華爾茲舞是全世界人們最喜歡的舞蹈形式之一，舞姿優(yōu)美而飄逸，音樂舒緩而浪漫，被人們稱作“舞中之后”！讓我們一起來探究華爾茲舞的起源和發(fā)展歷程吧！

Many people consider tango to be the world's first \"forbidden dance\". This is not so. The first dance to earn this distinction1) was the waltz， due to its nature and origins.

Waltz comes from the German word \"waltzen\"， which means \"to turn\". The turn is the essence of the waltz step. The waltz is done in 3/4 time with an accent on the first beat of every measure2). Each series of movements is a turning step and a close. Today， it is often danced on a light foot， although this was not always the case.

Precursors3) to the waltz were the allemande4) and the minuet5). The allemande was a stately6) dance done in two lines. Partners faced each other and moved back and forth， sometimes going under the arms of the other line， or processing down the middle. The minuet was a square-step dance performed in a rigid7) and stately manner. The waltz itself is Viennese， and it evolved8) in Austria and Bavaria under such names as the Dreher， the Laendler and the Deutscher. It was created as a peasant dance in early Austria， and involved robust9) moves and lots of space. Often， partners were hurled10) into the air in moves that occasionally led to injury. Because peasants wore loud， thick shoes， it was also very noisy. When it first became popular in Viennese dance halls in the late eighteenth century， these aspects began to change.

The waltz was termed the \"forbidden dance\" for one reason: When it moved into Viennese dance halls， partners were allowed to touch! This was unheard of， and led to the dance being slandered11) by many officials of the church and leaders of the Austrian community. Because it was a favored dance of the young， however， it continued to be danced. Because of its transition to dance halls and city gatherings， it evolved into a light dance for polished12) floors and parties. Its music also changed， becoming more refined13) and orchestrated14). Notable15) instruments used to play it were the piano， the violin and the bass. In 1787， it was brought to the operatic stage， inviting huge debate. Mozart was a huge fan of the waltz， and in one of his operas， Don Giovanni， three waltzes are played at once in one scene! Clearly， the dance could not be stopped.

By the 1800's， Paris had fallen in love with the waltz. It did not arrive in England until later， where it was first denounced16) and then accepted. A final public acceptance of it in 1819 allowed the waltz to reach the popularity that it still has today.

Today， the waltz is danced in all corners of the world. Its predecessors17) have mostly died away， but in their place the waltz is acclaimed18) in Asia， Australia， America， Canada and South America as a favorite dance. Its label as the \"forbidden dance\" has been taken instead by the tango， a dance that arose from the slums19) of Argentina.

許多人都認為探戈是世界上第一種被視為“禁舞”的舞蹈，事實卻并非如此。因其特點和淵源，華爾茲舞才是第一種獲此“殊榮”的舞蹈。

“Waltz”一詞來源于德語單詞“waltzen”，意為 “旋轉(zhuǎn)”，而旋轉(zhuǎn)正是華爾茲舞步的精髓。華爾茲舞是四三拍(譯注：即以四分音符為一拍，每小節(jié)有三拍的節(jié)拍)，重音在每小節(jié)的第一拍上。每組動作都由一個轉(zhuǎn)身動作和一個并合動作組成?，F(xiàn)在的華爾茲舞步大多輕快靈巧，但歷史上的華爾茲舞卻并不是這樣。

華爾茲舞的前身是阿勒曼德舞和小步舞。阿勒曼德舞舞姿莊重，男女雙方分列成兩排，面對面站定，前后移步。有時，一方從另一方手臂下方回旋；有時，男女雙方列隊沿中線前進或后退。小步舞是一種方形舞步，舞姿刻板而莊重。華爾茲舞起源于維也納，在奧地利和巴伐利亞得到發(fā)展，并得名“旋轉(zhuǎn)舞”“蘭德勒舞”和“德國舞”。華爾茲舞誕生于早期奧地利的農(nóng)村地區(qū)，舞步強健有力，需要寬闊的場地。舞者們常常被投向空中，這樣的動作偶爾會讓他們受傷。因為農(nóng)民們穿的鞋往往很厚實，走起來聲響大，所以當時這種舞蹈跳起來非常聒噪。18世紀末，當華爾茲舞在維也納的各家舞廳中開始風靡時，它的這些方面也開始發(fā)生改變。

華爾茲舞之所以被稱為“禁舞”有這樣一個原因：當華爾茲舞進入維也納的各家舞廳時，跳舞的人可以彼此接觸對方的身體。這種舞蹈方式是前所未聞的，因此遭到了許多教會神職官員和奧地利社會許多領(lǐng)導者的詆毀。不過，由于受到年輕人的喜愛，仍舊有人跳華爾茲舞。由于華爾茲舞轉(zhuǎn)移到舞廳和都市聚會上，它便逐漸演變?yōu)橐环N輕柔舒緩的舞蹈，很適合在拋光地板上和宴會派對上跳。它的音樂也隨之發(fā)生了變化，變得更為高雅，并被譜寫成了管弦樂曲。鋼琴、小提琴和貝斯都曾是為華爾茲舞伴奏的重要樂器。1787年，華爾茲舞被搬上了歌劇舞臺，這曾招致了巨大的爭議。莫扎特是華爾茲舞的鐵桿粉絲，在其創(chuàng)作的《唐喬瓦尼》這部歌劇中，三支華爾茲舞在一幕劇中同時上演！顯然，華爾茲舞的風靡之勢是不可阻擋的。

到了19世紀，巴黎已和華爾茲舞結(jié)下了不解之緣。之后華爾茲舞才來到了英國；在這個國度里，它起先被痛斥，而后才被人們接受。英國民眾最終于1819年徹底接受了華爾茲舞，這使得華爾茲舞廣為流行起來，并且一直流行到今天。

現(xiàn)在，世界各地的人都在跳華爾茲舞。華爾茲舞的前身大多都已銷聲匿跡了，不過，華爾茲舞取而代之在亞洲、澳大利亞、美國、加拿大和南美洲都廣受贊譽，成為人們至愛的一種舞蹈形式。它“禁舞”的稱號也被探戈——一種起源于阿根廷貧民窟的舞蹈——所取代。

1.distinction [d??st??k?n] n. 榮譽稱號

2.measure [?me??(r)] n. 【音】拍子；小節(jié)

3.precursor [pri??k??s?(r)] n. 前身

4.allemande [??limɑ?nd] n. 阿勒曼德舞(原為德國民間舞，17和18世紀時發(fā)展成為法國宮廷舞)

5.minuet [?m?nju?et] n. 米奴哀舞，(17～18世紀流行的一種緩慢而莊嚴的)小步舞

6.stately [?ste?tli] adj. 威嚴的；莊重的

7.rigid [?r?d??d] adj. 僵硬的

8.evolve [i?v?lv] vi. 演化；發(fā)展

9.robust [r???b?st] adj. 需要體力(或耐力)的

10.hurl [h??l] vt. 猛投；力擲

11.slander [?slɑ?nd?(r)] vt. 對……進行口頭誹謗；詆毀

12.polished [?p?l??t] adj. 光潔的；光滑的

13.refined [r??fa?nd] adj. 優(yōu)雅的，高雅的

14.orchestrate [???k?stre?t] vt. 把……譜寫成管弦樂曲

15.notable [?n??t?bl] adj. 著名的；顯要的

16.denounce [d??na?ns] vt. 譴責；指責；痛斥

17.predecessor [?pri?d?ses?(r)] n. (被取代的)原有事物，前身

18.acclaim [??kle?m] vt. 為……喝彩；稱贊

19.slum [sl?m] n. 貧民窟；窮街