Hula The Heartbeat of Hawaii

Hula. The Heartbeat of Hawaii. Written by Alexandra Hanson -Harding. Focus Question. What is hula and how has it changed over time?

呼啦舞。 夏威夷的心跳。 亚历山德拉·汉森-哈丁 著 思考问题： 什么是呼啦舞？它是怎么随着时间演变的？

Coming to Hawaii The dancers are excited to begin. They have joined a hula school and have danced for many months. Soon they hear the beat of a drum. Their hula teacher starts to chant in Hawaiian. Now the dancers move together. Their legs sway in rhythm, and their arms move in smooth gestures. At times, they chant along, adding their voices to the story. They are doing hula, a special kind of dance, created by their ancestors. They are keeping hula alive today.

来到夏威夷，舞者们兴奋地准备开场。 他们进入呼啦舞学校，已经练习了好几个月。 很快，他们听到了鼓声。 他们的呼啦舞老师开始用夏威夷语吟唱。 舞者们一齐动作起来。 双腿跟着节奏摇摆，手臂动作流畅舒展。 有时他们也会跟着吟唱，用声音丰富故事。 他们跳的就是祖先创造的呼啦舞，一种特别的舞蹈。 如今，他们正让呼啦舞传承延续。

Hawaii was known to have been settled by Polynesian people around 1200 CE. They came 2 ,600 miles, 4 ,184 kilometers, from the island of Tahiti in the South Pacific Ocean. For most of Hawaii's history, its people did not have a written language. Instead, storytellers told tales with chants and songs. Music and dance added rhythm and drama to these stories. This helped Hawaiians understand important events in their history. Hawaii is the only U .S. state that is made up entirely of islands. Each of Hawaii's eight main islands was created by at least one volcano. Some ancient Hawaiian stories told about the volcanoes that created the islands that are now Hawaii.

据记载，公元1200年左右，波利尼西亚人就定居在了夏威夷。 他们从南太平洋的塔希提岛出发，跋涉了2600英里（合4184公里）来到这里。 在夏威夷历史的大部分阶段，原住民都没有文字。 说书人依靠吟唱和歌谣来讲故事。 音乐和舞蹈给这些故事增添了节奏与戏剧感。 这帮助夏威夷人了解自己历史上的重要事件。 夏威夷是美国唯一一个完全由岛屿组成的州。 夏威夷的八个主岛，每个都至少由一座火山喷发形成。 一些古老的夏威夷故事，就讲述了塑造如今夏威夷群岛的火山的故事。

Ancient hula. In ancient Hawaii, storytellers spoke of their ancestors. They told tales about love, war, and Hawaiian gods. They made up songs for important events. Dancers chanted along and danced, often using gestures that helped bring the stories to life. Together, these artists created ancient hula, or hula kahiko.

古代呼啦舞 在古代夏威夷，说书人会讲述祖先的故事。 他们讲爱情、战争和夏威夷诸神的故事。 他们还会为重大事件创作歌谣。 舞者一边吟唱一边跳舞，常常用手势让故事变得生动鲜活。 这些表演者共同创造了古代呼啦舞，也叫卡希科呼啦舞。

Hula Evolves Some modern experts believe that this special dance style started as simple swaying and chanting along with storytellers. In modern hula, most steps are done with knees slightly bent. This lets dancers sway their hips easily. The hips and feet keep the rhythm. The upper body stays straight, appearing to float above the swaying hips. Over time, dancers began to use their arms to make gestures. These gestures described the words in the songs or chants. The dancers' feelings showed on their faces. Hula teachers taught their students that the eyes follow the hands. That way, the dancers became storytellers, too.

呼啦舞的演变 一些现代专家认为，这种特殊舞蹈最初只是配合说书人讲故事的简单摇摆与吟唱。 现代呼啦舞的大多数舞步，都要求膝盖微微弯曲。 这样可以让舞者轻松摆动臀部。 臀部和双脚负责稳住节奏。 上半身保持挺直，仿佛漂浮在摆动的臀部上方。 久而久之，舞者开始用手臂做出表意的手势。 这些手势用来描述歌谣或吟唱里的内容。 舞者的情绪也会流露在脸上。 呼啦舞老师会教导学生：眼睛要跟着手移动。 这样一来，舞者自己也成了讲故事的人。

In both ancient and modern hula, every part of the body dances. Hula dancers chant and also create other sounds that become part of the act. They jump, stomp, and slap the ground. These gestures add sound and rhythm to the dance.

不管是古代还是现代呼啦舞，身体的每个部位都在跳舞。 舞者除了吟唱，还会发出其他声音，成为表演的一部分。 他们会跳跃、跺脚、拍击地面。 这些动作给舞蹈增添了声音和节奏。