Exploring the contemporary
The Mesh Academy of Dance joins the gamut of local dance institutes offering a choice of largely contemporary dance lessons for students. The academy will officially launch this July, following Mesh’s inaugural concert ‘Genesis: the Awakening’. Founder and creative director Umeshi Rajeendra spoke to us about influences, contemporary dance in Sri Lanka and her plans for Mesh.
Umeshi at practice and below, her students. Pics by Malaka MP Photography
The Mesh studio is located currently at the Nelung Arts Centre; the timber floors and reflective surfaces at the centre (which was specifically designed for dance training) are ideal for Umeshi’s lessons, which can vary from African jazz to hip hop and even some classical styles but which generally tend to take on a contemporary form. This inter-disciplinary approach is vital for her plans for Mesh, which centre on establishing an educational platform that will allow students to grow and test the waters when it comes to their talents in dance.
Umeshi herself is no stranger to this inter-disciplinary approach to dance education. Following her secondary education at Asian International School in Colombo, Umeshi attended Denison University in the US, where she studied for a double major in Dance and Economics with Political Science. It sounds like somewhat of a baffling combination to us but “I tackle certain political and economic issues with my dances,” she explains “so it felt quite natural to study those subjects as well for better understanding. On the surface economics and dance seem like polar opposites, but the skills I gained from studying the two subjects actually gave me more ammunition to pursue dance as an educational venture with a business and economic philosophy.”
Dance remains her first love, and at university Umeshi learnt to embrace the contemporary which she immediately identified with. In Sri Lanka she had studied ballet, hip hop and jazz under Kanthi Ranchigoda – discovering more nuanced styles of contemporary dance opened her eyes to the diversity of the form as a powerful tool for expression.
“While there is a strong dance community in Sri Lanka, the level of progression of dance as an educative art form is fairly low,” she notes. “We have a lot of great talent, culture, history and potential to give to the world but unfortunately there isn’t a clear opportunity-driven platform for dancers when it comes to growth. My vision is to change this and provide a platform from which dancers can grow and meet international standards. By doing so, I hope many more will pursue dance education and put Sri Lanka on the dance map of the world.”
Mesh will collaborate with several institutions from the US to provide international level training for students through in-house sessions and exchange programmes. Right now Umeshi is the sole instructor at Mesh – she wants to start out small, but in time, seasoned instructors and dancers will visit the academy for programmes and training sessions. For example Sandra Mathern Smith from Denison University will train her students for the upcoming show Genesis in July.
Umeshi
“The goal of collaborating with these institutions is to provide international level training of students, and to increase their awareness, interest and capacity for them to be able to pursue dance through a liberal arts education,” says Umeshi. “This kind of cultural exchange will benefit both parties enormously. While students from U.S. institutions will gain from exercising their skills, practising their research, ideas, values and cultural boundaries, Sri Lankan students will be exposed to a very different way of considering dance as an educative art form, and will also be able to share their own dance culture. This project is an essential step towards intercultural exchange and understanding.”
The academy’s first show ‘Genesis: the Awakening’ will go on the boards of the British School in Colombo Auditorium on July 11 and 12 from 7.30 p.m. Proceeds will be directed in part towards the Cerebral Palsy Lanka Foundation. Read next week’s Magazine for more on the show. Tickets can be found at the British School on weekdays from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. and on weekends from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.