China tells elderly to dance to its tune

国家体育总局推出标准版广场舞 《小苹果》入围

The greying of China, which will boost the over-60 population to 39 per cent of the total by 2050, has left Beijing struggling to find ways to keep senior citizens healthy. But dancing at dawn and dusk in public squares, car parks and outside residential complexes — the preferred exercise choice of millions of Chinese, mostly retired and mostly female — has led to frequent complaints from workers whose sleep is disturbed by the pensioners and their ghetto blasters.

由于人口老龄化加剧，截止到2050年，中国60岁以上老年人将占据人口总数的39%。中国政府努力寻找让老年人保持健康的方法。广场舞是数百万中国人，尤其是退休中老年妇女最喜欢的运动。但是每天清晨和黄昏在公共广场，停车场和居民小区外翩翩起舞，这些老年人和手提式大功率录音机的噪音严重干扰了居民的睡眠，频繁引发投诉。

On Monday China’s sports bureaucracy announced its solution to the discord over “square dancing”, as the pastime is known in China:

周一（3.23），国家体育总局宣布了一项措施，解决广场舞引发的争议：

“Twelve government-approved dance routines, complete with “scientifically designed gestures that will bring people positive energy”, according to state media.

官方媒体报道称，“将推出政府批准的12套标准广场舞，动作编排非常科学，能给人们带来正能量。”

“Square-dancing represents the collective aspect of Chinese culture but now it seems that the overenthusiasm of participants has dealt it a harmful blow with disputes over noise and venues,” Liu Guoyong, chief of the State General Administration of Sport’s mass fitness department, was quoted as saying in the official China Daily newspaper. “So we have to guide it with national standards and regulations.”

“广场舞代表了中国文化的集体主义特性，但是现在，参与者似乎过度热情，有关噪音和场地的争议造成了不利影响。”体育总局群体司司长刘国永接受《中国日报》采访时表示，“所以，我们必须通过国家标准和监管来引导。”

The sports agency said the exercises were choreographed by experts to be “suitable and scientific for all demographic groups”.

体育总局表示，标准广场舞动作由专家创编，“设计科学，适合所有年龄群体。”

The routines, accompanied by pop music such as viral hit “Little Apple”, would be introduced to local fitness sites in 31 provinces and municipalities in the next five months, the agency said.

这些标准广场舞由风靡大江南北的《小苹果》等歌曲配乐，将在未来五个月内向全国31个省市自治区的健身机构推广。

Fitness trainer Wang Guangcheng, whose square-dancing team appeared onstage for China Central Television’s Spring Festival Gala in February, said “the unified drills will help keep the dances on the right track, where they can be performed in a socially responsible way”.

王广成是一位健身教练，他带领的广场舞舞蹈队曾在2月份登上中央电视台春晚舞台。他说，“统一编排将使广场舞回到正确的轨道，可以通过对社会负责的方式来表演。”

But Zhou Guanglian, deputy director of the public cultural affairs department of the Ministry of Culture, said the central government authorities had stopped short of regulating the thorniest issues about public dancing: the recommended volume of music, permissible times for practice and prohibited sites.

但是文化部公共文化事务司副司长周广莲表示，中央政府仍未解决关于广场舞最棘手的问题：建议音量，许可时间和禁止地点。

Several municipalities have tried to address these problems. The government of Wenzhou near Shanghai signed an agreement with square dancers to restrict venue, time and volumes for the dancers, and allow police to monitor noise levels every half-hour. But finding room to dance in China’s notoriously overcrowded cities will test the abilities even of Beijing’s central planners.

几个市政当局曾试图解决这些问题。上海附近的温州市政府与广场舞大妈们签署了一份协议，限制跳舞的场地，时间和音乐的音量，允许警察每半小时监测一次噪音水平。众所周知，中国城市非常拥挤，为广场舞寻找合适的场地将使中央规划者的能力面临重大考验。（翻译：齐慧）