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| Sunday, 20 November 2005 |
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Rhythmic Motion
Rhythmic motion, rhythmic body movement and rhythmic style were what we saw when the dancers moved to the sounds of music. They kept to perfect rhythm and the moves were indeed so, so perfect... by Chamitha Kuruppu Their' kite' dance has marked a new era in creative dancing in the country - the colourful peacock dance is one of their popular performances - but most of these budding dancers were confident that the new production, 'Cleopatra' would be their best dance act so far. Dancer Chandana Wickremesinghe, whose into oriental and classical dancing for quite sometime is now training his students who were busy preparing for their next performance. Their internationally acclaimed 'Mayura Sandeshaya' along with two new productions 'The Plight of the Bumble Bee' and 'Cleopatra' will soon go on the Boards in the local theatre circuit. 'Piccaso' a free style ballet and 'Kanya' a traditional dance with fusion are also on the cards. The dancing troupe recently performed in England and the ballet 'Mayura Sandeshaya' was much appreciated by the audience. According to Chandana, the show which was held on the same day that the bomb blasts in London took place, was packed to capacity.
Chandana and his dancing troupe can be rated as the next generation of creative dancers in the country. Traditional dancing of course was veteran dancer Chitrasena's forte. Although there were many who criticised creative dancing and see it as a threat to traditional dancing, Chandana believes that the country has a potential in this form of art, which could be used as a tool to gain international recognition. "Chitrasena's " Karadiya" was a brilliant masterpiece and thanks to him, the entire world experienced Sri Lankan dancing at its best and Channa Wijewardena is doing a tremendous amount of work, by promoting Sri Lankan creative dancing internationally," he said. Chandana was of the view, that as young people it was our responsibility to continue the creative work that was begun by Chitrasena. However, he said that his dance troupe has been in the scene for quite sometime. "We are not the type who perform the same dance to a song at musical shows. Me and my students are trying to make a difference in this field, while maintaining the values of traditional dancing,". Chandana's dancing school, which was started in 1997 has over 600 students and offers a thorough training in Kandyan, Kathakali and Manipuri dancing. The school consists of three dancing groups. His professional dancing troupe perform at least 30 shows a month. " Event management has hit a new trend in the country. There is a demand for creative dancing for both cultural and commercial events. But, it is our responsibility to know the limitations and not commercialise the wonderful art of dancing," stresses Chandana. Being a mere dancer will not make one a good creative dancer, says this young artiste. To earn a name in the field of creative dancing, one should have a sound knowledge in choreography, stage lighting as well as costumes. All this contributes to producing a 'good piece of work', he points out. On the other hand, Chandana emphasises that people who criticise creative dancing are people who lack imagination and innovative ideas. "They are unable to produce anything new, because they don't have a vivid imagination and also have no new ideas," notes Chandana. "Some say that my work is repetitive. Although I do not agree with them, I do try to have an identity. So that people could easily recognise my dancing. I like to base my work on reality more than fantasy, that too makes my dancing exceptional, he stresses. Chandana enjoys designing costumes for performances. The costumes in the' kite' dance and the' peacock' dance could be considered as some of his innovative creations. "I don't copy costumes from Indian movies and call it my own creation. But, try to do my own costumes and I make jewellery with material that is freely available," says Chandana. Chandana believes that this form of dancing was not merely for entertainment. "There are many talented youth, who were unemployed. I think the newly set up Aesthetic University should consider introducing this type of dance form, so that youth could easily secure employment once they are out from the university," stresses Chandana. |
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Dancing is a pure pleasure, but dancing traditional dances with
innovation and creativity is something that calls for attention. Their
lissome bodies were able to keep to the rhythmic sounds of the
accompanying music. 
He was overwhelmed with the response from the audience, "It was amazing
to experience such a warm reaction from a foreign audience. This just goes
to show that Sri Lankan dancing is very much appreciated around the world
" says Chandana. 
