边巍巍从练功房出来，她来到我面前时喘息未定，额头还冒着点点汗珠。此刻，她安静地坐在我的对面。
　　这位杭州歌舞团的首席舞蹈演员，在2006年8月21日至29日举行的第三届韩国首尔国际舞蹈大赛中，以《吉祥》和《奋飞》两个民族舞蹈，一举夺得了民族舞蹈比赛金奖。从各大媒体的报道中，我已经感知了这位25岁姑娘的美丽：她是那样的文静纯洁，像清清亮亮的水，晶莹剔透、清澈明净。
　　
　　曾经的灰姑娘
　　黑色练功服很妥帖地包裹着她纤细的身材，瓜子脸，凤眼柳眉，皮肤白净，娟秀柔美，一切都是典型的江南女子味道，但她却是一位不折不扣的喝牛奶吃羊肉长大的内蒙古姑娘。
　　当年12岁的巍巍说要学舞蹈，她的母亲很不赞同：因为也是舞蹈演员的母亲，深深懂得舞蹈对人的那份苛求。她认为女儿身材条件不是太好，而且体质也过于柔弱，不一定吃得消舞蹈的体力强度。因而在此之前，母亲曾让巍巍练速滑，然而巍巍总不能完全进入速滑角色，她心中深藏着对舞蹈刻骨铭心的热爱。
　　母亲看巍巍已经下定决心学舞蹈，就自己编舞蹈对巍巍进行考前训练，督促女儿高强度练习，动作稍不到位，母亲就会要求她重做。那时，巍巍感觉学舞蹈比想象的还要辛苦，但她没有动摇做舞蹈演员的决心，也不怨恨母亲的那分“凶狠”，她超越年龄地懂事：学舞蹈就是这样的！
　　1993年巍巍考入内蒙古艺术学院。在学院学跳舞的那种苦她能忍受，但另一种苦闷让她觉得很不好受：那就是老师对她的冷落。因为她曾经练过速滑，身材显得有些发胖，而班上更多的是那些与生俱来能歌善舞的蒙古族姑娘。在那些个子高挑、各方面资质较好的同学中，巍巍真的只是“丑小鸭”。因此，无论是在教室里还是在舞台上的排位，巍巍总是站在最角落里。
　　这样的冷落让巍巍很受伤，但她从来就没有想过要放弃，因为她对舞蹈有着一种痴狂的爱。这时曾经反对她学舞蹈的母亲，一个劲地给她鼓劲：“你既选择了舞蹈，吃苦是必定的，其中也包括这样的吃苦，你一定要承受它，并且战胜它！哪怕是在最角落，你照样可以从角落里发出光来，照亮自己的身前身后！”
　　巍巍下决心提高自己。当别人休息时，巍巍还在偷偷地练功；当别人出去玩时，她还在练功房里。她不逛街、不看电影、不玩乐，一门心思关注自己舞蹈功底的长进。
　　功夫不负有心人，14岁那年巍巍作为被选拔出来的最优秀的五名学生之一，参加了学校里一个舞蹈《创伤曲》的排练，结果在五个女孩中，她是唯一一个能坚持着跳下来的女孩。确实，挫折和磨难是促使人成功的良方。
　　脱颖而出的巍巍终于赢得了老师的器重：“边巍巍你就是拿她没办法，即使把她放在最不重要的位置，她照样会出挑。你不关注她就是不行！”她不仅从此成为重点培养对象，还成了她的学弟学妹们的楷模，一直到今天，边巍巍依旧是那所学校的骄傲，她为那些热爱舞蹈的学子们送去成才秘诀：条件和天分不是主导因素，刻苦和勤奋才是成才的路径！
　　
　　西湖边的小白桦
　　1998年边巍巍从内蒙古艺术学院毕业，并以优异的成绩考上了中央民族大学。但由于家里经济条件的限制，她放弃了上大学的机会，进了乌鲁木齐歌舞团。她坚信，只要自己不停止努力，是金子总是会发光。
　　1999年，18岁的巍巍参加了全国第四届“独、双、三人舞”比赛，赛区就设在杭州，而杭州歌舞团团长邓京山正是组委会成员之一。
　　边巍巍是那种很抢眼的女孩，她一上台就吸引了诸多的目光。以“挖人才”闻名的邓京山自然像伯乐认千里马一般，一下子认定巍巍是一名出色的舞蹈演员。比赛结束后，他打听到了巍巍家里的电话号码，告诉巍巍想请她加入杭州歌舞团的想法。
　　就这样，边巍巍这位蒙古族姑娘像高山上的一棵白桦被移植到了一株桃树一株柳的西子湖畔。不过移植之后她也经历了一段水土不服的日子：蒙古的民族舞是自由的、豪放的、爽朗的，个性显明；而江南的舞蹈则是含蓄的、内敛的，那种欲说还休的羞羞答答姿势，让她觉得压抑。但巍巍终究是位刚强女孩，不仅很快地适应了新环境，还给了自己一个更高的定位：要学习古典的、现代的和民族的舞蹈，更全面地发展自己的舞蹈技艺。
　　她虚心向团里的同事学习，汲取别人的长处；团里也有意搭建培养新人的平台，不断输送青年演员参加各类传统舞蹈比赛。巍巍进团5年，几乎年年都获奖，结果她成为入选国家舞台艺术精品工程的舞剧《阿姐鼓》中的第三代女主角；双人舞《生息》获得了浙江省第六届音乐舞蹈节一等奖；双人舞《夜戏》还获得“荷花杯”舞蹈比赛创作优秀奖，她很快成为杭歌青年舞蹈演员中的佼佼者。
　　如今的巍巍早就入乡随俗，从生活到业务上都已经融入了杭州这块江南沃土，她像一棵枝繁叶茂的小白桦，在西子湖畔的桃红柳绿之间长得亭亭玉立。
　　
　　艰辛的蟾宫折桂
　　创办于2004年的韩国首尔国际舞蹈大赛属于高规格的国际舞蹈赛事，分芭蕾舞、现代舞和民族舞，评委由各国资深舞蹈家担任，每年都有几十个国家和地区的选手参赛。这次的国际舞蹈大赛强手如林，竞争非常激烈。中国、美国、俄罗斯、日本、加拿大等30个国家和地区都派团参加。中国的各舞蹈团体非常重视这项赛事，包括中央民族歌舞团、中国歌剧舞剧院、解放军艺术学院、香港现代舞蹈团等非常有实力的团体都选派演员参赛，特别是民族舞比赛上，中国演员不仅要和日本、韩国、俄罗斯等国外演员比，更得和国内舞蹈界顶尖高手作一次大比拼。
　　
　　歌舞团早就安排了边巍巍和另一位选手排练现代舞，但在快到比赛的前两个月得知，这个准备了很久的参赛舞蹈中的另一位选手超龄了，这让人既意外又措手不及。因此，边巍巍又临时选报了民族舞。
　　就像当年在艺校一样，这样一来边巍巍无疑又处于劣势，而最让她感觉雪上加霜的是，在6月份给大赛组委会寄送了录像带后，由于高强度的超负荷练功，她在一次排练时阑尾炎突然发作。
　　这一回，巍巍碰到的困难不是人的意志能够战胜的，摆在她面前可以选择的就是两条路：要么立刻停止练功去医院做手术直到伤口愈合；要么采用保守疗法快速制止病灶，这样可以暂时免去开刀住院耽误练功，但要冒的风险是阑尾炎随时都可能复发，万一在比赛时病情发作，那就不仅仅是巍巍本人的所有努力和付出前功尽弃，给团里造成的损失也就更大了。权衡再三后，她决定去做手术。她想在手术后再加数倍的努力去抢回治病失去的时间。
　　杭州中医院知道了巍巍的情况后，非常重视和关照这位特殊病人，由最好的外科医生为她主刀，用先进的内缝合技术把创口缩到最小限度。6月9日手术，7月20日她就开始了真正的排练，此时离比赛的日期只有一个月了，她像穿上了魔鬼舞鞋一样，没日没夜地在场上舞蹈着，除此之外别无选择！
　　她参赛的《奋飞》和《吉祥》两个舞蹈，都是原生态的蒙古舞，民族的韵味十分浓郁。为了汲取更多的民族舞蹈的乳汁，她又特意回到内蒙古，重温那种原汁原味的民族风情。
　　经过一番魔鬼训练，巍巍在韩国的那场激烈比赛中，尽情地舞蹈着、淋漓尽致地展示着，她跳得轻松自如、游刃有余，发挥得相当出色，她在如云的高手中一路过关斩将，以浓郁独特的草原风情和细腻柔美的舞蹈语言征服了观众。舞蹈结束了，全场响起了雷鸣般的掌声，边巍巍成功了！民族组的金奖就这样被巍巍捧回来了……
　　
　　Dancing Star on the Rise
　　By Wang Zhen
　　When Bian Weiwei sits quietly opposite me after a busy rehearsal, still a little bit short of breath and with beads of sweat on her forehead, she does not look like a gold winner who seized the top award at the Third Seoul International Dancing Competition held in Seoul, Korea from August 21 to 29, 2006. From the media coverage, I knew she was a beauty. But when I sit face to face with her, she is more than a beauty. She looks crystal. Bian, a 25-year-old girl, looks every inch of a girl born and bred in the southern Yangtze River Delta, but she is from Inner Mongolia.
　　
　　Her dancing career started at 12 when she revealed to her mother that she wanted to be a dancer. Her mother was not that confident about her daughter’s decision. She was a dancer herself and knew what made a dancer. Bian Weiwei, in the eyes of her mother, did not have a strong body to endure the strenuous dancing practice. The mother wanted her daughter to try ice staking. The little girl refused and wanted to dance.
　　The mother gave in. In order to prepare the daughter for an examination, she choreographed a piece for the daughter and became a relentless martinet in breaking the daughter in for a dancing future.
　　In 1993, Bian Weiwei successfully passed the entrance examination and entered the Inner Mongolian Art Academy. Hard training was endurable, but something else was hard to bear: the teachers ignored her. She still had the baby fat. Most of her classmates were slender girls good at dancing and singing. Compared with them, Bian looked like an ugly duckling. In the classroom or in the training, she always ended up in the last row.
　　But she never gave up. The encouraging words from her mother gave her mental strength: “Dancing means enduring all kinds of pain, including the pain in your heart. You must fight the pain and conquer it. You must try to shine even if you are in the last row or in the remotest corner.”
　　The little girl worked very hard, pushing on and on with passion. Unlike other girls who found time watching television and films, doing window shopping, Bian never gave herself a break. She worked almost madly.
　　Then hard work reaped good results. At 14, she became one of the best girls in the class. She was selected as one of the five top girls from her class to take part in a dancing at the school level. It turned out that she was the only one of the five who fought all the way to the bittersweet end.
　　Her teachers were convinced by her tenacity and excellence. One of the teachers observed: “There is no way to ignore her. She won’t break. Even if you push her back to the back row, she would catch your eyes.” She became a model student and now she is the legend of the academy. The moral of her fairytale is, talent and physical advantages do not play the most important part in your success. Success comes purely from hard work.
　　Bian graduated in 1998 from the academy. The Central University for Nationalities accepted her. But due to the financial problems of her family, she joined the Xinjiang Dancing and Singing Troupe.
　　In 1999, the 18-year-old Bian came to Hangzhou to participate in the fourth national dancing contest. Deng Jingshan, director of the Hangzhou Dancing and Singing Troupe and the juror of the contest, spotted the excellence of Bian at the first sight.
　　A famous head hunter, Deng immediately thought of approaching Bian. When the contest was over, she managed to get Bian’s telephone number, called her at home, and invited Bian to join the Hangzhou Dancing and Singing Troupe.
　　So Bian came to Hangzhou. In the following five years, she adjusted her dancing style, learned new things from her colleagues, and, encouraged and recommended by the troupe, participated in various dancing competitions. She is a winner of many awards.
　　
　　The Seoul International Dancing Competition, started in 2004, is an international dancing event, which attracts professional dancers from all over the world to compete in categories of ballet, ethnic dance, and contemporary dance. The competition in 2006 was extremely fierce, as dancing troupes from 30 countries and regions sent their best dancers to Seoul. Dancers from China’s leading troupes also would attend the competition. Bian Weiwei was one of the strong contestants, too.
　　Bian and a colleague would compete in contemporary dance. They worked hard, but about 2 months before the event it was found that her partner was disqualified because of his age. Bian was caught unprepared by this unforeseen dilemma. So she decided to compete alone in the category of ethnic dance. The next disaster hit her harder. She came down with acute appendicitis during a rehearsal after the video was sent to the organizing committee for preliminaries. She had two choices: take a break and have the operation or adopt a conservative treatment so that she could continue to practice. But the second alternative would be more risky. If appendicitis relapsed, she would not be able to compete at all. After weighing pros and cons, she decided to have the operation. The best surgeon operated on her and the incision was minimized. The operation was done on June 9 and she came back to rehearse on July 20, only a month before the final. She worked day and night to perfect her dancing.
　　Her two solo Mongolian dances were entitled Flying and Good Luck. Her presentation of the ethic charm totally conquered the jurors. She won the gold prize for ethnic dance.
　　(Translated by David)