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| Thursday, 9 December 2004 |
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Leningrad Ballet, a perpetual fairy tale The World of arts by Gwen Herat
Leningrad Ballet has continued to ascend throughout the tumult of living experience. There are many enduring reasons for its progress, the main reason being that Russians are born dancers. Dancing is in their blood. The wholesome temperament and spirit keeps it alive and bubbling. Though limitations in physical power are transcended, nothing can hold back its magic. When all brilliant choreographers are gathered to cultivate and nurture this fine art, the results are spectacular. We all know that the greatest and immortal dancers have emerged or had their roots in Russia and they were the country's pride. They have transformed ballet to what it is today. The Leningrad Ballet stands as an epitome to its dancers. Its school is considered as the world's foremost ballet school. The Leningrad Ballet school dates back to 1736. With all virtuoso dancers passing through its portals, Ballet spread far and wide across the universe reaching dizzy heights.
When Agrippina Vaganova became the school's director in 1934, the school had reached its peak as a result of her tireless teaching systems which became obligatory for all ballet education in the then USSR (now Russia) and in many Eastern bloc countries. The school was named after her in 1957 and later taken over by choreographer Sergeyev. Contrary to the belief that Russian ballet has no syllabus, the Agrippina Vaganova choreographic Academy has a full 8-years curriculum on dance and general education to train dancers. They are excellently trained and disciplined. The Academy is the same Leningrad Kirov Academy School in Rossi Street. This same Imperial school at the start have produced great classical dancers for well over 250 years. Changes that followed were a gentle smile, grace, poise and these changes were made to remove the frozen looks that Ballerinas of yester-years carried on stage. Changes in physical appearance too were noticed where the females were seen slimmer, less in weight, svelt with longer limbs and stretched necks. If these characteristics were found on dancers, the choreographers developed on them until they ended on stage with ethereal delicate beauty. Even male dancers were developing their personalities and physiques that seemed magnificent. They adopted sleek long-hair with sensitive brows, smiling eyes and full lips. This sudden exuberance of the male dancer had its stamp in the signature of Rudolf Nureyev who focused the strong virile personality of the male dancer by placing him on centre stage, a hitherto undone thing. With his Kirov background and determination to upstage the male dancer, the stage was set. The male dancer had arrived and took centre stage much to the disillusion of the lead ballerina who had occupied it far too long. It had to be a Russian to take this bold step and by creating this vibrant state, Nureyev was dubbed as the most beautiful man in the world. However, it was a case of built-up personality. With these changes in Leningrad Ballet, generations of pupils have worn out countless pairs of shoes on the smooth floors and continue the process even in higher gloss the same creative evolution which is manifest with joy and pride of those who cross these floors. Presently, elders bring their grand children to dance the same steps and movements they had dancer before and strided across the barre. While the young dance, they sit and recall the joyous days and at the growing power of ballet today from where it had been. Down the generations, nothing has changed. The spirit is there in a big way. So are the countless memories and future hopes entwined in the labyrinthine corridors of this historic monument that hold nostalgic enchantment which is like a heady perfume. the students are lost among the rambling floors encrusted with studios and practice rooms. So many inlets, so many doors and corners that appear a veritable haze. In this hallowed silent building full of whispers that echo and reverberate the hushed voices of the young half-drowned in music. It is like entering a vision found only in a fairy tale with pretty little girls and boys who are polite and graceful, welcoming parents, teachers and guests with grace and dignity. The youngsters apparently feel the hallowed presence of this art. They are aware that all the great dancers were like them when they began their road to success. This is where Legat turned his fiddle, where Fokine fretted when Petipareigned supreme, where Nijinsky first felt the rapture of his feline talent, where Pavlova rose to grace and Karanavina first captivated the critics and later from where Rudolf Nureyev defected to take the ballet world by storm in the West and so on... So, the young are hopeful and aware of the ghosts of the mighty who walk corridors. They are equally impressed and maintain the high standard of Leningrad ballet and the hallmark grace of the Agrippina Vaganova Choreographic Academy and wait eagerly for their call to be supreme one day and magnificient like their predecessors. In Leningrad, ballet lives and live immortally with the excellent touch of perfect Russian stature and magnitude and splendour as a citadel of great learning. Stars of 70 in Kandy The much loved musical show 'Star of 70s" will be in Kandy on December 18. St. Anthony's College Hall starting at 6.30 p.m. St. Anthony's College Kandy Old Boys Association will host this show which is presented by Annesley Malawana.
A few seasonal songs will be sung, said Annesley while Dharmaratne Brothers will sing their all time hit song "Kalakatapera E-Bethleheme". Anil Bhareti will sing "Bethlehem Pure" in addition to his other hits. Other artistes who will be performing will be, Indrani Perera of Three Sisters, Priya Peiris of La-Bambas, Errol Fernando of Los-Caballeros, Joe B. Perera of Meemasso, Merril Fernando of Amigos Romanticas, Lankika & Shanaka Perera of Golden Chimes & Rajiv Sebastian. There will also be two guest artistes of the 50s era. Namely Vincent de Paul Pieris who will sing his all time hit songs like "Siripade", "Bycicale" and Christopher Paul who will sing "Ha Mal Pipenne", "Rosa Malak" and many more. World renowned Jazz Fusion performance at the Colombo Plaza After London, Paris and Brussels it will be Colombo's turn to bear witness to the internationally renowned performance of Jazz Fusion with Gerard Machado of Jazz network and Suma Sudhindra of Megha. This world class band will be performing at the Colombo Plaza from December 9 to 12. Gerard has performed at Jazz Yatra which is the most important Jazz festival in the region sharing the platform with some of the contemporary greats of the international jazz scene, including Radha Thomas. Suma is an accomplished veena exponent who has performed to considerable critical acclaim in London, Paris and Brussels as well as in the USA. Together they create a magical fusion of music that has chartered new frontiers, blending the classical background and training of Suma with Gerald's eclectic jazz style, modeled on Herbie Hancock, Miles Davis and the great John Coltrane. Sanniyakuma or Eighteen Sanni Ritual Sanniyakuma (Eighteen Sanni) will take place at Ruhunu Campus on 10th December, 2004 from 9.00 p.m. In Sri Lanka, people who live in different parts of the country perform a variety of rites and rituals to succeed in encountering problems of day-to-day life. Though there are many rituals; their desired effects is the same. These rituals could be divided into three categories: 1. The rituals for gods (Madu - Throththra) 2. The rituals for demons (Thovil) 3. The rituals for planetary deities (Bali) Thovil is performed to recover from maladies supposedly caused by demons and malevolent spirits. The Sinhalese perform Thovil, in the form of devil dancing ceremonies, among them is the Thovil Sanniyakuma, one of the most significant rituals for demons held in low-country dance form. It is performed to banish the train of demons with leadership from the demon of Sanni. Thovil Sanniyakuma is a ritual that contains a lot of drama. This personification of diseases (eighteen in number) or Sanniyakuma reveals the myth of the Sanni demons and their assistants, who were responsible for spreading the epidemic called Janapada Roga in the township of Visala during the time of the Buddha. The epidemic was eradicated by the intervention of the Buddha. There in another legend known as "Danudiyage Kathawa" (The story about Danudiya). It is popularly believed that the demon Daha-Ata-Sanni Yaka assumed 18 manifestations and each of them is believed to cause an illness. The characteristic and nature of these Sannis typify the illness. All of them can be grouped under three categories: Air, Bile and Phlegm (Va, Pith, Sem) - which according to ayurveda - the balance between them maintains good health and the imbalance leads to illness. Originally there have been only 18 Sannis but the names vary from province to province. Having completed the preliminary arrangements for the Sanniyakuma ritual, the performers prepare themselves to appear before the patient. Dressed in clean white clothes, the patient is accompanied by the exorcist. An oil lamp is lit and hung at the Suniyam Veediya before that drummers play Magul Bera or the auspicious drum beat. This is begun at 6.00 p.m. Then the performers sing verses in adoration of the Buddha, Dhamma and Sanga (Triple Gem) as well as other deities. It is at this point, protection and blessings are asked. |
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Produced by Lake House |
In 1997 Annesley brought back the members of the then famous harmony
groups together for the first time on to one stage after 30 years. The
show became an instant hit and was held many times in Colombo and
outstations like Galle, Negombo, Ratnapura and Kandy.
