Bringing back the dance with an infusion of colour and vigour
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Dancing queen Naomi Rajaratnam treated Colombo audiences to a visual treat at her recent show “Resurrection” held at the Bishop’s College auditorium. Naomi’s experience in the sphere of dance has seen her criss-crossing a diverse gamut of genres from ballet, Latin American, local dance forms to ballroom. The show was a representation of just that assortment of multi-dimensional fusion of different dance styles.
The show opened with a fluid ballroom piece set against a backdrop projected on stage as Everest climber Johann Pieris displayed another one of his many talents while twirling his partner across the boards of the stage. With costumes right on the mark the scene could have been mistaken as the interior of grand gala ball.
After a lapse of nearly ten years the recent revival of the “With My Feet” dance production by Naomi was a welcome pick-up from where the dance shows had left-off. Naomi’s past students displayed not only their versatility, from Bollywood themed backdrops to Bhangra 
folk dance styles, sultry Latin American dancers to rock and roll, free-style and hip hop dances performed by the ‘Royal Warriors’ Dance Crew, that gripped and held the attention of audience members. The dance crew’s street dance style of back flips and break dancing didn’t fail to get noticed by the younger attendees who applauded their performance.
“Resurrection” was a vibrant and infectious infusion of colour, dance and performers who seemed to genuinely enjoy themselves on stage. Among the evening’s notable performers included Manuja Hughes, Kushan Seneviratne, Kessie Lara and Bharatha De Silva. Veteran dancer Kevin Nugara’s rock and roll centric dance performance was a fun and delightful sight for those who hardly get to see him perform his craft on stage.
One can hope the evening’s ‘Resurrection’ would be the dawn of more dance productions to come from Naomi in the future.
The show was held in aid of the Devsiri Sevana Elders’ Home in Welisara.
