“Movement is natural, and if you can move, if you can walk, or anything remotely close to moving your body, that itself can be used in dance,” – says the energetic, agile and very talented young ballerina – Wendy Perera (21). Having returned to Sri Lanka after completing her Higher Education Diploma in Dance from the Lasalle College of the Arts in Singapore, Wendy wants to share and nurture a love for dance amongst children back home. The Mirror Magazine caught up with her recently.
How and when did your love affair with dance begin?
I first started dancing when I was only 5-years-old. My first teacher was Mrs. Hannelore Jayasundara, a professional dancer from Germany, who was qualified both as a nurse and as a Royal Academy of Dance (RAD) teacher. I danced with her for 10 years, and it was eventually she who really pushed me to take my dancing to the next level.
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| Wendy Perera |
I sat the RAD Primary Exam when I was just six-years-old, receiving probably the only Distinction for that category in the whole island at the time. As my teacher had to return to Germany for a few years, I started learning under Ms. Niloufer Pieris, who’s also an excellent teacher. I managed to complete all my graded examinations as well as the necessary vocational graded examinations to apply for teacher status.
What was it like to actually study dance at a Specialized School for Dance?
Soon after my A/L’s, I went to Lasalle College of the Arts in Singapore, to study dance full time. The programme was such that it was not just about learning, but rather the School was more like a Dance Company in itself, with professional dancing in performance, and education all rolled into one.
Dance Science for instance was an interesting subject, where we learnt about injuries, how to handle them and how our bodies work to do the unnatural things dancers tend to do. Dance History, Dance in Society, Cultural Dances Histories and Dance Critic Writing were some others, for all of which we had to do papers, research and exams. But the physical component of our education obviously took up the larger portion of our time and attention.
A typical day would begin with ballet class from 8 to 10am, contemporary dance from 10am to 2pm, an hour’s lunch break, two hours of theory and then back to choreography, improvisation, performance lab, repertoire and more intense dancing till about 6pm. I managed to complete 3 of the 4 years of the degree programme but, as I was quite unexpectedly accepted into the University of Colombo, I opted to keep my last year of dance on hold, graduate with a Higher Education Diploma in dance for now, and return home to pursue my higher studies.
So what plans now that you’re back?
Although dancing isn’t my only interest, it’s still my first love. As much as I miss dancing myself, I feel that teaching would be the next best thing. It’s so much easier to relate to a student and adapt when you know what is needed.
So now I feel I’m ready to start out on my own, as I’m qualified to teach. I will of course continue to learn and widen my knowledge, which is why I will also be doing the RAD registered course as well, so that in 2 years, I can send students who wish to take dance more seriously, for RAD exams as well.
For the time being though, I have started lessons for children between 4+ and 12 for the moment at the Division of Vocational Studies, Ladies College – Colombo. I feel that ballet is the main criteria, as this is a solid foundation to any type of dance style.
But every 4th week, the class will learn another genre, so that the children can truly learn to love dance as a whole, and discover their own unique style and ways of expression through movement.
To discover the dancer in you, contact her at wendymperera@yahoo.com.
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