員把杭城火車站、地鐵站、飛機場、長途汽車站、敬老院、城市中心廣場等當作舞臺，把歌聲與微笑帶給了更多人。

遇見大運河

2008年北京奧運會之后，結束工作的崔巍回到杭州，得知大運河正在申遺的消息。

當時，杭歌與大運河只有一路之隔。望著流淌千年的河水，她感到有一股生生不息的力量在涌動，總覺得自己應該為運河做點什么。

經過一年的醞釀，崔巍決定以中國大運河為題材，創作一個舞劇。

懷著滿腔熱情搞創作的她，很快就遇到了創作難題。中國大運河是世界上最長、工程最大的運河，也是最古老的運河之一，承載著中國的千年底蘊，用60集的電視劇也難以說清道明，只有一個半小時的舞蹈該如何呈現？

3年時間，崔巍帶著團隊幾乎走遍運河沿岸的所有城市。他們拜訪研究運河的歷史學者，和船民嘮家常；聽沿岸各種戲曲，快板、越劇、評彈；看各地不同形式的運河文化，繪畫、刺繡、雕塑、博物館……她認為，作品必須既提煉出精神內核，又讓觀眾耳目一新，通俗易懂。

“終于有一天，我找到了切入點。水滴匯聚成運河，女主角就是那滴水，代表運河的千年歷史；男主角是創作《遇見大運河》的藝術家，代表現在的我們?！贝尬∨d奮地說，男女主角的相知相愛，實際上是我們與運河、與歷史、與文化遺產之間的大愛。

2017年，這滴東方之水從中國一路流淌到法國、埃及、巴拿馬等十個運河國家，架起文化的橋梁，向世界講述中國的歷史，中國的故事。

在法國巡演時，一位觀眾淚流滿面，她被故事深深打動，說要到中國親眼看看中國大運河。在希臘演出時，一位史學家的發言讓崔巍很有共鳴。他說：“中國有兩大人工奇跡，一是長城，一是運河，長城代表著中國的過去，它是堅硬的、封閉的、防御的；大運河代表中國的今天，是開放的、流通的、交融的?！?/p>

舞蹈的力量，跨越國界和語言。諸多身份中，崔巍最喜歡把自己定義為文化傳播者?！耙v好中國故事，我覺得融合非常重要。要用舞蹈這一人類共同的語言，與各國觀眾產生共鳴?！泵康揭粋€城市，崔巍都會在當地最著名的地方舉辦快閃活動，還要根據當地的風俗、審美習慣等因素，有針對性地選擇演出及文化交流的內容。

遇見盛會

在杭州30多年，崔巍完成了藝術生命的蛻變—從一名舞蹈演員轉型為優秀導演，從在杭州汲取“養分”，到用創作回饋這座城市。

2008年北京奧運會，是崔巍的第一次蛻變。如何讓世界重新認識中國？如何展現“同一個世界，同一個夢想”？當時，主創團隊為此費盡苦心。

當《我和你》在奧運會場上響起時，崔巍突然悟出，從容坦然亦是一種文化自信，不一定非要敲鑼打鼓。

8年后，G20杭州峰會文藝晚會《最憶是杭州》上演，美輪美奐的中國意境驚艷世界，融合共處的美好愿景得到認同?！白鎳膹娛⒑蛙泴嵙Φ奶嵘?，讓人們發自內心地產生文化自豪感，這讓我們充分感受到時代發展所賦予人民的從容與自信?！贝尬≌f。

“藝術最重要的是傳遞精神。2023年亞運會，我們不僅要表達杭州，更要表達現在的中國，尤其是人們那種幸福、自在、坦然的生活狀態和精神面貌?！睘榱嗣髂昴芙簧弦环菥实淖鳂I，崔巍和主創團隊不斷打磨，尋找新的突破。

采訪結束，崔巍又匆匆趕回排練場地。在藝術這條道路上，崔巍不斷向前:在努力中，遇見更好的自己。

崔巍帶領團隊創作的舞蹈劇《遇見大運河》在法國巡演。The dancing troupe of To Meet the Grand Canal, directed by Cui Wei, takes a performance tour in France.

Meet Beauty in Dance Performances

By Xiao Yanyan Yang Guangxia

On the banks of the Qiantang River with the sweet fragrance of osmanthus spreading, we meet Cui Wei in a rehearsal hall.Wearing clean short hair, she possesses the same tenderness as aJiangnan(south of the Yangtze River) woman, but her speech reveals the sassiness of a Shandong girl by heart. Starting dancing at the age of 6 and now the president of Hangzhou Opera &Dance Drama Theater, Cui Wei says that she has simply focused on one thing in her life, that is, dance.

Across the river from this rehearsal hall stands the Hangzhou Olympic Sports Center Stadium, commonly known as “Big Lotus”. In 2023, the opening ceremony of the Hangzhou Asian Games 2022 will be held there. As the chief assistant director of the ceremony, Cui Wei has her eyes shining every time she looks at the other side.

In 1982, Hangzhou was listed among the first batch of national famous historical and cultural cities in China. To build up this cultural name card, in 1984, the local government sent a team to Beijing Dance Academy in pursuit of talents, and Cui Wei, a girl from Qingdao, East China’s Shandong province, was among those selected. Since then, her life has been indissolubly bound with Hangzhou. In the poetic atmosphere ofJiangnan, Cui, first as an actor and then as a choreographer, expanded her understanding of art and dance in depth.

In 1996, Cui Wei, the then novice choreographer, won the Wenhua Grand Award, the highest award in Chinese stage art,with the dance dramaSister Drum. Though it is widely known that the work praises the love of life, of nature and tenacity of Tibetan people, it is far less known that it was inspired by dance steps of several Tibetan children. To create Sister Drum, Cui Wei traveled to Tibet four times to study local folk dances and even reached the base camp of Mount Qomolongma. “Folk dance collecting means not simply to copy a few movements, but to experience deeply and find the emotional resonance that touches the soul.” In Cui Wei’s eyes, art should not be something high above the ordinary people because life is the source of artistic creation and the people the muse of artists.

In 2004, when working forDancing with Out-of-Towners,Cui Wei deliberately moved her stage to a construction site where actors and builders danced together. “I remember a small noodle restaurant near the construction site, and the builders went there for food after work. There was a young man who only ate a bowl of plain noodles without adding anything,” Cui says. “Workers are the most hardworking who need social attention. That’s why I created this dance drama.” Over the years, under the leadership of Cui Wei, the actors of Hangzhou Opera & Drama Dance Theater have staged performances at Hangzhou railway stations, metro stations, airport, coach stations, nursing homes, city center square and other public spaces, bringing music and laughter to many.

In 2008, having returned to Hangzhou after finishing her work at the Beijing Summer Olympics, Cui Wei learned of China’s application for the Grand Canal to be inscribed as a world cultural heritage. At that time, Hangzhou Opera & Drama Dance Theater was only one street away from the Grand Canal. Looking at the river flowing for thousands of years, feeling urged to do something for it, she decided on a dance drama with the theme of the Grand Canal. Yet almost instantly she encountered difficulties. The Grand Canal is the longest and most engineered canal in the world, and one of the oldest. How can a dance drama of only one and a half hours show its millennium-old heritage?

2008 年，崔巍對參加北京奧運會開幕式的演員進行指導。Cui Wei instructs performers taking part in the opening ceremony of the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games.

In three years, Cui Wei led a team to almost all the cities along the Grand Canal, visiting historians, chatting with boat people, listening to various operas, comic talks and ballad singing along the banks, seeing different forms of canal culture in various places such as painting, embroidery, sculpture ... Cui Wei believes that the work must not only condense the spiritual core but be easy to understand, and be refreshing to the audience. “Finally one day, I found the breakthrough point. As it is water droplets that converge into the canal, I decided to let the heroine be that drop of water, representing the millennium history of the canal. The hero is the artist who wrought the dance drama, representing us at present.” The heroine and hero meet and fall in love with each other, embodying the great love between us and the Grand Canal,its history, and its heritage.

In 2017,To Meet the Grand Canal, as a drop of oriental water, flowed from China to ten canal countries around the world,including France, Egypt and Panama, building a bridge of cultural exchanges and telling the world the history and stories of China.During the French tour, a spectator was so moved by the story that she shed tears, saying that she would go to China to visit the Grand Canal in person. When performing in Greece, Cui Wei resonated deeply with a historian’s words, “There are two man-made miracles in China. One is the Great Wall and the other is the Grand Canal.The Great Wall represents China’s past, which is hard, closed, and defensive. The Grand Canal represents China today, which is open,fluid, and integrating.” The power of dance transcends national boundaries and languages. Among her many identities, Cui Wei likes to define herself as a cultural communicator the most. “We must use dance, the common language of mankind, to resonate with audiences from all over the world.”

For more than 30 years in Hangzhou, Cui Wei has completed the transformation of her artistic life from a dancer to an excellent director. The 2008 Beijing Summer Olympic Games witnessed her first transformation. When the theme song You and Me sounded on the Olympic field, many people could not accept such an artistic expression, feeling that it was not high-spirited enough.However, in Cui’s view, being calm and undisturbed is also a manifestation of cultural self-confidence, which doesn’t have to be celebrated by gongs and drums. Eight years later, at the G20 Hangzhou Summit in 2016 was stagedEnduring Memories of Hangzhou, whose magnificence amazed the world with the vision of global integration and coexistence widely recognized. “The prosperity of our motherland and the improvement of soft power have given people a sense of cultural confidence from the bottom of their hearts,” Cui says.

崔巍指導演員們表演。Cui Wei instructs dancers.

“The most important thing about art is to convey the spirit.In the Asian Games next year, we will not only express the spirit of Hangzhou but that of current China, especially the blissful, relaxed lifestyles and the ethos of our people.” After the interview, Cui Wei hurries back to the rehearsal venue, and with the creative team, she will continue to polish their work, looking for breakthroughs. On the road of art, Cui Wei keeps moving forward, and in the process of hard work, she meets a better self.

Cui Wei is currently president of Zhejiang Dancers Association, president of Hangzhou Opera & Dance DramaTheater, and assistant director of the Opening Ceremonies of the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games and the 2022 Hangzhou Asian Games.