高超的舞艺，雕塑般的身材，“人间大卫”、“芭蕾王子”……最近，中国芭蕾舞者陈镇威火出了圈。

作为纽约城市芭蕾舞团74年历史上任命的首位中国首席舞者，这位“90后”创造了历史。

当回忆起自己今年5月成为该舞团首席舞者时，陈镇威对记者表示：从来没有想到自己的梦想会实现得如此之快。

Chinese ballet dancer Chun Wai Chan performs in George Balanchine's The Nutcracker at Lincoln Center in New York, the United States, Dec. 12, 2021. (Xinhua)

任命为首席舞者的那一天恰逢520，得知消息的陈镇威十分兴奋，他在社交媒体写下：“这是我职业生涯的一个新的起点，我会继续努力。”他希望，自己的经历能鼓励更多心怀梦想的亚洲舞蹈学子，在世界舞台崭露头角。陈镇威成为首席舞者的消息同时还登上了纽约时报网站↓

"It's incredible. I never thought my dream would come true so soon," Chinese ballet cavalier Chun Wai Chan recalled the scene when he got the news in May that he was promoted to the principal dancer with New York City Ballet (NYCB), the company's first Chinese and fourth Asian principal dancer in 74 years.

纽约城市芭蕾舞团由“美国芭蕾之父”乔治·巴兰钦创建于1948年，是世界顶尖的芭蕾舞团之一。纽约城市芭蕾舞团的准入门槛非常严苛，95%的舞者来自美国芭蕾舞学校，只有5%的名额对外开放，陈镇威用实力赢得了属于自己的入场券。

Founded by choreographer George Balanchine, the father of American ballet, NYCB is one of the leading ballet companies in the world, with 95 percent of the company's dancers coming from School of American Ballet, and only 5 percent selected from top dancers around the world.

To stand out from the top dancers, Chan has made every effort.

给父母写的那封长信
开启了他不一样的人生 

陈镇威1992年生于广东惠州，受其姐姐的影响，从幼儿园开始就喜欢上了跳舞。作为班里唯一的男孩，他得到了老师的格外关注。然而父母更希望他长大后成为一名医生或者律师。

12岁那年，坚持自己梦想的陈镇威给父母写了一封长达7页的信，请求去广州市艺术学校学舞。前途未卜，家人非常犹豫，最后忍痛割爱，放他去飞。

图源：HZTV惠州电视台

陈镇威没有辜负期望， 2010年，他在瑞士洛桑国际芭蕾舞比赛中进入决赛，收到多家知名舞校和舞蹈团的邀请，他接受了美国休斯敦芭蕾舞团奖学金，赴美学习，那一年他刚好18岁。两年后，陈镇威加入休斯顿芭蕾舞团成为群舞演员，并在2017年升任休斯敦芭蕾舞团首席。

图源：HZTV惠州电视台

Thanks to the sincere letter, Chan finally gained the support of his family, and at the age of 12, he was admitted to Guangzhou Arts School, marking the start of his dream-seeking journey.

图源：HZTV惠州电视台

那时的陈镇威很瘦，身高1米81，手长脚长，“就像蜘蛛一样，连最轻的女生都举不起来。”他坚持做俯卧撑，勤跑健身房，渐渐把手臂、肩膀、胸肌、腰腹的力量都练了出来。芭蕾讲究线条美，有很多旋转和跳跃，他有一套习惯性的运动组合，这个组合不会让肌肉变得很大块，让人跳不起来。

Chinese ballet dancer Chun Wai Chan (R) performs in Swan Lake in Houston, the United States, June 22, 2018. (Xinhua)

陈镇威自己也表示是一个喜欢挑战自我，并且不断学习的人。为了走上更大的舞台，他决定走出舒适区。在父母的鼓励下，2020年，陈镇威从休斯敦飞到纽约，并通过纽约城市芭蕾舞团面试，拿到独舞演员合同，成为5%中的一员。

"I am the kind of person who always wants to challenge myself and learn as much as I can," said Chan. In order to pursue a bigger stage, he decided to step out of the comfort zone and was then offered a position at the NYCB as a soloist, beginning in the fall of 2020.

要在世界最顶尖的芭蕾舞团站稳脚跟，陈镇威认为，最关键的素质之一，是强大的、迅捷的适应能力。

纽约城市芭蕾舞团的演出量极大，但排练很少，没有时间给演员反复练习，“有的舞团会用三个月去抠一个剧目、一个角色，但在这里，你需要一个星期学下来，学不下来，ok，换人，让其他人跳。你必须学得比他们快，才能有演出机会。”

挑战自我，播种梦想的种子 

2020年，受新冠疫情影响，全美的文化生活几乎陷入停滞。在数十场芭蕾舞演出被取消的情况下，想念舞台的陈镇威选择了回国。

在收到《舞蹈风暴》第二季邀请后，陈镇威最终选择了应战，以休斯顿芭蕾舞团首席的身份登上这档节目，一路披荆斩棘，拿下全国四强的成绩。

许多中国观众是通过《舞蹈风暴2》认识陈镇威的，他在节目中以高超的舞艺和雕塑般的身材“出圈”，被誉为“人间大卫”、“芭蕾王子”。他还在节目中与自己的前辈——旧金山芭蕾舞团首席舞者谭元元合作了舞蹈《重生》。两位世界级的芭蕾舞者强强联手，一个接一个的高难度动作，扣人心弦。

视频来源：《舞蹈风暴2》

However, in 2020, hit hard by the COVID-19 pandemic, the United States has seen cultural life nationwide almost come to a halt. With dozens of ballet performances canceled, Chan, who missed the stage very much, chose to return to China. He appeared as a contestant on the Chinese television show "Dance Smash," a talent show where dancers of different genres compete together.

In this talent show, Chan, with sculptural figure and superb dancing skills, quickly rose to fame, and made ballet, an art originated in the West, more accessible to the Chinese public. His fans called him the "prince of ballet" and "living David" in China.

2021年5月，纽约城市芭蕾舞团派陈镇威前往西安周至县九峰镇永丰小学，教那里的孩子们跳芭蕾。在他看来，芭蕾并非高不可攀，在乡村长大的孩子也可以跳芭蕾，而且他们更懂得吃苦耐劳。

陈镇威表示，在孩子们眼中看到了对芭蕾的热情，而自己也为在他们心中种下了芭蕾的种子而开心。

图源：陈镇威工作室微信公众号

During his stay in China, Chan also went to Xi'an, northwest China's Shaanxi Province, to teach ballet for rural children. Those kids, who had no idea of what ballet was at first, fell in love with this elegant art after getting along with Chan for three days.

"I saw stars and the passion for ballet in their eyes. I'm very happy that I have planted the seeds of ballet dreams in their hearts," Chan said.

为了让更多人了解和热爱芭蕾，他经常在社交媒体上分享芭蕾教学视频，为全世界的芭蕾爱好者提供免费学习芭蕾的机会。

将中国文化带到世界的舞台上 

Chan returned to New York last year, and was finally promoted to the principal dancer with the NYCB in May this year. He attributes his success to his passion, hard work, concentration, tenacity and the pursuit of excellence.

For every role he plays on the stage, he would perform in Chun Wai Chan's own style, integrating his Chinese culture and his understanding of life into his body language, rather than just imitating western dancers.

在西方的芭蕾舞台上，有着中国文化背景的陈镇威也在努力推广中国文化。本月，由他本人编舞的《梁祝》将在纽约林肯中心上演。陈镇威介绍称，这是一个来自中国的爱情故事，浪漫而又充满着东方魅力，芭蕾的舒展与优雅可以很好的诠释梁祝的意境和中国的浪漫，希望美国观众能欣赏感受精彩的中国文化。