{"id":8142,"date":"2012-07-16T22:50:42","date_gmt":"2012-07-17T02:50:42","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/dbsjeyaraj.com\/dbsj\/?p=8142"},"modified":"2012-07-16T22:50:42","modified_gmt":"2012-07-17T02:50:42","slug":"natmo-2012-modifying-traditional-dances-to-suit-modern-tastes","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dbsjeyaraj.com\/dbsj\/?p=8142","title":{"rendered":"NATMO 2012: Modifying Traditional Dances to Suit Modern Tastes"},"content":{"rendered":"

by Thulasi Muttulingam<\/strong><\/p>\n

A<\/strong> name to look out for when it comes to recreating and renewing the traditional dance forms of Sri Lanka is Rangika Jeewantha. Or else the institute that is synonymous with his name \u2013 The Rivega Dance Studio.<\/p>\n

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pic by: Tharaka Basnayake<\/p><\/div>\n

They are an up and coming troupe who have been on the scene for a few years now; people who have seen them all praise the vibrancy and creative ingenuity of these relatively new faces of traditional dance.
\n
\nThe troupe leader and founder Rangika was hooked on dancing, especially traditional dancing from the age of six. A graduate of the University of the Visual and Performing Arts, he also spent several years learning modern dance forms at the Royal Nelung Arts Center. As such he is one of the very few artistes of Sri Lanka who can claim to be a proficient dancer of both kandyan dance as well as western classical ballet.<\/p>\n

He puts his knowledge to good use in combining the old and the new. He calls this marriage of tradition with modernity that has become his specialty, \u2018fusion\u2019 dance. This along with his intrinsic creativity in fashion designing and choreography usually means that any show he puts on is a feast to the senses in multiple ways. Natmo 2012, his latest production is no different.<\/p>\n

Natmo 2012<\/strong><\/p>\n

A collaboration between the Royal Nelung Center of Rangika\u2019s guru Niloufer Pieris and his Rivega Dance Studio, Natmo 2012 is a celebration of Sri Lanka\u2019s traditional dances, music and songs \u2013except that they reflect the modern rather than the ancient face of Sri Lanka.<\/p>\n

In the midst of a traditional folk song came a solo violin recital \u2013 of Michael Jackson\u2019s \u2018Smooth Criminal.\u2019 It was so smoothly worked in that it seemed in no way out of the ordinary.
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\nhis reviewer had to force herself to stop tapping her feet and clapping her hands in time to the beat to identify what was happening \u2013 unlike the rest of the audience who were swept along, uncaring of how or why. I had to write this review though, so I didn\u2019t have that luxury. It was a struggle to get my brain to function every so often to make mental as well as physical notes of the technical details; it wanted to just enjoy the performance. Thus, Natmo 2012 also caused a war between the right and left sides of my brain. Michael Jackson in the middle of a soulful folk ballad accompanied by a traditional drums set? It worked though.<\/p>\n

For the contemporary Si Lankans sitting in the audience, the music and dance offered did not showcase only the fossilized remains of their ancestor\u2019s art; it was the living, breathing evolution of what they themselves are now \u2013 an amalgamation of traditional as well as western influences. For all the modernity and contemporaneity though, still uniquely Sri Lankan.<\/p>\n

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Evolving Tradition to Suit Modern Tastes<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cModern audiences don\u2019t always react well to completely traditional dances\u201d says Rangika. \u201cMany of them might not understand what is happening on stage as it was evolved by their ancestors to portray something they can no longer relate to.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat is why I believe in evolving traditional dances to suit modern tastes. It is essential that the audiences be able to relate to what they are seeing.\u201d<\/p>\n

The first piece in the production is titled Nil Manel; lithe female dancers, as delicate as the flower they portrayed, brought Sri Lanka\u2019s National Flower to life on stage.<\/p>\n

The second item, by an all male ensemble is apparently a celebration of the four classical dances of Kandy. New innovations in costumes saw them wearing skin coloured body suits under their minimal but colourful and highly decorated garbs of outer wear.<\/p>\n

That along with the elaborate headdresses lent them an aura of mystique and grandeur, which their energetic dance enhanced. To a fanciful imagination, they evoked at times images of Red Indian Chiefs, and at other times, the Hindu God Skanda.<\/p>\n

The programme consists of 12 items in total, each one unique, colourful and graceful. Interspersed with the dances were performances of folk songs and band performances of percussion as well as violin, guitar and flute.<\/p>\n

Rivega had teamed up with other artistes such as Shamila Dadhiwala, a singer who rendered rare and almost lost folk Sinhala folk songs as well as the percussion troupe of Sachinta de Silva. As was to be expected, most of the drumming was on traditional drums, but in keeping with the tone of the evening, there were many innovative beats and sounds. They even had a beatboxer, Thimira Varnaka, whose energetic rendition of percussion music with his lips was a big hit with the audience.<\/p>\n

Practice for Perfection<\/strong><\/p>\n

Music for the evening was composed by Nadika Weligodapola. In keeping with the performances, the music too was a symphony of the old and the new. After trying to identify for a while what was ancient, what was old and what was modern among the various background musical compositions, the reviewer gave up trying and just went with the flow. That was what the music ultimately was about anyway. The deeply familiar of both the old and the new. Whether it set one\u2019s foot tapping, blood thrumming or eyes glazing in mellow tranquility, it felt just right \u2013 like an old and comfortable friend, who also has the ability to surprise and delight.<\/p>\n

\u201cNadika and I worked on the music for over a year, working and reworking it again and again,\u201d says Rangika. That kind of attention to detail and insistence on perfection brings its own results and it showed.<\/p>\n

Rangika who was primarily involved with the choreography and the training of his troupe and students, has reserved only one dance item for himself. Titled Tala and Rupa, it showcases the complicity between rhythm and form (image). Portrayed innovatively by a pair of male and female dancers (Rangika and his wife Manohari), the dance showcases rhythm and form as two lovers who complement each other effortlessly.<\/p>\n

\u201cNattumo means \u2018Let\u2019s dance,\u2019 and that was the inspiration for the event title, Natmo\u201d says Rangika. <\/p>\n

\u201cI staged Natmo 2010 two years ago, where I explored a completely different set of ideas and almost immediately started working on Natmo 2012. \u201c<\/p>\n

Help the Artistes<\/strong><\/p>\n

Adds Rangika, \u201cIt has been a long journey filled with many disappointments. Sponsorship for young artistes is almost impossible to find. I am grateful to Niloufer Pieris and her Royal Nelung Center for all their support.<\/p>\n

If I had a message, it would be that art and culture lovers out there should seek to help and support dedicated but struggling artistes. We can\u2019t survive without such help and appreciation.\u201d<\/p>\n

Despite the financial constraints, he and his troupe also hope to tour the country soon with Natmo 2012, which premiered at the Lionel Wendt last Friday.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe hope to cover at least certain key areas such as Kandy, Galle and Jaffna. People of those areas don\u2019t often get to see performances like ours live so we want to take it to them. I want to motivate and influence the younger generations to value our traditional arts in order to keep them alive.\u201d courtesy: Ceylon Today<\/em><\/p>\n

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by Thulasi Muttulingam A name to look out for when it comes to recreating and renewing the traditional dance forms of Sri Lanka is Rangika Jeewantha. Or else the institute that is synonymous with his name \u2013 The Rivega Dance Studio. They are an up and coming troupe who have been on the scene for …<\/p>\n

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