身體文化學報 第十五輯 舞蹈狂熱：關於人類能量 2012 年 12 月，頁 1-24 舞蹈狂熱：關於人類能量 Henning Eichberg 丹麥南丹麥大學 摘要 當今關於舞蹈的研究主要集中於兩種領域的活 動：場景性舞蹈（芭蕾、現代舞）或社交性舞蹈（民族 舞蹈、宮廷舞，華爾茲、現代流行舞）；然而，尚有第 三種值得關注的研究領域──舞蹈狂熱。本文以發生於 20 世紀宗教復振式的舞蹈運動為出發點，回溯到中世 紀時期聖約翰 (St. John) 與聖維特 (St. Veit) 的舞蹈狂 熱，乃至義大利現代化初期的跳舞病 (Tarantism)。此一 舞蹈狂熱的現象學包含著恍惚狂喜、宗教復振，以及情 色性等元素。在此，舞蹈狂熱引發吾人思考關於能量的 重要概念，無論是空間性或時間性皆不足以描述這些舞 蹈所產生的動能，即使就場景性舞蹈或時下流行的社交 性舞蹈也是如此。然而，人類的活動文化 (human movement culture) 的能量究竟為何？而其物質性的特 質為何？吾人討論「能量」一詞時，必得與舞蹈結合， 正如同以往將其應用於探討戲劇、合唱、大笑等情境一 般。爰此，舞蹈能量的意義並不僅止於理解舞蹈，也能 藉以發展出研究方法做為更通盤性的身體文化之物質 現象學 (materialistic phenomenology) 。有關人類能量 的探索是跨文化交流相當重要的議題，它有助於打破東 西方二元對立的藩籬，即強調合理性的西方文化（基於 空間與時間測量），以及強調「非理性」之能量主義 (energeticism)的東方文化。 關鍵字：舞蹈歷史、跳舞病、活動文化、功能主義批判、 氣 聯絡人：中文摘要翻譯，莊珮琪，E-mail: [email protected] 1 身體文化多元論壇 身體文化學報 第十五輯 Dancing manias: About Human Energy Henning Eichberg/ University of Southern Denmark Abstract Dance research has hitherto mainly focused on two fields of activ- ity: either scene dance (ballet, modern dance) or social dance (folk dance, court dance, waltz, modern pop dance). There is, however, a third field, which deserves attention – dance crazes, dancing manias. This article takes its starting point from a revivalist dance movement in the twentieth century, turning back to the St. John’s and St. Veit’s dancing manias of the Middle Ages and to Tarantism in Early Modern Italy. The phenomenology of these dance crazes includes trance, reli- gious revival and eroticism. Dancing manias raise questions about the significance of the concept of energy. Space and time are not sufficient to describe the dynamics of these dances – and this may even be true for scene dance and for trendy social dance. But what is the energy in human movement culture – and what is its material character? The term “energy” must be discussed in relation to dance, as it has previously been applied to theatre, joint singing and laughter. The energy of dance is, thus, significant not only for the understanding of dance. It also challenges to develop methods for the materialistic phenomenology of body culture more generally. For inter-cultural learning between East and West, the study of human energy is highly important. It breaks down the established dualism between Western rationality (based on the measurement of space and time) and Eastern “irrational” energeticism. Keywords: Dance history, Tarantism, movement culture, critique of functionalism, Chi 2 舞蹈狂熱：關於人類能量 Case: A revivalist dance movement 1920-21 In May 1920, 25 young people met in Hartenstein/Erzgebirge and began a joint hiking tour. With guitar and violin, bugle horn and blue flag, die Neue Schar – the New Flock, as they called themselves – be- gan wandering from town to town. As a dissident group from Wandervogel, a German youth movement and counter-culture emerged after 1900, they hiked through Franken and Thüringen. But what was of particular note was that they “occupied” each town by town by dance. Beginning with children in the market place, they attracted larger and larger numbers of townspeople to their circles of folk dance. In some towns, churches were opened for the sermons of Friedrich Muck-Lamberty (1891-1984), the charismatic leader of Neue Schar – and then the group would continue their tour. In Erfurt, more than 10.000 inhabitants were en- gaged in dancing. Fig. 1: Townsfolk dancing in Eisenach, 1920. Insofar as this phenomenon found attention, the focus was on its ideological contents.1 The speeches of Muck-Lamberty expressed a radical cultural criticism against the ”old world” and some vague ideas 1 Adam Ritzhaupt, Die “neue Schar” in Thüringen (Jena: Tat, 1921); Ulrich Linse, Barfüßige Propheten. Erlöser der zwanziger Jahre (Berlin: Siedler,1983). 3 身體文化多元論壇 身體文化學報 第十五輯 about a coming new ”people’s community” (Volksgemeinschaft). The young people talked about a spiritual revival of the youth, about a rev- olution of the soul, and free love. These ideas were an echo of Hermann Hesse, Mazdaznan, Buddha, Laotse, Rabindranath Tagore, Schopen- hauer, Fichte, Jesus, and Nietzsche. The movement had religious undertones, but its religious contents were far from clear. The Neue Schar was allowed to use the protestant churches of Weimar and Erfurt, but their Maria-song had a catholic in- tonation. There were also relations to German neo-paganism. All in all one could think of them in terms of a new-religious syncretism. Politically, the dance movement was controversial for both the Right and Left. The group criticized the right-wing Conservative Youth for their alcohol consumption, and it was itself distrusted by the right-wingers as being advocates of “anarchy, chaos and non-believing”, of “communism”. Indeed, the young people had chosen “voluntary poverty” and were singing among others the socialist workers’ song Brüder zur Sonne zur Freiheit (Brothers to sun and to freedom). Left-wingers, however, denounced the dance movement as a distraction from class struggle. On a broader canvass, one could place the phenomenon among the so-called Inflationsheiligen, the saints of inflation. Several prophets and gurus appeared after the German revolution 1918/19 and around the inflation of 1922/23 propagating for a new healthy and “natural” life.2 The New Flock was in personal contact with some of these. Fig.2: Revivalist sermon of Friedrich Muck-Lamberty 2 Linse, Barfüßige Propheten. Erlöser der zwanziger Jahre. 4 舞蹈狂熱：關於人類能量 All the traditional historical descriptions remained, however, on the level of ideas, describing the movement as political, religious or pa- ra-religious. What arouses interest when seen from the perspective of body culture and social movement is, however, the practice and atmos- phere of this movement. At the centre of the New flock was a life-style, centered around dance. The members of the New Flock wore sandals or walked barefoot, wearing the loose dress of the Wandervogel, often self-made. They hiked from town to town, sleeping in the woods and gathering around fireplaces, singing their songs. When they invaded a town, they started by inviting children to dance. Their dance was folk dance, moving in minor or larger circles, and explicitly contrasting with bourgeois social dance. The new folk dance had elements of “drunkenness” and ecstasy, creating an atmosphere of spiritual revivalism. And in their social prac- tice, the young people tried a sort of “communist” life in togetherness. There were also strong undertones of eroticism. Fig.3: Muck-Lamberty arranges dance in town Fig.4: Dance of the New Flock with town’s children 5 身體文化多元論壇 身體文化學報 第十五輯 The bodily practices of dance where the basis for the superstruc- ture of syncretistic discourse that fascinated people. Two keywords of this revival were “spirit” (Geist) and “swing” (Schwingen). On one of their flyers, “The revolution of the soul”, a poem told: “Fellow, let it flap and wave, Don‘t pretend to be sedated! It should be a little bit stormy If something pleasant shall happen. Do what horrifies the people! Don‘t be so iced! Glow is spirit!” “Something is swinging” – that is how Muck-Lamberty expressed the new practice. But what was “swing”? Was it just a metaphor? Any- way, contemporaries saw this dance as a revival, opening for a new culture. However, the dance movement did not exist for a long time. By 1921, it had broken down when, driven by personal jealousy, it was dis- closed that Muck-Lamberty had had sexual relations with three girls of the group at the same time. The disclosure of Muck’s “harem” was de- structive for the romantic idealization of the youth and for the charismatic leadership of the “Mes- siah of Thüringen”. Fig.5: The New Flock enters the town –– Dance as mass movement What had been a mass movement before, was now reduced to a small sectarian group of Muck’s personal followers. Nevertheless, 6 舞蹈狂熱：關於人類能量 comparisons with contemporary phenomena of dance and body culture3 can shed light on the broader significance of this particular dance movement. Comparisons with contemporary dance cultures For a whole generation of German socialists, the so-called “spirit of Weimar” became a keyword.4 It referred to an event in August 1920 when the youth organisation of the Social Democratic Party (Sozialistische Arbeiterjugend, SAJ) held its meeting in Weimar. But in contrast to other political meetings of this type, the Weimar meeting did not just present speeches and political declarations. The young socialists were also singing, dancing in green landscape, and showing amateur theatre. Many of them wore the reform dress of the Wandervogel youth movement. Whether there was a direct connection with the New Flock, which had danced in Weimar some days before, is not documented. Ir- respective of their potential connections, the young socialists danced some of the same folk dances as the Muck-Lamberty movement. Fig.6: Folk dance as it was danced by SAJ in Weimar 1920. For a whole generation, “the spirit of Weimar” became an utopian vision of a new culture of socialist youth. It became a quasi-esoteric bye-word for a spirit, a movement that could not be captured in words. 3 Bernd Wedemeyer-Kolwe, “Der neue Mensch“. Körperkultur im Kaiserreich und in der Weimarer Republik (Würzburg: Königshausen & Neumann, 2004). 4 Johannes Schult, Aufbruch einer Jugend. Der Weg der deutschen Arbeiterjugendbewegung (Bonn: Schaffende Jugend, 1956). 7 身體文化多元論壇 身體文化學報 第十五輯 Rather, it expressed a generational experience, and one which, moreo- ver, had consequences. The Danish socialist Julius Bomholt5 described the German socialists’ Weimar experience in enthusiastic terms: ”What a storming feeling of infinity! What a faith in unlimited possibilities! The streets of Goethe’s town sounded of songs and guitar music, on the marketplaces and the greens at the river, they danced folk dances, and in the historical theatre, the poet Karl Bröger talked about the coming culture growing forth from a community of experience… Romanticism – this is what it could be called.