They glide across the water, graceful and confident. The music is just right…intense, rich jazz setting the right tone for these bodies in movement swathed in the shimmering glare of the aqua waters. And suddenly, there’s ABBA on the stereo and the swimmers are swimmers no more. Jets of water pierce the air as they pirouette, twirl and dip.

Pix by Indika Handuwala

“I’ve been doing this for about six years,” says 15-year-old Sihara Jayasekara a member of the Ladies College Synchronized Swimming Team. “And I don’t know what I’d do without it.” Sihara is amongst a group of 30 young girls prepping for the school’s third public water ballet performance, ‘Dancing Through the Decades.’ They’ve been practising since September, literally six or seven hours a day, every day-and they love it. “If you want to be good, you just have to stick to a schedule and get on with it.”

Coach Sonali Ratwatte (a former Bishopian who trained under renowned coach Julian Dias Bandaranaike) was instrumental in forming the school’s Synchronized Swimming team just about nine years ago. She started out small, only taking on the school’s most experienced senior swimmers and teaching them to move to a different beat underwater.

It’s no place for those uncomfortable with water, she notes. “You’ve got to be one with the water. If you try to battle with it then it’s just not going to be very easy.” Sonali likes to start young with her students, encouraging parents to enrol their children as early as possible. “There’s no age limit-if you can swim and you’re good in the water then there’s a place here.”
Over the past decade, her students have gone on to win titles, taking part in National and International Age Groups-just a few months ago the team was in Hong Kong.

For Dancing Through the Decades the girls are in practice every morning, and then afterschool as well-sometimes till about 9 or 10p.m. at night. Sonali is determined that this show will outdo even its predecessors as there’s a rather special reason for all this hard work. The show will also be a tribute to the school’s beloved Mrs. Wickramasinghe, the outgoing principal. “It’s with her guidance and encouragement we are where we are today.”

Marking a change from the previous shows (‘All That Jazz’ in 2007 , ‘So This Is Christmas’ in 2011) and ‘Dancing Through The Decades’ will sample from across a gamut of genres and periods in pop culture-you’ve got the Charleston, jazz, Rock n’Roll, pop, alternative, the can-can…it’s a veritable feast of music from across the ages, interpreted by the dancers. For the dancers it’s a refreshing change from the intense instrumental numbers they’re usually accustomed to. They all love the idea of the modern segment (and they picked the music themselves) but they do admit that it can be a little challenging trying to move in tune to much faster beats. “The trick is to have a clock ticking in your head,” we’re told by Shenaya Mendis (14). “And stick to it!”

“We’re still taking baby steps when it comes to the sport,” reflects Sonali. “But I feel like we’re slowly getting there.” She hopes that one day her girls just might make it into the international arena, taking part even at Olympic level; only time will tell! ‘Dancing through the decades’ happens on December 12, 13 and 14 from 7 p.m. onwards at the Ladies College Pool.
Tickets priced at Rs. 1,500, 1,000, 750 and 500 are available at the school office and the Commons Coffeehouse.