A princess dances
The World of Arts by Gwen Herat
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THE SLEEPING BEAUTY: Natasha Jayasuriya as the Lila Fairy.
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DANCE: Dancing is one of the most essential arts and its custodians
are their survivors ever since dancing was known. It has occupied man
for thousands of years and some historians swear dancing to be older
than art. It is the basis of all arts and from it has emerged drama,
decor and music.
Historians have even traced it to pre-history. As compared to the
history of dance, ballet was still in the cradle and its story began in
1661 with the founding of Academie de la Dance by Loiuse XIV. Ballet can
do many things such as amuse, joy, sorrow and anger and convey their
passion to its maximum.
Some ballet experts deride Swan Lake and its kind just as some deride
The School for Scandal and Madam Butterfly. Ballet is so vibrant and
alive and is the only form of magic which has not lost its ancient power
in the process of spreading it around the world during the past
centuries which includes Sri Lanka.
So the story of dance is followed from its beginning with the Romans
and ancient Greeks through the Renaissance and Romantic Ballet to modern
dancing of the 21st century.
And of its products is Natasha Jayasuriya.
Not from a line of royalty, she dances with the aplomb of a right
royal princess found in a fairy tale. Blessed with a supple physique,
she is the driving force behind one of the few ballet academies in the
country. Petite Natasha, the younger daughter of Denna Jayasuriya has
groomed, nurtured and put her on a solid track.
This brilliant student could pirouette on her toes long before she
could walk. With so much of dancing and music around in her childhood,
she was a 'natural' awaiting to be picked. She would watch and imitate
her equally talented, older sister, Natalie and waltzed her way to the
top, not surprising to her mother.
But Natasha did not allow dancing alone to engulf her future but read
for her BA (Hons) successfully in London. She returned after her
graduation and was appointed as a teacher in the Denna School of Dancing
in 2003 after a stint of dancing at Covent Garden while studying.
Presently, she is the school's Artistic Director. This school which
has over 500 students ranging from two to 19 years, has a plush
up-to-date studio and a large auditorium for students to practise at
ease. It is the breeding ground for future dancers where professionalism
and strict discipline is maintained by both mother and daughter.
Apart from classical ballet, Natasha also specializes in Tap,
Spanish, Ballroom, and Latin America. She confesses that her first love
and forte is the very modern hip hop which is the craze of all
youngsters looking to dance.
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DIRECTION: Corps de Ballet of the Deanna School of Dancing that
Natasha directs. |
Her dancing has taken her across to many parts of the world such as
Pineapple Studios at Covent Garden, London, Birmingham, Manchester,
Liverpool and New Castle in England along with her tours of Hong Kong,
Taiwan and Shanghai.
To the Sri Lankan audience, she is a young dancer of virtuosity and
have danced in most of the school's ballets. She is best remembered as
the Lilac Fairy in Cinderella. She has also directed several productions
in Colombo. Natasha also performed at the Queen's Golden Jubilee
celebrations in 2003.
Young Natasha is one of Sri Lanka's talented
dancer/teacher/choreographer combination. She never achieved this on a
platter but with hard work, dedication and enthusiasm which she had to
prove to her mother and that she could shoulder responsibility to take
the mantle off her mother some day.
Natasha is also aware that the future of classical ballet is in her
hands the way her mother, Deanna felt when she founded her school. there
are other dedicated teachers in Sri Lanka who feel the same passion
about classical ballet.
Full of energy and stamina, this dedicated young woman is at her art
several hours a day. Innovative and full of new challenging new ideas
she think ahead which is her guiding light.
She sinks in as a dancer when she dances with the school's Corp' de
Ballet and dazzling choreographer when she directs inviting the students
to pool in their ideas.
Natasha looks forward with excitement to choreograph her first major
ballet to be mounted by the Denna School of Dancing in the near future.
And until then, the princess will dance.
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