Stepping into the season with a dance and a song
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Pix by M.A. Pushpa Kumara
By Shannon Salgadoe
The Christmas season starts early for Kanthi Ranchigoda and her students from Dance Works Centre as they present a festive performance at the Lionel Wendt later this week.
Titled ’Tis the Season, the show is the dance school’s first performance in four years due to the pandemic and subsequent economic crisis and will give the audience a taste of that most wonderful time of the year that can be enjoyed by young and old alike. “I’ve had two Christmas shows earlier but this is different because it is more than just dance items,” says Kanthi. “I will be joining up with Soundarie David Rodrigo and the Soul Sounds Academy.”
Expect a toe-tapping evening with dance items in various styles such as ballet, freestyle, tap, jazz, hip hop, contemporary and more, plus the chance to hear the Soul Sounds Academy Choir, fresh from their gold medal-win in Bali at the International Choir Festival.
“I have known Aunty Kanthi for a long time and we have always spoken of doing something together. We just thought that having live singing to her well choreographed dancing would certainly be something special,” Soundarie David, Director of Soul Sounds said.
The students of the Dance Works Centre range in age from three to 26 with quite a few having been with the school for many years.
“This concert is definitely different to the previous ones because we’re doing something after four years. It also gave us the opportunity to get back together,” says Shenia Wijetunge, who has been dancing with Kanthi for 20 years now.
Shenara Fernando, 19, a student since 2015, echoes the friendship among them, saying, “this year I got closer to most of the people here. It’s like a family and it’s really nice.”
Said Shevini Gunesekera who has been with the school for a little over a decade, “Aunty Kanthi has also allowed us to be collaborative in this concert. We got to express what we wanted to do and to explore different styles.”
‘Tis the Season’ will be on October 20 and 21 at the Lionel Wendt Theatre. Tickets priced at Rs 5000, Rs 4000,
Rs 3000, Rs 2000, and Rs 1500 (Balcony) can be purchased at 70A, Lauries Road, Colombo 04.
Contact 077 633 0228 for more information.
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