6 Chapter 5 Madame Nijinska

Chapter 5 Madame Nijinska California was full of colors that Maria had never seen in Oklahoma—groves of bright oranges, apricots, and peaches. The Pacific Ocean shimmered a silvery blue in the sunshine. Even her father seemed happier. He could golf every day!

加利福尼亚到处都是玛丽亚在俄克拉何马州从未见过的色彩——鲜艳的桔子、杏子和桃子树林。 太平洋在阳光下闪着银蓝色的微光。 就连她的父亲似乎也更高兴了。 他可以每天打高尔夫球!

Maria and Marjorie began their ballet lessons right away. Ernest Belcher welcomed the two girls into his class. He was shocked to learn that both Maria and Marjorie had been dancing on their toes for years. It was a miracle, he told Ruth, that both girls had not injured themselves. "Forget everything Mrs. Sabin showed you," he told his new pupils. "You must start all over and learn the basic steps."

玛丽亚和玛乔丽马上开始上芭蕾舞课。 欧内斯特·贝尔彻欢迎这两个女孩加入他的班级。 当他得知玛丽亚和玛乔丽多年来一直踮着脚尖跳舞时，他很震惊。 他告诉露丝，两个女孩都没有受伤，真是个奇迹。 “忘掉萨宾夫人给你们看的一切。”他对他的新学生们说。 “你必须从头开始，学习基本的步骤。”

Ballet school was hard work, but Maria was happy in Mr. Belcher's class. She was not so happy in Beverly Vista School, however. She could read far better than the other students in the third grade, so she was often bored with the lessons.

上芭蕾舞学校很辛苦，但玛丽亚在贝尔彻先生的课上很开心。 然而，她在比佛利维斯塔学校并没有那么开心。 她的阅读能力比三年级的其他学生要好得多，所以她经常对课程感到厌烦。

When she came into the classroom, the students covered their mouths with their hands and made war whoops. Where were her feathers? they teased. Did she live in a teepee? Was her last name Tall or was it Chief? How many scalps had her father taken? It didn't help much either when Ruth decided her girls would begin performing again at county fairs. She thought their Osage heritage would make them a more interesting act. She sewed new costumes—buckskins with fringe, headbands with feathers, and hawkbells down the outside of each

当她走进教室时，学生们用手捂住嘴，发出了热烈的欢呼声。 她的羽毛在哪里?他们嘲笑。 她住在圆锥形帐篷里吗?她的姓是Tall还是Chief? 她父亲割了多少头皮? 当露丝决定让她的女儿们再次在县里的集市上表演时，这也没有多大帮助。 她认为他们的奥塞奇血统会让他们的表演更有趣。 她缝了新的服装——有流苏的鹿皮，有羽毛的发带，每件衣服的外面都有鹰铃

leg. Maria disliked the costume, but she disliked the dance routine even more. Osage women did not dance. Only men wore the traditional hawkbells. Grandma Tall Chief knew that. Why didn't her mother understand? Maria was proud of her Osage heritage, but this dance seemed all wrong. Ruth was determined. As long as the costumes fit, her daughters would dance to the tom-toms. As always, Maria did as she was told. The one thing Maria could change, however, was her name. She began to write Tallchief as one word, not two. Maybe that would stop some of the teasing.

的腿。玛丽亚不喜欢这套服装，但她更不喜欢舞蹈动作。 奥塞奇族妇女不跳舞。 只有男人戴着传统的鹰铃。 高酋长奶奶知道这一点。 她妈妈为什么不理解? 玛丽亚为自己的奥塞奇族血统感到自豪，但这支舞似乎完全错了。 露丝下定了决心。只要服装合适，她的女儿们就会随着锣鼓起舞。 像往常一样，玛丽亚照办了。 然而，玛丽亚唯一能改变的就是她的名字。 她开始把“高酋长”写成一个词，而不是两个词。 也许这样就不会再被取笑了。

When Maria was twelve—and the dreaded buckskin costume no longer fit—she met a woman who changed her life forever. The woman's name was Madame Nijinska, and she became Maria's new ballet instructor. Madame was short and round. Her large green eyes were hawk-like. She missed nothing. And she was demanding. Her pupils took their place at a long rail called the "barre" to begin their exercises. Madame's hard fingers rapped Maria's shoulder. Hold your elbow this way, she instructed. Use your back muscles. Over and over again she corrected Maria's movements.

当玛丽亚12岁时，可怕的鹿皮服装不再适合她，她遇到了一个永远改变她生活的女人。 这个女人的名字叫尼金斯卡夫人，她成了玛丽亚的新芭蕾舞教练。 夫人又矮又圆。 她那双绿色的大眼睛像鹰一样。 她什么也没错过。她要求很高。 她的学生们站在一根叫做“杠”的长栏杆前开始练习。 夫人用坚硬的手指轻拍着玛丽亚的肩膀。 “把你的胳膊肘这样举着，”她指示道。 使用背部肌肉。她一次又一次地纠正玛丽亚的动作。