‘An Enchanted Adventure’ brought to life by the Ballet School of Colombo
Taking audiences in Colombo on “An Enchanted Adventure” The Ballet School of Colombo recently took audience members on a journey of magic and dance at the British School Auditorium.
Male and Female ballet dancers from the ages 3 to 30 years took to stage in a story of twirls and whirls. This was the first production for the dancers since the rebranding of the dance academy Oosha Garten of Ballet to The Ballet School of Colombo in November last year.
Choreographed by instructors Tara Cooke and Romina Gyi, the production used a white backdrop where the backgrounds for each scene were projected. The hour long show was filled with dance and carefully showcased the months of training the dancers endured.
The story “An Enchanted Adventure” followed the mystic journey of two sisters played by Deeksha Udagedera and Sineli Weerakoon. The story begins in a metamorphic garden where young dancers decked in lime green satin and tulle moved around stage as flowers in bloom with butterflies joining in the festivities – the audience watched mesmerized by the illusions of colour and movement that transformed the stage.
The enchanting narrative made good use of well-loved Disney classics like “Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs” and “The Jungle Book”. Paying a visit to the seven dwarfs, the sisters were met with a twist of two female dwarfs in the lineup. The young boy who played “Sneezy” provided some comical effect to the scene as Snow White played by Kyra Wafa and her dwarfs skipped and frolicked across the stage.
Along the way the two young sisters stumble upon Madhulika Gunawardena who played the character of the serpent from Jungle Book “Kaa”. The dancer used the serpentine hypnosis of her character to her full advantage – her nimble alluring movements had not only the two little girls but also the audience members under her spell. The sound speakers began playing the carefree tune of “The Bare Necessities” as two female dancers under the guise of “Bagheera” played by Anadhi Attygala and “Baloo” played by Zainab Zikker (carrying Rakhitha Athalage who channelled his inner “Mowgli” emerge on stage for a lively end to the jungle.
Following the cheerful performance is another rendition of the enchanted gardens. The sudden emergence of blue birds led by dancer Shalini De Mel only heightened the allure of the mystic lands of the Woodland spirit played by Amanda Illeperumarachchi. The spirit and her protégé under Amanda’s command led the dance with grace.
One of the notable parts of the production was the second half of the show and as the story unfolds where the girls are taken from land to sea by a storm. Led by one of the senior male dancer Malith Upendra, the sisters struggle to withstand the storm with its harsh winds and rough sea. Carried and spun to the depths of the ocean the sisters are faced with dancers in leotards with red and silver sequined tentacles – octopuses. These cephalopods, guided by lead dancer Sumaya Gunawardena, held their own with their pliable movements and natural rhythm making them an excellent welcoming committee to the pelagic zone.
Adorned in Flamenco dancer inspired costumes sea horses galloped on adding their own Spanish flair into the performance as Kyra Ramchandan spun and careened with much agility. One of the standout concepts was the swarm of jellyfish dressed in luminescent green-yellow costumes that, in the darkened auditorium, allowed an ethereal glow-in-the-dark concept to the performance and added an excellent aesthetic to the gelatinous umbrella shaped animals.
Pix Courtesy – Indu Gunaratne
