Arts
Dr. Ananda Shankar Jayant to grace the occasion:
Abinayaa's Bharatha Natya arangetram
Chelvathamby Maniccavasagar
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Vasugy Jegatheeswaran and her deciple Abinayaa
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The Bharatha Natya Arangetram of Abinayaa, daughter of Mr. and Mrs.
S. Kumaranathan and student of `Kalasuri' Srimathy Vasugy Jegatheeswaran
of Indian Cultural Centre' and `Natya Kala Mandhir' will be held on
Sunday April 5, 2009 at 6.00 pm at New Kathiresan hall, Bambalaptiya
Colombo 4.
The High Commissioner of India Shri Alok Prasad will be the chief
guest while Mrs. Nirmali Wickremesinghe, Principal, Ladies College,
Colombo 7 will be the guest of honour.
To grace this Bharatha Natya arangetram of Abinayaa, the
internationally renowned dancer Padmashri Dr. Ananda Shankar Jayant,
Directress, Shankarananda Kalakshetra, Hyderabad, India will participate
as a special guest.
In fact, Bharatha Natyam is one of the oldest dance forms of India.
It was nurtured in the temples and courts of Southern India since
ancient times. Later, it was codified and documented as a performing Art
in the 19th century by four brothers known as the Tanjore Quartet whose
musical compositions for dance form the bulk of the Bharatha Natyam
repertoire even today. This art was handed down as a living tradition
from generation to generation under the Devadasi system under which
women were dedicated to temples to serve the Deity as dancers and
Musicians forming past of the elaborate rituals.
These highly talented artistes and the Male gurus (Naju Vandars) were
the sole repository of the art until the early 20th century when a
renewal of interest in India's cultural heritage prompted the educated
elite to discover its beauty.
Indeed, the revival of Bharatha Natyam by pioneers such as E. Krishna
Iyer and Rukmini Devi Arundale brought the dance out of the Temple
precincts and onto the procenium stage though it retained its
essentially devotional character.Today Bharatha Natyam is one of the
most popular and widely performed dance styles and is practised by male
and female dancers all over India.
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Dr. Ananda Shankar Jayant. |
In fact, the Guru of `Abinayaa, Vasugy Jegatheeswaran is one of the
veteran dance teachers not only in Sri Lanka but also worldwide.
She has instructed and trained several generations of young girls,
enabling more than 90 of them to perform Bharatha Natya Arangetrams. Her
dedication is to serve the aesthetic field of Sri Lanka by paving the
way for the proper and responsible study of Bharatha Natyam in Sri
Lanka.Indeed `Kalasuri' Vasugy Jegatheeswarn is a colossus in the field
of Bharatha Natyam and her determination and efforts were amply
recognised as is evident from the honours conferred on her.
The then President of Sri Lanka, the late Mr. J.R. Jayewardene
awarded the title of `Nadana Kalai Arasi' The Government of Sri Lanka
conferred the prestigious title of `Kalasuri' on her in 1990.
The Japan Shotaken Karate Moin Datyo awarded her with a doctorate in
1994.
The Japan-Sri Lanka Friendship Cultural Fund (JSCF) awarded the
`Bunka Prize'. Further she was honoured and felicitated with the title
of `Nadana Kalai Arasi' by the world renowned Bharatha Natyam expert Dr.
Padma Subramaniam.
German play to suit Sri Lankan fans
Indeewara THILAKARATHNE
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M.Safeer
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Review on Horst Hawemann's Empty Space-Chair Taken (Sinhala Version)
The theatre is boxed with black screens pasted on to the walls to
create an ambience of being inside a box and the centre of the podium is
occupied by a youngster on a chair. The youngster looks around and
plunges into a monologue. He is later joined by a girl.
The rest of the drama is made up of their conversation. However, the
crust of the drama is the issue of universal youth including the
rudimentary issues relating to communication barrier among the teens. It
is the ingenious attempts by the youth to express himself to the girl
which constitutes the flesh and blood of the play. M. Safeer, who
produced the play in Sinhala, has captured the subtle nuances of the
contemporary German youth and the complex youth issues.
It is a drama worth watching for both students of theatre and theatre
goers who always appreciate meaningful productions. It is rather naive
that one may expect the traditional formula of Sinhala plays with full
of songs and music from a play rooted in contemporary German society. It
should rather be watched considering it as contemporary German play.
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Scene from the play |
He: How old are you?
She: I'm old enough to have a boyfriend, if I wanted...
He: Hm....
She: I could, I could ......
He: How longer are you going to wait?
She: It might take till Monday. But I want one on Friday already.
....
She: Really! We'd better stop here. I think we should tidy up
first... The conversation between the girl and the boy goes on until it
abruptly ends as in real life. Unlike in the proscenium stage, here the
audience is indirectly involved in the play and action is not confined
to the podium. For instance, the girl (Nadeeka Tharangani) goes out of
the box and comes in. Especially the conversation out of the box between
the girl and the boy was natural which help create real life situation.
Although the play in set against different milieu, Nalaka Ginendra and
Nadeeka Tharangani were able to portray their characters well despite it
was a novel experience for them.
The costume design which was by Safeer himself, well fitted onto the
teens.Safeer should be commended for introducing contemporary German
play to the Sri Lankan theatre in translation rather than adapting it.
`Wildscapes' concludes today
 A medical doctor by profession attached to the Cardiology Department
of the Kandy Teaching Hospital Dr. Sawan Waidyanatha's hobby while he
was young, was to rear pets like birds, fish, pigs and snakes in his
home garden, but now it has turned into wildlife photography. His
interest in this field turned serious, especially after viewing the
"Wildlife Photographer of the Year" exhibition held in 1998, which had
left a deep and lasting impression on him.
During this period, he was also exposed to the work of wellknown
outdoor/nature photographers, Nihal Fernando and Dr. T.S.U. De Zylva.
Dr. Sawan Waidyanatha's exhibition "Wildscapes" which commenced
yesterday at the Kandy City Centre from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. concludes
today.
Susanayata biya murthadeha
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Wasantha Namaskarage
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 The 40th collection of Wasantha Namaskarage's creations titled, "Susanayata
biya murthadeha" will be staged free at the `namaskara' open theatre,
Etampitiya-Bandarawela road and `namaskara' visual art forum at No.
45/7, Welagedara, Badulla on April 13, 14, 15 and 16.All living people
are destined end up at death therefore need a place for eternal rest -
the cemetery.
Yet all living people are apprehensive of death. They are afraid of
the cemetery; They make every attempt to be away from death and
cemetery.
To give effect to it good omens and auspicious times are relied on,
namaskarage laments.
VAFA annual show 2009
VAFA annual show 2009 will be held at Vibhavi Academy, 38, New
Jayaweera Mawatha, Etul Kotte from March 31 to April 8 and again from
April 21 to April 30, 2009.
It will be open from 9.30 a.m. to 5.00 p.m.
The main purpose of this exhibition is to showcase selected art works
of students who are following full time or part time courses at the
Vibhavi Academy of Fine Arts (VAFA).
The exhibition will encourage artists in their future artistic
development and also contribute towards appreciating and valuing their
academic pursuits in visual art.
Drawing, painting, sculpture, collage, pottery and ceramic, the main
curricula at the academy will be on display.
VAFA, an alternative art school offers visual art programs in
drawing, sculpture, painting, collage and ceramics: Designed to expose
the student to rigorous academic study and also highly liberal avante
garde thinking, with the idea of evolving a vibrant creative personality
in the context of a culturally diverse Sri Lanka.
Arts diary
 Harima Puduma Rajek
Harima Pudma Rajek, a drama by Ruwan Dannasuriya will go on board on
March 30, 2009 at 6.30 p.m. at John de Silva theatre to mark Ruwan
Dannasuriya's 30 years career on stage.
The drama directed by Ruwan Dannasuriya himself and costume designed
for the drama by Kusum Perera and Namal Vas.
The script of the play is by J.A.D Perera and Ruwan Dannasuriya. The
cast includes Chandrasiri Kodituwakku, Sandun Wijesiri, Sanet
Dikkumburage, Saman Nishantha and Sanjaya Ratnayake. Music is directed
by Gunasena Gunasinghe.
Chinthana Jala in Dehiwala
Chinthana Jala, a ballet produced by Rangika Jeewantha will be held
on April 5, 2009 at 6.30 p.m. at S. de S Jayasinghe Hall in Dehiwala. It
is a production by Rivega Dance Studio.
Ingilasa at John de Silva
Ingilasa (The true affection), a dance drama choreographed and
directed by Nuwan Ranjith Priyanga will be staged on April 2, 2009 at
7p.m at John de Silva theatre.
It was based on Buddhist parable Kundalakeshee. It is a presentation
by Carey College. |
