Discovering Japan... in Sri Lanka
RICH CULTURAL HERITAGE:
Bonsai on display
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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.
A TASTE OF JAPAN: Demonstrating the art of making Japanese tea
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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
DIFFERENT STYLES OF DANCE: A scene from the show at
Lionel Wendt held during February.
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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. |