The grannies could only dance free for so long before the crackdown came. Amid growing complaints about the noise and disruption caused by large-scale organized dancing in public places in China, the authorities have declared that some guidelines are in order.

大妈们的广场舞想怎么跳就怎么跳，不过，这只是在受到打压之前的情况。由于中国公共场所大规模集体舞蹈活动伴随的噪音和干扰激起了越来越多的不满，有关部门宣布了一些规范措施。

The General Administration of Sport of China and the Ministry¹ of Culture announced on Monday that a joint² study had concluded that the Chinese public wants “healthy, watchable, scientific and wide-ranging” dancing, state news media reported. To that end, an expert panel has developed 12 model routines that will be taught nationwide by instructors³ who have received official training.

据官方媒体报道，国家体育总局和文化部周一宣布，通过联合调研发现，中国公众希望广场健身操舞能够具备“健身性、观赏性、科学性、广泛性”的特点。为了达到这个目的，一个专家小组开发了12套标准的广场健身操舞，将由经过官方培训的领操员在全国范围内进行指导推广。

The phenomenon of public dancing can be found across China. Participants, typically older women but also some men and younger people, gather in public squares and parks and perform synchronized⁴ dances to blaring music. The early morning and evening gatherings⁵ are meant to be a way to exercise and socialize.

在公共场所跳舞的现象在中国遍地开花。参与者一般是上了年纪的女性，但也有一些男性和年轻人。他们聚集在广场上和公园里，伴随着吵闹的音乐做着同步的舞蹈动作。清早和傍晚跳这种舞被认为是一种锻炼和社交的方式。

But the dancing has also provoked a backlash, with neighbors complaining in particular about the noise. Sometimes the opposition⁶ has turned ugly.

China to regulate open-air fitness dancing as public complaints filed against its loud music. http://t.co/Spkw83pk5A http://t.co/TuKXsl7KUx

不过，广场舞也引发了一些强烈的不满，附近的居民尤其会抱怨噪音太大。有时，广场舞的反对者甚至会大发雷霆。

— China.org.cn (@chinaorgcn) 24 Mar⁷ 15In 2013, a man who had moved to a rural area of Beijing to escape the noise of the city fired a shotgun into the air and released three Tibetan mastiffs on dancers in his neighborhood. In the central city of Hankou, angry neighbors dumped feces from an apartment building on dancers in a public square. Last year, in Wenzhou, residents pooled together 260,000 renminbi, about $42,350, to buy their own loudspeaker system to blast complaints when dancers gathered in a local plaza⁸.

2013年，一名为躲避城里的噪音而搬到北京郊区的男子朝天鸣枪，并放出三条藏獒去驱赶住所附近的跳舞者。在华中地区的汉口，愤怒的居民向广场上的跳舞者泼粪。去年在温州，居民们凑了26万元人民币，购买了自己的扩音器系统，用震天的响声向在当地广场聚集的跳舞者表达抗议。

“Square-dancing represents the collective aspect of Chinese culture, but now it seems that the overenthusiasm of participants has dealt it a harmful blow with disputes over noise and venues,” Liu Guoyong, chief of the General Administration of Sport’s mass fitness department, told the state-run newspaper China Daily. “So we have to guide it with national standards and regulations.”

“广场舞代表了中国文化的集体主义特点，但现在看来，参与者的过度热情似乎引发了噪音和场地方面的纠纷，带来了不好的影响，”国家体育总局群体司司长刘国永对官方媒体《中国日报》表示。“所以我们必须用国家标准和规定加以引导。”

Guidelines on when and where activities should be held, and how loud the music should be — the source of most of the ire directed at dancing — have yet to be developed, China Daily reported. Preparations are underway for a national outdoor dancing association to “strengthen management and promote healthy development” of the activity, according to a report on the website of China Culture Daily, the official newspaper of the Ministry of Culture.

中国日报》的报道称，有关广场舞应在何时何地开展，以及乐曲音量应该多大——广场舞遭受诟病的主要原因——的指导方针尚未出台。文化部的官方出版物《中国文化报 》的网站报道，全国性广场健身操舞行业协会的建立正在筹划中，以“加强自我管理，促进广场健身操舞健康有序发展”。

“All the negative comments on square-dancing are about reckless practicing without caring about the public benefits,” Wang Guangcheng, a fitness trainer who is part of the expert panel that developed the model dances, told the newspaper. “The unified⁹ drills will help keep the dancing on the right track where it can be performed in a socially responsible way.”

“对广场舞的所有负面评论，都指向的是只顾跳舞不顾公共利益，”健身教练王广成对《中国日报》表示。他是编排标准广场舞的专家组成员。“统一编排的舞蹈有助于广场舞健康有序发展，从而以对社会负责任的方式进行。”

According to officials, the Ministry of Culture and the General Administration of Sport “will soon jointly¹⁰ issue a policy document to guide, support and regulate outdoor exercise-dancing activities,” China Culture Daily said. The authorities will also establish an outdoor dancing association, and they will “guide the public in strengthening self-management and promote the orderly development of outdoor exercise dancing.”

中国文化报》的网站称，官员表示，文化部和体育总局“将于近期联合出台引导、扶持和规范广场健身操舞活动的政策性文件”。有关部门还计划成立一个户外广场健身操舞行业协会，并将“引导基层群众加强自我管理，促进广场健身操舞健康有序发展”。