白天搬砖晚上练舞，建筑工地走出的钢管舞世界冠军 | Pole Dancer from Construction Site

1995年出生的孙健，15岁那年就只身来到广州打工。

Born in 1995, Sun Jian became a migrant worker in Guangzhou at the age of 15.

最开始，他在理发店做洗头工，因为工作枯燥工资又低，不久就转行去建筑工地做小工，过着白天“搬砖”、晚上去网吧上网的生活。每个月稳定能拿到两千元工资，孙健觉得还算满意。

His first job was washing customers' hair in a hair salon. However, the job was tedious and poorly paid, so he quit soon after and went to work at a construction site. After a day of hard work, he spent all his free time in an Internet cafe. With a salary of 2,000 yuan, Sun was satisfied with his life.

“那个时候，我偶然看到一个外国男孩子跳钢管舞的视频。之前都不知道钢管舞是什么。但是那个视频里面的力量和美感我特别喜欢。”孙健说。

“Then I happened to see a video of a foreign boy performing pole dancing. I didn't know about it before, but I was intrigued by the power and beauty in it,” says Sun.

本来，这个视频和其他的娱乐一样，很快就会被他忘在脑后。但有一天，在工地休息的时候，看见脚手架，孙健突然手痒起来：他也想上去一试。

He could have forgotten all about it like many other entertaining videos. But one day, while he was on a break at a construction site, he saw a scaffold that looked like a pole and felt an urge to give it a try.

“第一下我直接就摔下来了，满脸都是灰。我不服气，就拍拍屁股又起来，这次把身体立在上面，坚持了三秒。”

“At first I fell right off and got dust all over my face. But I refused to accept the failure and tried again. The second time I hung myself against the scaffold for three seconds.”

这一试让孙健对钢管舞真正燃起了兴趣。他开始从网上下载视频练习简单的动作，还花500元买了根钢管装在宿舍，每天下工之后练习。“我的那些工友都出去玩了，我就一个人在房间里面自己训练，每天都练的浑身都是伤。有时候我在工地上练，这根钢管跳那根钢管，飞来飞去，特别喜欢。”

It was the beginning of his love of pole dancing. He began to learn basic movements from online videos, and spent 500 yuan to install a pole in his dormitory, so that he could practice after work. “When my colleagues went out, I could practice alone. I got many injuries. Sometimes I even practiced on the construction site, jumping from one pole to another.”

Photo courtesy of Sun Jian

当时在中国，钢管舞基本不普及，水平也比较业余。练了三四个月，孙健就在广州的一个钢管舞比赛里得了冠军，不仅获得了一笔奖金，还在主办方的引荐下去一家健身房当起了老师。

At that time, only few people were performing pole dancing and most of them were amateurs. After about three months, Sun won the gold medal in a competition in Guangzhou. The medal brought him a bonus and a chance to teach lessons at a local gym.

“我可能天生力量就比较大，但是从小性格比较内向。从农村到城市之后，也觉得自己没什么优点，很平凡的一个人。自己在工地上干活，可能就这样度过一生。”孙健说，“但是接触钢管舞之后，我找到了一种快乐。有些动作很危险，可能让你头破血流，但你会想挑战自己，突破自己。”

“I was born physically strong but introverted. After I came to the city from rural area, I felt like I had no advantages. I was just a commoner. I could spend my whole life at the construction site and that was it,” says Sun. “But I found happiness in pole dancing. Some movements are dangerous and can leave you injured. But they also made you want to challenge and improve yourself.”

但在中国，钢管舞一直被视为异样的存在，时常被人贴上负面标签。不久，孙健跳钢管舞的事被父母发现了。父亲勃然大怒，认为他没人管教不务正业，勒令他赶紧回家学开挖掘机。但孙健坚持不跳出成绩不回家。

But in China, pole dancing was labeled with negative words and considered “abnormal.” When Sun's parents found out his new job, they were in a rage. Believing that his son lacked discipline and went astray, Sun's father ordered him to go home and learn to drive an excavator. But Sun insisted that he would not go back home until he made a stand in his career.

Photo courtesy of Sun Jian

2012年，孙健去参加一起国际赛事的中国区选拔。他本以为这次比赛会和之前一样轻松，没想到，男子组13个人，他是唯一一个没被选上的垫底选手。总决赛时，孙健作为观众，第一次在台下亲眼看到别人跳舞 。

In 2012, Sun participated in a selection show for an international competition. He thought it would be easy like his first one. To his surprise, he got the lowest marks and was the only one disqualified among the 13 male participants. When the others compete in the final, Sun sat in the audience and watched them perform for the first time.

“当时的感觉是，还好我没有进总决赛。我完全是野马一样，自己想跳哪个就跳哪个，就是乱来的，没有什么美感。别人是很高档次的，专业训练过的。他们做那种技巧我都没有见过。这既对我有特别大的打击，又让我想突破自己，成为他们那样的人。”

“I felt it was good for me not to be in the final. I was a wild horse and danced whatever I liked, so my movements were messy and lack aesthetics. Other participants were high-ranking, professional dancers. I had never seen the techniques they used. It was a hard blow for me, but it also stimulated me to do better and reach their standards.”

对孙健而言，失败无数次之后还想再来一次的事情，就叫梦想。

For Sun, a dream is something you still want to do after several failures.

Photo courtesy of Sun Jian

孙健的柔韧性不太好，也不会绷脚背。所以，他一方面在风格上往力量型舞者发展，一方面给自己进行魔鬼训练。“我每天练完所有的体能之后就把脚捆起来，膝盖缠起来，跪在那里，垫几块瑜伽砖，十五分钟，半个小时，有时候看一个电影，每天练每天练。脚背感觉特别疼，耳朵感觉特别痛，就是整个神经，脑袋都会发麻，但是就这样一直忍着，反正死不了。”

Compared to other dancers, Sun had less flexibility and couldn't point toes. He had to go with the direction of “power dancer,” and trained hard. “After exercising every day, I used to tie my feet and knees and kneel on yoga bricks for 15 minutes to half an hours. Sometimes I watch movies kneeling there. My insteps hurt, my ears hurt, the nerves and the head feel numb… But pain can't kill me anyway, so I just lived with it.”

“我看到有个舞者在电视上说，不求与人相比，只求超越自己。我欣赏这句话，但我不认同，因为我只想拿第一，就为了证明自己。”

 “A dancer once said on TV that he only compare himself to himself, not with the others. I admire his speech but I don't agree with it. I want to be the champion, just to prove myself.” 

Photo courtesy of Sun Jian

2013年，怀着对父母的复杂感情，孙健把筷子兄弟的《父亲》排成了钢管舞，拿去参加中国钢管舞锦标赛，拿了最佳创新奖，同时入选民间自发组织的中国钢管舞国家队。于是，他带着自己的奖状奖杯和比赛视频回家给父亲看。进门的时候，父亲还以为他终于想通了，知道错了。

In 2013, with complicated emotions towards his parents, Sun adapted Chopstick Brothers' song “Father” into a pole dance and attended the China Pole Dance Championship and won the prize of innovation. At the same time, he was selected into China's national pole dancing team, which is actually a non-government organization. Then Sun went home with the trophy and the video of his performance. Seeing him, Sun's father thought that he was ready to confess his fault.

但看完他的比赛之后，父亲说：“完全想不到你从小没有接触舞蹈教育，现在能跳出这么一个玩意来。” 得到了父母的认可，让孙健之后的路越走越顺。

However, after watching his performance, his father said: “It's good of you to dance like this, given that you were never trained properly when you were a kid.” With his parents' acknowledgment, Sun felt good pursuing his goals. 

2014年起，跳出了成绩的孙健开始将精力更多地放在经营自己的舞蹈工作室上，十分忙碌，很长一段时间远离了从前纯粹的舞蹈状态。但2017年的法国钢管舞艺术大赛，重新唤起了他对舞蹈本身的热情。

Starting in 2014, Sun started putting more time into managing his dance studio. In 2017, the French Pole Dance Competition reignited his passion for the art. 

“我觉得我要振作起来，恢复到之前创作的感觉上面去，我就把这个作品命名为时间属于我。除了工作以外，我就想跳舞，想把最原始，最纯粹的舞蹈融入到那个作品里面。”

“I need to pull myself together and regain the passion for creating things. So I named my work 'Time Belongs to Me'. Aside from everything, all I want to do is dancing. I want people to see the purest and primitive dance in my work.” 

Photo courtesy of Sun Jian

这次比赛，孙健获得了男单冠军。同属国家队的舞者柯宏获得季军。这是中国选手第三次在国际赛事中获得前三甲的成绩。

Sun competed and won the Elite Men category. His teammate Ke Hong won third place. It's the third time Chinese dancers placed in the top three in international competitions.

“很多人觉得钢管舞是性感妖娆或者是酒吧夜总会的一种舞蹈，一种低俗不能上大雅之堂的舞蹈。但它已经有了一定艺术性，现在也有很多的国际比赛，慢慢它会转变为一种国际的运动项目，也会变成一个很好的艺术观赏的一个舞蹈。”孙健说。

“Many people still think that pole dancing is some erotic performance in the bars and night clubs, and that it's a marginal thing to do. But it's artistic and has many championships. It's becoming an international sport and art form,” says Sun.

 Photo courtesy of Sun Jian

现在，他的工作室中最小的学生只有9岁，最大的有50多岁。他还在电视上看到80多岁的奶奶跳钢管舞。所以，他觉得钢管舞是一件可以做一辈子的事。让钢管舞作为一种体育运动和艺术舞蹈推广，将是他继续努力的方向。

Now, the youngest student in Sun's studio is nine years old, and the oldest is 50. He even saw a lady in her eighties pole dancing on TV. It gives him a reason to believe that it can be his lifetime career.

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