A step in time

by Umangi de Mel

Dance is a form of art that is as abstract as music. It's one of the most intimate and personal forms of art where the medium is oneself. It's live and has to be experienced right there in space. The vital thing about dance is that you enjoy it. Irrespective of how good or lousy you are at it which is a matter of taste.

Having learnt his first steps of ballet under Oosha Saravanamuttu at the age of 17, R. Aluthweediyage got the break to improve what he started back in school on a serious note. Dancing, his first love was something he couldn't live without. It was more like a part of himself without which he couldn't function properly. To his delight, an English dance troupe came to Ceylon in 1993 who chose the cream of talented dancers for training, "I was so lucky to have got through because I had a chance to learn ballroom dance with them."

Just after the English dancers left, his luck struck again as a German dance troupe came to the island in 1994 and trained them again.

"After that, I learnt on my own with the help of books and CD's about dance. Eventually I developed an interest in drama which is why I took part in Jerome de Silva's 'Macbeth', and 'Lion King'. After that, I did my own play called 'Rumble in the jungle' which is a ballet.

The show was called 'A variety of ballet and ballroom dance' and was staged at the Tower Hall in 2006."

The play was fruitful which inspired him to start work on his second play called 'Talking to fairies' immediately, which will be staged in January, 2007, "I've got about 70 children and youth learning under me. Even adults come to learn ballroom dance."

His own dance theatre called 'Steps' is located in Kiribathgoda, "My style is Russian. I prefer western styles to the fusion ones. You see a lot of dance acts derived from the Sri Lankan cultural dance. The thing is, ballet, irrespective of the style, is something through which you build a story sans words. The most important thing is to give a clear idea to the audience of what it is all about.

If not, it's pointless attempting it in the first place. Aluthweediyage feels that it's difficult to do ballet than drama, " age counts a lot and you've got to be fit. You've got to be born with it. It requires devotion and hard work. I'm a good friend to all my students but when it comes to lessons I'm very strict."

Having always loved art, music and painting, Aluthweediyage says he's more than happy he chose to do what he's doing today, "My family insisted that I did a proper job but that was the last thing that interested me."

Talking about his sole regret, he says that he got a scholarship to Russia in 1970 which he let slip through the fingers.