Pioneering local ballet
Nipuni WIMALAPALA
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Gayan |
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Gayan Shamila Ruppegoda, a graduate of Visual and Performing Arts
University, is dedicated to dancing since childhood. He has followed
Kandyan dancing as his main subject. He was fortunate to have the
opportunity to work as a lecturer at his own university.
Though he followed Kandyan dancing as his main subject, he is now
specialising in ballet dancing today.
He started following ballet in 2002. He loves ballet and is
thoroughly knowledgeable about the subject. He studied ballet under
Oosha Saravanamuttu for six years, and then followed a full course in
ballet including theory and practice. He has perfectly followed Italian,
French and Russian ballet dancing. After passing out of the University
he joined the Indian Asian Dance Department as a visiting lecturer. He
works as a choreographer as well. He performed well there and helped
organize many dancing concerts. After 2009, he joined Music Faculty,
Department of Western Music. He pioneered a course unit called Operatic
ballet. In this unit, which is available nowhere in Sri Lanka, both
theory and practice are done.
Gayan is also a permanent member of Indian and Asian Department. He
has become a multipurpose character who excelled in Kandyan dancing,
creative dancing and operatic ballet. He has contributed to organise the
concerts such as 'Love changes everything' which was an experiment and
'Harmonious Expression'. There were three parts of 'Harmonious
Expression' and in the third one point shoe ballet was introduced for
the first time.
He is not only a dancer but a writer as well. Gayan has written many
books about dancing. He is the first writer to have authored books on
ballet dancing in Sinhala medium. Aperadiga Ballet narthanaye mulikanga
is one of the books.
The ballet dancer wants to promote his talents among upcoming young
dancers. So he has established a dancing academy at Visaka Primary
School.
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