中国广场舞风生水起 跳舞大妈获商业赞助

For the legions of dancing retirees in China whose late-night public gatherings have made them the target of noise complaints and worse, one popular Beijing group may have hit on the solution: corporate sponsorship.

在中国，退休人员成群结队地在公众场所大跳广场舞直至深夜，引发人们抗议噪音扰民，对此北京的一个高人气团体或许找到了解决办法――商业赞助。

China's public dancers - often referred to as tiaowu dama, or 'dancing grannies,' because they tend to skew older and female - have found themselves at the center of a passionate public debate in recent months. Numbering as many as 100 million nationwide, they argue the dancing is an enjoyable form of exercise that helps reduce health care costs. But neighbors point to their boom boxes, which blast everything from saccharine Mandopop to sanitized hip-hop, as a public nuisance, saying the noise disrupts sleep and study.

中国的广场舞舞者（常被称作“跳舞大妈”，因通常是年龄较大的女性）近月来成为了公众热议的焦点。有人估计全国的“跳舞大妈”达到1亿之众。跳舞大妈们认为，跳舞是一种愉悦的锻炼方式，有助于减少看病费用。然而社区居民抱怨轰鸣的音箱十分扰民，干扰了居民的睡眠和学习。大妈们的广场舞音乐包罗万象，从甜腻的国语流行音乐到“和谐版”嘻哈音乐都有。

The grannies have even managed to court controversy abroad, recently inviting police intervention in places from New York to Moscow.

大妈们还在海外引发争议，在纽约、莫斯科等地大跳广场舞，引发当地警方出面制止。

One group of Beijing dancers, the Nanguan Art Troupe, has managed to buck the trend, winning fame and fans (as well as extensive media coverage from foreign and domestic news outlets) despite playing their music at volumes that would be unfathomable for other groups.

一个名为“南馆艺术团”的北京广场舞舞团则力挽狂澜，尽管高声播放乐曲（其他广场舞团体这样做会饱受诟病），却仍赢得了声誉和粉丝，并受到国内外媒体的大力报道。

The Nanguan Art Troupe is named for the park in southern Beijing where its members met before 2011, when they grew too numerous and noisy and were forced to move. Over the past year, it has become famous for its unusually elaborate set-up: a sound system comprised of multiple speakers, microphones, a drum kit, saxophone and other instruments, plus an impressive array of costumes and props.

南馆艺术团取名自北京南部的一处公园，2011年以前舞团成员在那里会合，但后来人数太多且太吵，只得被迫离开。过去一年该舞团凭藉其不同寻常的豪华装备而日渐成名：多台音箱、麦克风、一套架子鼓，还有萨克斯和其他乐器，以及一系列令人印象深刻的舞服和道具。

Its theatrical performances, and the appreciative crowds they draw, are likely a major reason the group hasn't been chased from its new home outside the Raffles City mall in central Beijing.

戏剧化的表演及其吸引来的围观人群，可能是该艺术团没有被赶出位于北京中央城区的来福士广场这个新大本营的一个重要原因。

On a recent Tuesday night, around 20 members of the troupe marched to the Mao-era patriotic song 'Tunnel War' wearing identical striped shirts and red berets. A thick cordon of spectators and a handful of journalists watched as they took up toy guns and danced around a man dressed as a Japanese solider, their movements acting out the familiar lyrics: 'Plows in one hand, guns in the other, everyone is a solider...'

在最近一个周二的晚上，该艺术团大约20位成员穿着统一的条纹衬衫和红色贝雷帽，伴随着毛泽东时代的爱国歌曲《地道战》的节奏行进。里三层外三层的围观人群和几个记者在旁边观看他们拿起玩具枪，围着一个打扮成了日本兵的男人跳舞，舞蹈动作是按照人们熟悉的歌词“一手拿锄头，一手拿枪杆，全民皆兵”编排的。

The head of the troupe, who asked to be identified only by her surname, Dai, told China Real Time that the equipment cost them more than 20,000 yuan ($3,225). She said they raised the funds by soliciting donations from group members - and by striking a sponsorship deal with a branch of the state-run China Citic Bank located in the nearby mall.

这个艺术团的领头人物要求只透露她姓戴（音），并且告诉“中国实时报”栏目，这些行头花了他们人民币两万多元。她说，他们资金来源包括向团队成员募集捐款以及与中国国营的中信银行(China Citic Bank)坐落在旁边商场里的支行达成了赞助协议。

'They bought us two speakers and some instruments, such as harmonicas,' Ms. Dai said. In exchange, the group helps advertise for the bank with a banner hung from trees near where they dance - 'Citic Bank and Nanguan Park Art Troupe - Dancing With You for a Lifetime of Fortune' - and by occasionally touting the bank's products.

戴女士称，中信银行给她们买了两个扬声器和口琴等一些乐器。作为交换条件，该舞蹈队要替银行打广告，在她们跳舞地点附近的树上拉起横幅，上面写着：“中信银行来福士支行和南馆艺术团与您共舞财富人生”，而且还时不时地宣传一下该银行的产品。

'During breaks, we might say, 'Go check out Citic Bank. Wealth management products give you a higher return than savings,'' one elderly male dancer said.

一名年纪较大的跳舞大妈说，在休息的时候，她们可能会说“去中信银行看看，理财产品比存款收益高”。

Ren Shanshan, an employee of Citic's Raffles City branch, confirmed the branch has sponsored the group as a way to 'support the community,' but she declined to offer further details.

中信银行来福士支行的雇员任珊珊（音）证实，该行的确赞助了这个艺术团以“支持社区”，但是未予透露进一步的细节信息。

The relationship has helped Citic attract at least a few new customers. Ms. Zhao, a member of the dancing group who asked to only be identified by her surname, said she had put all of her savings into a Citic wealth management product with a projected annual return of 4.5%. 'It's not that high, but it is safe. You are guaranteed to get your money back,' she said.

这种合作关系至少帮助中信银行吸收到了一些新客户。舞团的成员赵女士说，她把所有积蓄都投到了一款中信理财产品上，预期年化收益率为4.5%。她说，收益并不是很高，但很安全。银行保证能返还本金。

Another dancer, surnamed Liu, said he opted for a riskier product with a more lucrative 6% return. 'All banks belong to the state, so putting money there is like making contribution to our country,' he said. 'I'm not worried at all.'

舞团的另外一位成员刘先生选择了高风险产品，回报率为6%。他说，银行都是国有的，把钱投给它们就是为国家做贡献。他完全不担心。

Wealth management products have surged in popularity in recent years as an alternative to conventional bank deposits, which offer paltry returns that often fail to keep up with inflation. Banks and other financial institutions have scrambled to meet demand for the products, fueling concerns among many analysts that customers have too little understanding of the risks they're taking.

传统的银行存款回报率极低，常常无法跟上通货膨胀的速度，而作为其替代品，理财产品近年来人气飙升。银行和其他金融机构竞相满足客户对这类产品的需求，而客户对自身承担的风险却一无所知，这引发了许多分析人士的担忧。

Despite support from the bank, Ms. Dai appeared eager to keep things low-key, at one point chastising a group member who told a Taiwanese journalist that the dancers developed their 'Tunnel War' routine out of hatred for Japan. 'Don't say that, we can't say that,' she said to the dancer, then turned to the reporter. 'Don't write that down. Say that it's just for fun. We grew up in the Mao era and are nostalgic about that time.'

尽管得到银行的支持，戴女士似乎仍希望保持低调，之前一名舞团的成员告诉台湾记者，他们编排的《地道战》之舞是出于对日本的仇恨，而这遭到了戴女士的斥责。她对那名成员说：“不要这样说，我们不能这样说。”之后戴女士对记者表示：“不要把这写下来。这是说着玩的。我们只是生在毛泽东时代，对逝去的成长经历很怀念而已。”

'China's dancing grannies are taking over the world,' one Chinese Internet user wrote after a group of elderly dancers were shut down in Moscow's Red Square earlier this year. With financing from China's state banks and a little public-relations polish, that eventuality may not be a far-fetched as it sounds.

今年早些时候，一群中国大妈在莫斯科红场(Red Square)跳广场舞引来警察干预，之后一位中国互联网用户写道，中国大妈的广场舞正在“攻陷”全世界。获得中国国有银行的融资，再加上一些公关“美化”，这一幕未必不会实现。