芭蕾爷爷|芭蕾

　　John Lowe, a war veteran, is about to perform on stage as the world’s oldest ballet dancer.
　　At the 1)grand old age of 90, John Lowe will join dancers from the 2)Lantern Dance Theatre Company―who are more than half his age for a performance of 3)Strauss’s An Artist’s Life.
　　The Grandfather to 11, John Lowe, of 4)Witchford, only 5)took up ballet having watched his daughter, Alison, become a professional dancer when he was 79. And at the age of 88, he 6)starred in his first ballet production―performing as the woodcutter in 7)Prokofiev’s The Stone Flower.
　　John Lowe, who fought in Malaysia and India in the Second World War before being captured by the Japanese, said he loves performing on stage.
　　“Dancing is the most amazing feeling and you come home mentally uplifted after listening to all this brilliant music. It’s fantastic exercise too,” the retired art teacher said. “I think it’s a wonderful thing to do and I can’t understand why more men don’t do it. There’s nothing 8)effeminate about it―you have to be incredibly fit to dance. I see these people crawling around,9)hunched over smoking a cigarette―they should be doing ballet.”
　　To maintain his fitness, Mr Lowe has even installed a 10)trapeze on his living room ceiling and hangs from it each morning to increase his muscle power. He also practices three times a week in 11)Ely’s Chequer Studio, as well as perfecting his 12)pirouettes and 13)pliés each day at his home. His home also 14)boasts a ballet15)bar where he 16)hones his knee-bends and arm movements so he can 17)prime his body for the demands of dancing.
　　“It’s a wonderful feeling. I had always wanted to dance and it’s never too late to learn,” he said. “I practise each day. I’m lucky that I don’t have any problem with the 18)routines but that’s because I exercise.”
　　Always a lover of dance, he had used his love of the 19)theater to help him through his three years as a prisoner of the Japanese during the Second World War.
　　“I remember being in the prisoner of war camp, starving and doing hard labour, and thinking I might not make it. But look at me now. I love dance,” Mr. Lowe said.
　　One of his dance teachers, Helen Pettitt, of the Chequer Studio, where Mr. Lowe has been training, said: “I am sure if things had been different he could have been a dancer. I have been amazed at his flexibility, and how strong he is. He doesn’t jump how he would like to but he dances in his own way and he is quite amazing.”
　　
　　退伍老兵约翰・罗伊就要上台表演了,他将成为世界上年龄最大的芭蕾舞演员。
　　在90岁高龄之际,约翰・罗伊将与“灯之舞剧团”的舞者们一起演出小约翰・施特劳斯的作品《艺术家的生 涯》――其他那些舞者的年龄是他的一半有余。
　　作为11个孩子的祖父,家住威奇福德市的约翰・罗伊是在看到女儿艾莉森成为职业舞者后才开始学习芭蕾舞的,当时他已经79岁。88岁时,他主演了自己的第一部芭蕾舞作品――在普罗科菲耶夫的作品《宝石花》中扮演一名木雕师。
　　约翰・罗伊在第二次世界大战期间曾在马来西亚和印度作战,后被日本人俘虏。他说他热爱在舞台上演出。
　　“舞动给人最神奇的感觉,而且听过所有这些精彩的音乐后再回家,你的心情也开朗多了。它还是一项很棒的运动,”这位已退休的艺术教师说,“我认为跳芭蕾舞是件美妙的事情,我不明白为什么大多数男人都不愿意学。跳芭蕾舞并不显得女人气――你得有相当健康的体魄才能跳。看着那些人在到处晃荡,弯着腰驼着背在抽烟,我会想,他们都应该去学跳芭蕾。”
　　为了保持身材健美,罗伊先生甚至在自家客厅的天花板上装了一副吊架,每天早上练习悬吊来增强自己的肌肉力量。他不仅每周三次到伊利方格舞室练习,还每天在家练习完善他的皮鲁埃特旋转和屈膝动作。他家里还装了一个练习芭蕾舞用的靠墙扶手,用来练习屈膝和手臂动作,方便他强身塑形为舞蹈表演做好准备。
　　“这种感觉真是太妙了。我一直想要跳舞,而学习是永远都不会嫌迟的。”他说,“我每天都在练习。我很庆幸自己在把握舞蹈动作上没有任何问题,不过那是因为我有锻炼。”
　　罗伊一直热爱舞蹈,二战期间他被日本人俘虏后,就是凭借着对舞台的热爱熬过了三年的艰难时光。
　　“我还记得在战俘营里的那段日子,不仅要忍饥挨饿,还要从事苦力劳作,我以为自己熬不过去了,但看看现在的我。我热爱舞蹈。”罗伊先生说。
　　海伦・佩蒂特是方格舞室的舞蹈老师之一,罗伊先生就在那里练舞。她说:“我相信如果当初情况不同的话,他很可能会成为一名舞者。我惊讶于他身体的柔韧性和他的强壮。虽然他在跳跃动作上显得力有不逮,但他有自己的一套舞蹈方式,真的非常令人惊叹。”
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