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| Sunday, 17 February 2002 |
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Trail blazing artists from Sweden show the way... by Carol Aloysius Bring together a bunch of pensioners and over fifty couples; put them in a room with three or four piano accordionists dishing out a variety of Swedish folk music, and before long you will see them swinging to the beat of those old time favourites, thoroughly enjoying themselves as they perform their act to an impressed audience.
This was exactly what happened early this week when two groups of elderly Swedish musicians and dancers gave a polished performance to a packed audience at the Elphinstone theatre at Maradana. The groups, which call themselves the Tunagille Folk Dance group and the Roslass Balerasa Music group hail from Stockholm, Sweden and are currently on a pleasure tour of Sri Lanka, a country they had constantly been urged to visit by two members of their group, Sri Lankan born Ms Piyawada Banduwardene, who is married to Pele a Swedish businessman and domiciled in Sweden,and the group leader Ms Sussane Wictorine, who is making her fifth visit to Sri Lanka, a country she has visited since childhood. Belonging to different professions and age groups, of all sizes and shapes, this motley group of Swedish pensioners are by no means professional dancers of musicians as they hastened to inform this writer in an interview prior to their performance. "We are doing this just for pleasure. We want to be happy and make you happy" was Ms Sussane's explanation for their visit and performance. The two groups boast of construction workers, engineers, computer analysts, nurses, teachers, office clerks and managers and a female cook, aged between 45 and 68 years - an intriguing mix of personalities indeed for any dance and music group performing before a public audience. Nor did the fact that most of them are either working full time or part time or else are pensioners, and do not claim to be professional dancers and musicians, in any way diminish the standard of their performance. This writer along with the rest of the audience watched with a growing sense of disbelief and admiration as the elderly dancers jumped high into the air, twisted their bodies and moved with surprising speed and grace on the floor at Monday's performance. The dances included polkas, tangos and fox trots and despite the fact that some of the dancers were stout and others well into their sixties, it was obvious that here was one talented group who had put in a great deal of hard work to reach near professional standard. It was chance that brought the groups together, explained the eldest in the group, 68 year old Dengt Erriksson, a piano accordionist. "We used to hang out together on the dance floor every weekend and decided to form a group so that we could meet more often and polish up our acts. That was in 1978. Since then our group has grown in size and of course we have a lot more talent now". As Ms Piyawada (affectionately known as Pia) puts it, "Music has brought us together and transcended all other barriers such as race, colour, age, or religion. We are like brothers and sisters of one big happy family". Asked the secret to their youthful vitality despite their age and in some instances their weight, the reply was, "Just dancing. We dance for four hours twice a week. That keeps us young and healthy. 'Ulla Hellstrom 63, a cook at a Red Cross hospital, who boasts of a slim figure which a younger woman might envy, adds, "I don't diet. I don't do any strenuous exercises. I simply dance - twice a week for the past 17 years. I have never felt so healthy in my life". A refreshing interlude during the performance came in the form of local dances by a group of students from De Mazenod College for which school the Swedish group was raising funds from Monday's performance. As youth was pitted against age , it was clear that both groups were equally talented and as a member of the College staff commented," This fusion of Eastern and Western music and dance has shown us how universal is the language of music. It has brought our two culture together in perfect harmony". The group which gave its final performance at Hillwood College, Kandy on February 13, will leave for Sweden after visiting a number of popular tourist spots in the island. A highlight of their stay, they said would be a visit to Galle where they hoped to perform with the villagers and share their expertise on Western folk dance with our own local folk dance forms. "We are very impressed with your rich cultural tradition. We would love to return again", says Borge Guilette, 56, who with his wife Irene have been with the dance group for the past 15 years, and have performed in the US and Canada among other countries on similar pleasure trips abroad. The two organisers of their trip here, Ms Pia and Sussane are determined to ensure that their wish comes true in the near future. |
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