Nurturing young dancers
Samanthi Weerasekara
|
Hema Samarakoon |
Her talent knows no bounds and she had chosen to distribute her
knowledge and experience to the younger generation. Ever since she took
up work at Bandarawela Uduwela Primary school in 1977 Hema Samarakoon
had been striving to bring out the emerging talents of school children
in the dance sector to the fore.
She had established the Narthananjali Academy of Dance to nurture the
dancing skills of young boys and girls in the hill capital.
Narthananjali Dance Performance, a dance performance initiated by her
will showcase the dance skills of her students at the Hindu Cultural
Centre, Kandy, on September 19.
|
Students from the Narthananjali Academy. Pictures by Udeni
Rajapaksa |
Professor Mudhiyense Dissanayake and his wife will grace the
occasion. Samarakoon had nurtured the dancing talents of many young
students during her two decade stint at Swarnamali Girls’ School, Kandy.
The dance troupe managed to win first place in all the all island dance
competitions in 2008. Popular actress Tharushi Perera is also one of her
students.
A product of Peradeniya Maha Vidyalaya, Samarakoon had studied
Science for her Advanced Levels. She was trained in dancing by Sri
Suraman Rajapaksa and W D Makuluoluwa before entering Giragama Aestetic
College.
She had faced many challenges in life and one was overcoming her
battle with cancer.
She is currently employed at Lexican International School, Kandy. |
