Getting into the spirit of Christmas
The Dance Works Center took the lead in heralding the upcoming festive season with their colourful dance production ‘So this is Christmas’ which concluded recently at the Lionel Wendt theatre. The show catered to audiences of all ages while highlighting through dance the different characteristical aspects of the season.
“Christmas is by all means a time of joy and the Dance Works Centre has a real cause for celebration in that we are now blessed with 32 years of existence and that is indeed a milestone in a very competitive field,” said producer of the show and Director of the school Dance Works Center, Kanthi Ranchigoda.
This is Kanthi’s second Christmas production, the first which was almost 11 years ago saw mothers and aunts of the recent show taking part as students.
More than a 100 students between the ages 3 to 21 took part in the show, which was dominated by female performers and two male dancers. The boys were featured in duets, Pas de deux by Meliza Hassen and Sajjad Shabdeen which was a ballet styled duet and ‘Fix you’ featuring Thilini Jayawardene and Kevin Wimaladasa in a contemporary styled dance performance.
The whole event comprised 25 items – each revolving around a different aspect of Christmas such as Christmas trees, lights, bon bon’s, holly, cards, fairies, angels, reindeer, presents, bells, icicles, snowmen, stockings, stars, snowflakes, firecrackers, elves and even candy cane.
Dance styles of the show included ballet, tap dance, hip hop and contemporary. The chief guest for the show was first lady, Shiranthi Rajapaksa. All proceeds of the show were as usual donated to SUROL (Society for Upliftment and Rehabilitation of Persons affected by leprosy). “This is another reason for us to hold this production, as Christmas is a time for giving and sharing, a time of thinking about those in need and reaching out to help them in every way we can,” says Kanthi.