Dancing their way onto the world stage
View(s):By Shanali Fernando
Team Danceworld came home with three Awards of Excellence in all three categories they competed in: Junior modern/contemporary (8 – 12 years), Adult contemporary (16 + years) and Adult variety (fusion) – (Mixed age group) scoring an impressive tally of between 90 – 100 points.
Sureka sat down with The Sunday Times last week to talk about the experience at Danceworld, the school she founded that is a home away from home. DWS is about instilling in each dancer a sense of self-confidence, and cultivating each student’s unique talents and creativity while nurturing their enthusiasm for dance, she says.
Opportunity of a lifetime: Team Danceworld performing at Universal Studios, California
After many years of hard work, passion and dedication, Sureka decided to take the bold step of enlisting for Dance Excellence, an International Festival for Young Dancers where studios are selected from 50 American states and over 26 countries from around the world to take part in classes, workshops and to perform before International Performance Boards.
“This is our third time participating in this event and just like the times before or even more now, it has been an overwhelming experience for these young talented girls.”
Vihani Tennekoon: Selected to tour with Heart Global dance company
The Dance Excellence festival aims to bring together the finest young dancers globally and to inspire dancers and teachers to fulfil their artistic dreams through education and performance. The festival holds master classes and workshops in Ballet, Contemporary, Tap, Improvisation, Performance, Modern, Jazz, Auditioning, African, Voice, Funk, Musical theatre, and Hip-hop.
Sureka’s energetic group of 18 dancers between the ages of 8 and 23 had been preparing since September last year for Dance Excellence 2024. “From funding which was our biggest challenge to selecting the dances to make sure our choreography met international standards to visas, air tickets and costumes, the level of preparation that went into this was massive. And I couldn’t have done it without the support of my business partner Shaanee Deen Olegard, my dancers as well as their parents,” Sureka says.
Dancing with ‘Aunty Sureka’ for almost 20 years, Shyonie Kulathunga (23), the assistant instructor said that “this time was the best one so far” – “from bonding with the group to being able to grasp more through the perspective of an instructor to be able to assess myself in terms of making dancing my career.”
Senior dancer Vihani Tennekoon (21) has been selected to join Heart Global, the company founded by Bill & Robyn Brawley, on one of their Fall 2024 tours to Europe and Japan. Says Vihani, “The opportunity to experience dance with people who appreciate dance was amazing.”
Kenuli (14) and Kevisha (12) said that they learned a lot from this experience and it was a major confidence booster to have been able to perform at Universal Studios, California.
Prabodhini Weerasekara, whose daughter was part of the team spoke about how important it is for children to participate in activities such as dancing apart from studies.
Sharing some insights about the experience was the extremely chatty group of young performers including the youngest dancer Aayva (8 years), Rafi, Araiya, and Gabi (11) who said that they were shy and nervous at first but gained the confidence to dance in front of so many people. They have now made so many new friends from all over, places like Alaska, Montana, and Japan.
Looking forward to participating in DEX2026, they just can’t wait!
| The dancers Shyomie Kulatunga, Vihani Tennekoon, Alisha Balasubramaniam, Kenuli Karunanayake, Natasha Bakelmun, Yelinsa Udabage, Diya Dissanayake, Kevisha Bhaskaran, Kayah John, Kaelah John, Aarya Christopher, Ruvishka Gunaratne, Raffaella Anthony, Gabriella Anthony, Araiya Hirdaramani, Seri Manamperi, Tanishka Praveen and Aavya Hirdaramani
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