Luis國際資訊事務所

Riverdance　大河之舞

11/21
　　On April 30, 1994, a troupe of traditional Irish dancers took to the stage at the Eurovision Song Contest in Dublin, Ireland. For seven minutes, almost 300 million mouths fell open in awe, as television viewers were mesmerized by a spectacle that they had never seen before. This was the beginning of Riverdance.

　　A theatrical show made up of traditional Irish step dancing, Riverdance has taken an aspect of Irish culture and exposed it to the world. Step dancing, where the feet move in a rapid succession of kicks and taps while the upper body remains mostly stationary, had long been performed only in competitions. The style of dancing was mostly popular in Ireland and Scotland as well as in predominantly Irish areas in the United States. Upon the debut of Riverdance, its popularity grew tenfold.

　　A typical number from a Riverdance performance might find 30 svelte dancers with their arms linked in the middle of a dimly lit stage. In perfect unison, their legs kick out tightly around them, while their feet rhythmically tap out a music that can't be duplicated by any instrument.

　　Since its inception in the early 90s, Riverdance has gone from being a local dance group to a worldwide phenomenon. Riverdance has performed throughout 30 countries on four continents. Over 18 million people have seen the shows live with a global television audience of over 1.5 billion enjoying the performances. From December 1-17, their toes will be tapping on stages here in Taiwan.

單字:

1. troupe n.（演員、舞者等）一團，一班

2. spectacle n. 景象；奇觀

3. theatrical a. 劇場的

4. tap n. & vi. 輕敲

5. stationary a. 靜止的

6. debut n. 初次登台

7. tenfold adv. 十倍地

8. svelte a. 苗條的

9. dimly adv. 昏暗地

10. rhythmically adv. 有節奏地

11. inception n. 開端

12. phenomenon n. 現象（單數形）
phenomena n. 現象（複數形）

片語:

1. take to the stage　　登台表演

2. in awe　　肅然起敬地

3. be made up of...　　由……組成

4. expose A to B　　使 A 接觸到 B

1. mesmerize vt. 使著迷
例: The meteor shower mesmerized everyone for hours.
（流星雨使大家心醉神迷了好幾個小時。）

2. a succession of...　　一連串的……
succession n. 連續
例: A succession of terrorist attacks occurred in the city last week.
（上週城裡發生一連串的恐怖攻擊。）

3. predominantly adv. 大多數地；主要地
例: This neighborhood is predominantly foreigners.
（本區住戶大部分是外國人。）

4. in unison　　同時地；一致地
unison n. 一致
例: The students replied in unison that they didn't want a test.
（學生一致回答他們不想要考試。）

5. duplicate vt. 重複；複製
例: Do not duplicate this CD. It's illegal.
（不要拷貝這片CD，那樣是違法的。）

　　1994年4月30日，一個愛爾蘭傳統舞團在愛爾蘭都柏林舉辦的歐洲歌唱大賽中登台表演。7分鐘的演出讓全世界近3億電視機前的觀眾，為此前所未見的壯麗場面心蕩神迷、目瞪口呆。這就是《大河之舞》的開始。

　　《大河之舞》是由傳統愛爾蘭踢踏舞編成的劇場表演，它讓全世界接觸到愛爾蘭文化的一環。雙腳連續快速踢踏，上半身幾乎保持不動的踢踏舞長久以來只在比賽中演出。這類舞蹈在愛爾蘭、蘇格蘭，以及美國愛爾蘭人為主的地區最受歡迎。《大河之舞》首演後，踢踏舞的人氣增長了10倍。

　　《大河之舞》一般由30位苗條的舞者演出，他們在昏暗的舞台上手臂相挽，雙腿整齊劃一地緊密踢出，雙腳則有節奏地踢踏出一段任何樂器都無可比擬的樂章。

　　自從1990年代早期首場表演以來，《大河之舞》已由地區性的舞團一躍而為席捲全球的驚世傳奇，他們的表演踏響了4大洲、30個國家。超過1,800萬人曾親臨現場觀賞演出，全球總計有超過15億人透過電視轉播觀賞。從12月1日至17日，他們將在台灣的舞台踢踏上陣。

from 常春藤解析英語雜誌