With his combination of Kandyan dancing, Classical ballet and Angampora, Kapila Palihawadana has created a new style of dance here in Sri Lanka. And come August he will be bringing back his successful production, Frangipani on the boards.
However this time the reason for staging the production is quite different. As it is to open up his dance academy nATANDA Dance Theatre to those interested in being part of it by hosting workshops for dance and in particular the style of dance conducted by nATANDA.
The performance in itself, will be about the araliya flower highlighting three main aspects that of the strength, weakness and mildness of the flower which has deep rooted connections to Sri Lankan culture.
Speaking to two of the dancers in the group, Dakshika Bandara (22) and Neelika Madhushani (21)they said they have been dancing from their school days and they got a good response from the last performance. “Dance is our career,” they both said, adding “In terms of our group, our experience has shown us that we can change the notion of dancing being tough as a career.”
“I have been with Kapila for the last five years,” said Malith Upendra (24) of being with nATANDA. “This is our second experimental performance which will be divided into ten main scenes,” he says of the performance. What will be different about Frangipani this time around is that they will be doing this for school leavers and those interested in joining nATANDA, he explains. “A discussion will follow after the performance, for the audience to ask questions,” says Malith adding that what will follow will be a dance workshop which will mainly be for school children and school leavers, on September 6, 2009 at the Goethe Institut from 10am to 2pm and will be free of charge.
“We want this idea to go across to school principals so they can promote the idea to schools,” Malith says, adding, “We would also like to change the attitude people have towards dance and give them as much knowledge as we can on this art form.” He also went on to explain that they want to promote this dance form to school children as they are the next generation and they are the ones to carry this forward.
Ruchira Kolamba Arachchi (26) has been dancing with nATANDA for the last six years and it is a past time for him. Being a science graduate and a teacher of science dancing was something completely new to this young man and he goes on to state, “When I joined Kapila, I didn’t have a clue about dance.” He and Malith will be performing a few solos in Frangipani. He is so taken up by his hobby that once he is done teaching, he has dance classes and helps nATANDA when they need to narrow down next concepts and themes for their productions.
A limited amount of tickets will be sold for Frangipani and will go on boards at the John de Silva Theatre on August 10 at 6.30pm. Tickets are priced at Rs. 800.However, those interested in dance and interested in participating in the nATANDA Dance Theatre’s dance workshops will be able to walk in without purchasing a ticket and enjoy the performance with prior confirmation.
Kapila wished to thank the Goethe Institut for all the help rendered and also thank the main sponsor for Frangipani, the Prince Claus Fund. For further details please contact Malith on 072 803 6315. |
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