Discovering Japan... in Sri Lanka

ASIAN CULTURE: Japan has always been at the forefront for its rich cultural heritage and advance in technology. As years pass us by, people around the globe have been fascinated by Japan's unique traditions and achievements.

The 'Japanese Cultural Exhibition' organised by the Lanka Japan Friendship Society and the Embassy of Japan in collaboration with the Japanese Solidarity Association gave the locals a taste of the Japanese flavour from April 20 to 22 at the Art Gallery and the John de Silva Theatre.

Ikebana, Bonsai, Origami, demonstrations of hand painting on ceramics, Kimono wearing, tea ceremony, Japanese Women's Chorus, Aikido (Japanese marital arts) and the Okinawa Band were presented at this event.

A cultural exchange programme between the Japanese school in Colombo and Royal College using Japanese traditional toys was also presented. The goal of this exhibition was to promote cultural and friendly relations between Japan and Sri Lanka.

The 'Japanese Cultural Exhibition' was opened in the presence of Kiyoshi Araki, Ambassador of Japan.

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nATANDA: Rare fusion of agility, grace and beauty

DANCE: Due to the enormous request and fabulous reviews the 'nATANDA Dance Theatre of Sri Lanka' has decided to show their modern dance performance MODABORN under Choreography of Kapila Palihawadana again at the Barefoot Gallery on May 8 at 8 pm.

nATANDA is a bold and energetic company, pushing the boundaries of dance and theatre in Sri Lanka. It concentrates on bridging the cultural diversity found in our country and transforming different areas of tradition into contemporary dance forms, dance theatre, and modern dance. It produces innovative and challenging work, unlike any other in the country.

MODABORN does not imitate or copy styles to fuse East and West, but it uses these different influences to question the present dance culture. The performance is divided into two sections.

The first is an entertaining showcase, the kind that Sri Lankan audience may be more accustomed to. It is colourful and fast, bodies are moving quickly and fluently, and the beauty of this 12 girl and six boy shows is at its full extent.

The 5 to 8 minutes long single, couple or group dance items draw fantastic pictures of love and jealousy, dignity and doubt, conformance and confrontation on the stage. It is what you would call beautiful Sri Lankan dance at its best.

In the second section the troupe truly explores, which is what makes nATANDA so different from conventional dance performances.

It is dance that is an expression of the self, and its states of being. The overall topic of this part is the cake, as an essence of lives and the celebrations of its crucial moments like birth, wedding or death.

The diversity of movements and choreographically ideas are much broader now in order to increase the possibility of dance expressions. Routines and mechanised movements are being deconstructed as well as the frozen smile on dancer's face, which is paid to entertain.

When nice dance steps are suddenly interrupted or some dancers seem to forget they are on stage, and start laughing, crying or fighting, you feel the conjoint aspiration of prettiness between dancers and audience is carried ad absurdum.

Instead of this it is going deeper into role behaviours, fears and secret longings, what makes it dangerous but irresistible. The dance does not try to express a feeling, relate a story or give a message. It provokes associations.

But no idea remains too long, each interpretation clashes with the next. It leads you in a carrousel of emotions, like a movie in fast motion. And after a while you will realise that the story is only happening in the mind of the observer.