An Evening of Dance..........!

The National Council for Mental Health, Sahanaya will present “An Evening of Dance” on Thursday, August 30 at the Lionel Wendt, featuring well known dancer Khema. This is just one in a series of events by Sahanaya to raise funds for mental healthcare.

In ‘An Evening of Dance’ Khema will showcase Kandyan, Low Country and Sabaragamuwa dances. The programme will also include performances by other well known artistes such as Vidyaratna Fernando, Herbert Dayaseela, Gunaratna Banda, Herath Banda and Shirani Jayanthimala.

Dance sequences include the Gahaka Vannama (a rhythmic dance to the sound of conch shells), the Kohomba Hella (an excerpt from a historic Kandyan dance ritual), the Gayanaya (a series of chants), the Kaperi Kolama (an adaptation of a celebrated Kolam dance), and the Thala Rata (Kandyan and Sabaragamuwa ritual). In addition, there are dances based on Low Country traditions such as Maruwa saha Maru Achchi and Kalu Yaka, which are healing rituals handed down from generation to generation, as well as traditional Low Country dance rituals such as Mathra Paha and Saudama, Devol, Biso Khapa and Kumara Pelapaliya.

Khema began her dance career at an early age under Chitrasena and Vajira, first as a student and then as a member of their dance company. She progressed to a career of her own under the guidance of the late gurus Ransiri Thelkumudu, Imbuldeniya and K.S. Fernando, Welabadage and Herath Banda.

Although her forte is the traditional dance forms of Sri Lanka, Khema has also been exposed to western dance and has experimented successfully in combining these two forms of dance to produce a more contemporary style of her own.