• Footwork's 'Dancesport 2001'
• Inner Circle's 'Da Sweat'
• Top Secret mission for Exodus
• Rock Cafe with 'Basement'
• Three notable German documentaries in Lanka
• 'Nisala Diya Sasala Viya': A love story
• 'Sinesara': Five Victor films on show 
• 'Take me to Cloud Nine on Valentine' 
• 'Flame of Love'
• 'Valentine Romance' at the 'Garage', Le Kandyan

Footwork's 'Dancesport 2001'

By Poorna Rodrigo

The highlight of the championship which is being held for the sixth consecutive year will be five scintillating performances by Mathew and Nicole Cutlar, the Undefeated World, European, and UK Amateur Latin American dance champions, said Dharshan Wijesooriya of Foowork at a press conference held at Hilton.

Also for the first time Formation Dancing will be an event of this year's championship 

Both categories of dancesport-Modern Ballroom and Latin American will be performed by the contesting couples before a panel of 3 international judges.

The dancesport championship which is normally held during the latter part of the year was slotted for February due to a second competition due in October, Mr. Wijesooriya said.

He further said that dancesport which is appreciated universally and indulged in as a sport as well as a recreation will be included in the Olympic games of 2008.

At a time Sri Lankan participation has become a regular feature with successful results , Carlberg and Mercantile Shipping Company's and Sri Lankan Airlines' involvement as sponsors will undoubtedly accelerate the trend, Footwork Chief said.

Hilton Colombo is the official host hotel of the event while the official printer is Softwave. Tickets, the cost which includes refreshments are available at the host hotel's Special Event Desk. 

Inner Circle's 'Da Sweat'

'Inner Circle' one of the best raggae bands in the world will be in action at the Western Garden of the BMICH on February 10 from 7.30 p.m. onwards. 

It's the same band who have churned out big hits like "Games People Play", "Da Bomb", "Sweat", "Bad Boys" (from the movie bad boys with Will Smith"), "Not About Romance", and others.

On several performances, Inner Circle has jammed with big acts like Enrique Iglesias, Lauryn Hill, Carlos Santana, Aswad, and a cast of entertainers. No two words about it. Inner Circle has all the qualifications of a great band on stage.

The members of Inner Circle are Lancelot Hall (drums), Michael Tyrone Johnson (lead guitar), Ian Lewis (bass), Roger Lewis (Rhythm guitar), Bernad Harvey (keyboards), and Christopher Bentley (lead vocals).

According to the sources, the next attraction in Sri Lanka will be Venga Boys . But who know? even Inner Circle is not here yet .

Top Secret mission for Exodus

By Sanath Weerasuriya

The king of raggae Bob Marley was born on February 9 1945 in Jamaica. "Exodus", led by veteran guitarist Sarath Fernando will perform a special show with lots of Bob Marley's songs to remember the legends birthday at "Top Secret" in Hikkaduwa.

"Top Secret" is one of the popular restaurants, which becomes a 'Wood Stock' of Sri Lanka on Saturdays. Generally "Exodus" performs to an audience of more than 700 fans mainly foreigners from Europe.

When we perform at 'Top Secret' we all feel that we are in Europe or in USA. The music, the songs, people and the whole atmosphere is completely different to the Sri Lankan style Sarath said. 'So I think this would be an ideal place to remember the legend', he added.

Sarath is the son of late M.S. Fernando and he is a fantastic guitarist.

'Exodus' now comprises Sarath on guitar and vocals, Lawrence Oorloff on vocals, Dilhan Visidage on drums, Tiran Priyadarshana on keyboards and S.K. Amal Shantha on bass.

Exodus have recorded four English originals and are now working on for other songs. 'Rat Race' is a raggae song and Y2K is a rap mix. Their song Bayside Blues' is R&B style song and 'Love' is a slow rock song.

The music arrangements are done by Sarath himself. Sarath hopes to release these to a radio station soon. 

Rock Cafe with 'Basement'

'Basement' is a unique concept as far as entertainment in Sri Lanka is concerned. The idea behind the 'Basement' is that it would function from 10.00 a.m. up to 6.00 p.m. throughout the week. During this period no hard liquor will be served. and no smoking will be allowed. Also the place is sound proof with no disturbance to the dining guests at the restaurant above.

The 'Basement' will feature 'Rattlesnake', one of the top rock bands in Sri Lanka, on Saturdays after 10.00pm and popular DJs on the rest of the days.

The 'Basement' is set to cater to both the young and young at heart. The day time set up at 'Rock Cafe' will comprise reasonably priced tickets which include a burger and a Pepsi thrown in on the house. 

For those in the mood for making their own noise, the Rock Cafe also offers a Karaoke Bar.

The Place is now run under the guidance of Steve de Silva, the popular singer in the local scene. 

"The beer garden at the Rock Cafe is the ideal place for the busy executive to sip some brew of his or her choice and unwind," he said. The band 'Rattlesnake comprises Tilak Dias on bass, Primal Liyanage'on guitar, Prabath Rupasinghe on vocals, Prasanna Mallawarachchi on keyboards and Chaminda Jayanath on drums.

'We do not play any hard rock songs at the restaurant. Our repertoire includes top songs from 60's, 70's and 80's. Mainly songs of Beatles, Rolling Stones, Eagles,Santana etc will be dished out at the Rock Cafe.' the leader Tilak said.

The Rock Cafe revolves around the theme of providing entertainment and fine dining to all age groups at any given time of day.

Three notable German documentaries in Lanka

The first documentary - "Lessons of Darkness" by Werner Herzog was filmed in 1992. The film has been described as an apocalyptic vision featuring the oil well fires in Kuwait after the 'Gulf War'.

It was then the whole world burst into flames. The film is stylized and takes the form of a science fiction. It shows how fire fighters work hard at their red-hot job trying to extinguish the fires that engulfed hundreds of oil oil wells.

Herzog is a widely admired documentary filmmaker who made celebrated works like "Land of Silence and Darkness" (1971) based on the theme deaf and blind. In 1990s, his work was mostly centred around documentaries such as "Night of the Filmmakers". 

"Buena Vista Social Club" will be screened on Saturday 10 and Friday 23 at 6.00 p.m. The director Wim Wenders made this film in 1998.

Wenders made this documentary in the form of an essay on music. The setting is Havana at the Buena Vista Social Club from a golden era to the Latin boom of today.

"Exile Shanghai'" scheduled on Saturday 24 at 2.00 p.m. is a film by director Ulrike Ottinger. The story deals with the Jewish immigration to Shanghai which took place in three waves. Sephardic Jews in the 19th century for commerce, followed by the escapists at the turn of the century Russian pogroms. In the 1930s and 1940s, Jewish refugees came from Nazi Europe. The story is fascinating and wryly humorous. It is said to be an extraordinary odyssey that portrays the lost Jewish world of Shanghai, the cosmopolitan city in the Far East, the only place where one doesn't require a visa. The film has a rich mosaic of interviews providing a moving historical backdrop.

Ottinger's camera cruises in search of lost Synagogues, Schools and Salons through a modern Chinese metropolis. In a review the film was described: "not a second is wasted, not a word is superfluous. Exile Shanghai presents three-dimensional, a portrait of historical events as never any other film before it". - D.B. Kappagoda 

'Nisala Diya Sasala Viya': A love story

By. Susitha R. Fernando

The story features Ranjan who is an influential businessman in the area. Nirmala, his younger sister comes to live with him in the village. Nirmala soon falls into the company of colleagues in the village and joins a English class in the village conducted by widowed Susila. Susila lives with her only son, Suresh after the death of her Tamil husband. 

Regular visits to Susila's house for the classes gives an opportunity for the two youngsters Suresh and Nirmala to build a friendship

As time goes the bond between the two young people becomes firm.

Ranjan's wife who observes the new changes in Nirmala's life comes to know about the affair and secretly supports the two youngsters. The affair which is hidden from many however comes to be shared by Suresh's mother. Susila becomes concerned about the son. knowing Ranjan's ideas on the race issue she finds a way to protect her son from him. 

Meanwhile Ranjan proposes a wealthy businessman for his sister. Nirmala resists the proposal and is supported by Ranjan's wife whose sympathies are with the sister-in-law.

Fed up with the brother's insistence that she marry his businessman friend, Nirmala leaves for her sister's place. 

In an attempt to find a job, Suresh leaves the village which some what pleases his mother. But Ranjan gets enraged with Suresh's family when he comes to know of the affair between Suresh and his sister.

Nirmala and Suresh are secretly married despite the opposition from Ranjan. Infuriated with the situation Ranjan let his anger on Suresh's mother and Susila is hospitalised after a quarrel. 

But the son and doughtier-in-law hearing of the incident return, to the village.

What would be the fate of the young couple from different ethnic groups despite Ranjan?

The cast includes a number of young stars namely Roger Seneviratne, Damitha Abeyratne, Roshan Pilapitiya, Nimanthi Porage, Jayantha Bopearachchi, Rebecca Nirmali, Jagath Benaragama , Manel Wanaguru, Samantha Lanerolle, Biyanka Shamini, Mali Jayaweera and Kapila Sigera. 

'Sinesara': Five Victor films on show 

The films lined up are "Siribo Aiya" (February 8), "Podi Malli" (Younger Brother) (Feb. 9), "Sarungale" (Kite) (Feb. 10), "Hulavali" (Feb. 11) and "Athuru Mithuru" (Feb. 12). 

A common factor in the five films is the music direction by one man - Victor Ratnayake.

'Siribo Aiya' is directed by Sunil Ariyaratne and the screen play is based on a short story written by Piyadasa Palansuriya.

The cast includes Joe Abeywickrema, Geetha Kumarasinghe, Wasanthi Chathurani, Daya Alwis, Jayalath Manoratne and Somalatha Fernando. 

The film grabbed the award for the best music direction in the Presidential Award ceremony making Pandit W. D. Amaradeva and Visharadha Nanda Malani the best playback singers.

The film 'Podi Malli' directed by Sunil Ariyaratne stars. Vijaya Kumaratunga, Ravindra Randeniya, Geetha Kumarasinghe, Sathischandra Edirisinghe, Rukmani Devi, Amarasiri Kalansuriya and Fareena Lai. 

In the film 'Sarungale' Pandit Ameradeva Nanda Malani, Kalawathi, Abeywardena Balasuriya and Niranjala Sarojini did the play back singing. Sunil Ariyaratne directed the film and the cast included Gamini Fonseka, Tony Ranasinghe, Sriyani Amarasena, Veena Jayakody and Vimal Kumara De Costa.

'Hulawali' directed by W.A.B. De Silva had Gamini Fonseka, Tony Ranasinghe and Swineetha Weerasinghe in the cast Victor Ratnayake won the award for the best music direction.

Ariyaratne Vithanage's 'Athuru Mithuru', brought Victor another award for the music direction. Screen play was written by Chandraratne Mapitigama The film also won the award for the best camera direction. 

Somi Ratnayake, Chandra Kaluarachchi, Jayantha Ratnayake and Sampatha Wijesiri played the major roles while Sunil Ratnayake and Victor Ratnayake did the play back singing.

Victor also will launch a book of songs and music notes named 'Ransara' and a cassette on February 6 at 4. pm at the Public Library auditoruim. 

Sunil Ariyaratne will chair the ceremony and Professor J. B. Dissanayake will deliver a special speech where Victor will sing some of his favourite songs. 

'Take me to Cloud Nine on Valentine' 

This is a competition for romantic couples and all you have to do is to write two sentences in summary form 'Why he/she is your Valentine.

The children can nominate their parents, grand-parents, uncles and aunts, sisters, brothers and their fiancees.

All you have to do is to collect an application form from Millennium Park and forward it on or before February 14.

The winning couple will receive a cash prize of Rs. 5000/- from Millennium Park, two movie tickets, 'Dinner for two' at a romantic restaurant, gift vouchers from Dialog and Stone n'String.

The first one hundred ladies will receive a rose on Valentine's Day and they will be photographed and delivered instantly.

This event is produced by Millennium Park and co-ordinated by Sadana Wadugodapitiya.

The main sponsor is Coca Cola. The media sponsor of the Take Me to Cloud Nine' will be TV Times & Entertainment. 

'Flame of Love'

'Flame of Love' is organised by the Leo Club of Thimbirigasyaya for the third successive year in collaboration with TV Times.

Popular night club DJs and dance groups will be in action on this day. There will be lots of games, competitions and romantic activities are on cards.

The main attraction will be the selection of 'Valentine Queen and 'Mr. Valentine'.

The first 50 girls entering the bash will be given a red rose each and they will be admitted free.

The tickets are priced at Rs 200/= per head.

The funds collected from this project will be utilised for the welfare of the less-fortunate. 

'Valentine Romance' at the 'Garage', Le Kandyan

There will be a special live Band, "R&T with Spirit" in action and DJ'S Vino and Annie will also be performing at the event. 

Le Garage Manager Rushdi Raham says that romantic couples can feel the real atmosphere of Valentine at the discotheque with 'Taj Mahal' concept. 

The 'longest kiss', 'most romantic couple', 'matching the underwears', selecting the Queen are some of the attractions billed for the night.

In addition to this, for the first time in Kandy 'Masters dot com' Internet company will be based at the 'Garage' to provide free career guidance and love games.

Ladies will get a free rose and a glass of wine and gents will get a heart shaped chocolates and a Valentine card at the entrance.

There will be a special 'Candle lit dinner' at the Restaurant and the tickets are prized at1000/- net per person.' Raham added.

Ends
 

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