Naomi
dances ‘With My Feet’
Naomi Rajaratnam, well-known and most respected dance savant, will
be presenting a show, celebrating her decades in dance on the September
16 and 18 at 7.30 pm at the Bishop’s College Auditorium.
Even
though the show is a compendium comprising highlights of all Naomi's
famous ‘With My Feet’ shows to date, it also features
some new dance numbers and an energy that transcends previous shows
to take on a life of its own.
This
show, which is rife with symbolism, mixes the portrait of old elegance
with intricate choreography. It further adds symbolism by the use
of black and white exclusively throughout the first half of the
show. Resurfacing all the joys of extravagant dance numbers, the
first half of the show comprises old favourites and new choreographies
the like of Alpha, Olympic Dream, Ballroom Fantasy, Blue Danube,
Trio Tango, Fusion, Toy Story, Out Of Africa, Hot Samba, Black Orchid
and Streets of Fire.
In
the second half, the audience gets a surprise as the colour is exhibited
to an impressive display. Style also merges with form and costume
to give spectators a riot of neo style that they have seldom witnessed
before.
Performing
numbers that are radically different from the strict western style
of Latin American and Ballroom, these dance numbers are new and
fresh and include such curiosities as the Indian ‘Bhangra’,
which is a whimsical take on Bollywood choreographed by Gayan and
introduced for the first time at this show. The fermented mixture
of dance and colour then mixes and churns, rising to a crescendo
from items like starting something, Vogue, Big spender, Colours
of Summer, imagine, Yeah and Kiss Me, to overpowering finale of
Proud Mary.
As
described, this show is a fusion of Latin American, Ballroom, Contemporary,
Jazz Oriental, Bollywood and Freestyle. The show brings together
the best of decades of dance, with diverse forms of dance in combination
with spectacular choreography reminiscent of big dance numbers of
the 1950s musicals.
In
addition, the sets are elaborately and lovingly created to mimic
fantastic cityscapes while costumes are also designed to further
enhance the audience's emotional connection to the dance number
by capturing the era of the subjects.
The
driving force behind the project is Naomi Rajaratnam - a dedicated
and enthusiastic dance artist. She has been at the forefront of
Sri Lankan dance for well over 30 years, and, in that time she has
been a mentor and a guide for many of Sri Lanka's most talented
and accomplished dancers.
Tickets
and box plan for this event will be available from September 5 at
Biship's College Auditorium, priced at Rs. 250/-, 600/-, 800/- and
1000/-.
This dance extravaganza is sponsored by Milgro, Singer, Necto and
Samayawardhana Printers and the proceeds of this show will be donated
to the Dev Siri Sevana Elders' Home in Welisara.
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