Arts
|
|
|||
| Dancing
the years away Celebrating her 25th year in the field, the Deanna School of Dancing will stage The Sleeping Beauty at the BMICH on July 23 and 24. Founded in 1980, the school was established to advance the performing arts of the country and give young students professional guidance in ballet. Speaking to Deanna, it was clear that the road to success hasn’t been all that smooth. “I had a very conservative father and so it was my mother who supported my love for ballet and enabled me to continue studying it,” she said, adding that her first teacher was Yvonne Bradley, a British ballet instructress who she danced under, since she was two and a half years of age. “Though ballet for girls was popular during the late ’40s, all types of Western dancing were suddenly stopped with the political changes during that time, and a foreign examiner finally returned to Sri Lanka only after a lapse of about 20 years,” she added. She also went on to study ballet under Ruth French, during her stay in London. Initially beginning her teaching career at the age of 18, Deanna admits it was not that successful, the reason being the lack of professional training. “And so, I went back to London and underwent further training, following many teacher training courses,” she said. Trained by the Royal Academy of Dancing in the UK, she is a registered teacher of the Academy. Deanna’s teaching career advanced as she taught ballet in England for over ten years, with almost 40 students under her. “During my teaching career in England, one girl in my school got accepted to the Central Ballet of London and this gave my confidence a tremendous boost,” she added. Returning to Sri Lanka and opening her own school in 1980, Deanna travelled to England almost every year, adding more and more professionalism to the school. “By going to England so often and following the latest trends in international ballet, I try my best to bring my students on par with students in other countries where ballet is of a greater level.” With her students generally coming to her at the tender age of two and a half years, Deanna says that patience is the key to handling them. “Some of my youngest beginners at the moment are third generation students, with their mothers and grandmothers also being my students!” Building the school’s own studio in 1999, The Deanna School of Dancing at present, has over 450 students. Having a reputation of being a very “friendly” school, competition between the students is discouraged. Almost
all 450 students are in the cast of Sleeping Beauty. “I was
just a toddler when I started ballet and have continued to study
it under the guidance of Aunty Deanna. I have been involved with
Aladdin, Beauty and the Beast, Swan Princess, Nut Cracker and a
few more, and hard work and commitment have been the key to the
success of the performances,” says Ayumi Rathnakumara (17),
who plays the part of the Sleeping Beauty. A feature of the show will be that past students studying abroad have actually flown into the country just to take part. Dhehara Senaratne (24), joined the Deanna School of Dancing when she was just two and half years old and continued dancing till she was about nineteen. Joining the National Theatre Ballet School to study performing arts, and later on the Dance Factory, both in Melbourne, she now teaches dance in Melbourne and decided to come to Sri Lanka just to be a part of the 25- year celebrations of the school. “It’s
been really fun to come back and be able to dance with a few of
my old friends. One thing I’ve learned at this school is to
be able to work together with so many types of people and have respect
for my peers.” “Dancing can be taken as fun, but students should always keep in mind that it is a combination of fun and discipline. Ballet gives them self confidence and helps them with their poise, so it’s an art that kids should be encouraged to learn,” says Deanna, adding that she plans to build another studio, which will enable them to branch out to other areas such as drama and music, and stage musicals. And how long will she continue? “I’ll be teaching dancing for as long as I can. After all, we pass through this life but once, and I want to impart my knowledge to as many students as possible,” she says with a smile. Indu’s
back with a real change Unfortunately his henchmen have ulterior motives. Sirisena Sumanadasa played by Abbasali Rozais is all out to help his nephew Mohan, played by Anushan Selvarajah who is determined to get his father-in-law elected to Parliament. Rasika, the daughter of Mr. Gajasiri played by Sanjana Selvarajah is married to Mohan and is the newly elected president of the WLF (not the the Wild Life Front but the Woman’s Liberation Front) the strongest feminist group in Asia.Niromi Nagasena played by Michelle Herft, the immediate past president of WLF appears on the scene heading the play in a different direction. Niromi takes action to abolish the Ministry of Men’s Affairs. Amidst all this confusion Gajasiri meets Niromi and falls in love with her and decides to support their campaign. The
play is enlivened by Cedrica James, an investigative journalist
played by Nelum Goonatileke, Carolis the faithful servant played
by Pierre Samarasinghe and Seshandri de Silva who plays Susan the
secretary. Meanwhile Gajasiri’s wife, Kusuma played by Sanwada
Abeysirigunawardana who left to Dubai to earn quick money but deserted
Gajasiri and daughter Rasika 17 years ago pops back setting the
scene for more laughter. The
pola goes from pavement to platform The Kala Pola which will mark its 13th year, has become a platform for budding and veteran artists to display both modern and contemporary art in a very free and flexible atmosphere. The Slave Island Railway Station restored to its colonial splendour thanks to John Keells Holdings is the new venue for Kala Pola. Speaking at a news conference last week Sumithra Gunasekera, Director, John Keells Holdings said the Slave Island Railway Station has been refurbished and maintained by the company as part of its social services projects. “The design of the station is such that it can accommodate a large number of artists and their work,” he added, explaining that the station itself, the adjoining pavements and the car park opposite Elephant House will showcase this event. Mr. Gunasekera added that Kala Pola fans can experience lot of excitement with its ‘carnival flavour’ this year. Chairman of the George Keyt Foundation, Cedric de Silva traced Kala Pola’s success story. “From 30 participants at its maiden Kala Pola in 1993, the number of participants has soared up to nearly 400 and at the last fair, the sale of exhibits reached around Rs. five million. This time we can expect even more. With its new venue, both participants and art lovers are eagerly awaiting this year’s Kala Pola.” Kala Pola opens doors for interaction, he added. “Through Kala Pola we attempt to convey the message ‘opportunity for art’, which means exposure and sharing of talent.” Unlike in a gallery, where only few have access to view and exhibit, at Kala Pola a large number of artists and potential buyers have an opportunity to display, and buy freely. Further, participants can exhibit any number of works. Proceeds of the Kala Pola will be exclusively for the benefit of the participants and the George Keyt Foundation charges absolutely no fee. Indika Baduge from Tangalle having taken part in many events of the George Keyt Foundation, is looking forward to this year’s Kala Pola. Although Indika lost all his paintings as a result of his gallery in Tangalle being washed away in the tsunami, his ‘artistic spirits’ are still high. Mahinda Karunaratne, an artist and writer, sees Kala Pola as a ‘liberal platform’ for ‘young blood’ and professionals alike. “What is special about Kala Pola is that no rules are imposed on artists and we are free to express any theme on any medium.” Also affected by the tsunami, losing all his precious work at his gallery in Hikkaduwa, Mahinda is nevertheless enthusiastic about the upcoming Kala Pola. With about 20 exhibits, oil on canvas, acrylic on paper and sculptures, Merina Ramani Silva, a seasoned participant of Kala Pola from its inception, is also eagerly waiting for Kala Pola. Vaughan’s
popular song cycle by Lankan duo In his "Songs of Travel", Vaughan-Williams has set a series of poems by R.L. Stevenson to music. This song cycle has become popular and is standard repertoire of many well-known singers like Bryn Terfel etc. Most of the songs take the first steps to the idiom Vaughan-Williams is known for. It consists of nine songs:- 1. The Vagabond 2. Let Beauty Awake. 3. The Roadside Fire 4. Youth And Love 5. In Dreams 6. The Infinite Shining Heavens 7. Whither Must I Wander 8. Bright Is The Ring Of Words 9. I Have Trod The Upward And The Downward Slope. The rest of the programme includes well-loved arias by Handel from "Messiah" and "Xerxes", and by Faure, Wagner and Donizetti sung by Dhilan accompanied by Caroline, who is a soloist in her own right and will perform works by Chopin, Schubert, Debussy, Liszt and Mendelssohn on the piano. The programme will end with Adam's ever popular, "Holy City". Dhilan
Gnanadurai, whom many in Sri Lanka would have heard before, is a
product of St. Thomas' College, Mt. Lavinia. While in this country
he became an Associate of the Trinity College of Music in singing,
piano and violin. He
is at present in his second year of a four-year scholarship for
a Bachelor's Degree in Music at the Guildhall School of Music and
Drama (London), training under one of the world's most distinguished
singing teachers, Rudolf Piernay. Appointed
as the Geoffrey Parsons Junior Fellow at the Royal College of Music
for 2000-2002, she now works regularly at three London conservatoires
and is on the staff as a vocal coach at the Guildhall School of
Music. She has performed across the world and at the Royal Festival
Hall, Wigmore Hall, Martin-in-the-Fields, St. Hohn's Smith Square
and Fairfield Halls. -Dr. Lalith Perera |
||||
Copyright © 2001 Wijeya Newspapers
Ltd. All rights reserved. |
