The new generation of creative talent

From decade to decade; from generation to generation, creative talent change to be replaced by bolder ones that emerge from the mind of the choreographer where dance is concerned whether classical or contemporary. The new ones are bolder, rapturous and exalted in ecstasy.

In the group of jazz and hip hop that appeal more to the younger audience and danced by a younger generation, marks out the phenomenal career of a young specialist in the offing.

She is Natasha Jayasuriya from the DSD and the head of the present generation of dancers to emerge from this school. She is dancer, choreographer and Artistic Director of this Dance Theatre.

Natasha does what she most in preference to her rigid training in classical dance. Her extraordinary talent in contemporary and dance forms were early detected by her mother, Deanna Jayasuriya who encouraged the young Natasha to follow suit. With a string of such successful productions such as Hipnotic in 2004, Attitude in 2006 and Kinetic in 2008, Natasha moves onto unleashed this year which will be boarded at the Bishop's College Auditorium on the 17th and 18th of this month.

Karin, Dinendri, Rashmira and Minal doing their saucy act together.

The bubbly-six, arrayed in purple are Tashyana, Saira, Dimitri, Valeria, Sasuni and Savaira.

For unleashed, she has collected the cream of such talent from the freestyle department of the DSD and is reared to roar, drive and explore their potential talent. It is going to be one noisy medium of expression, exuberance and tremendous footwork galore.

Unleashed contains a bit of classical ballet, hip-hop, Street, Jazz along with a god dressing of tap, spanish ballroom and latin ballroom.

The clothes are absolutely gorgeous and nothing left for imagination. The students are inspired by their young choreographer who aso dance with them that enable them to bring out their best. They are eager and enthusiastic and promise a package of surprise for their audiences.

Natasha with her usual aplomb has done a wonderful bit of direction extracting their inner talent to the sounds of appropriate very modern music tracks. They are set to redefine the virtuosity in their selected items.

Jazz, modern and contemporary movements

These are some that have gripped the world of dance and appear to score over classics in minds of the younger fans. It is happening around the world except in Russia who never allow such performances to ensure that no one leans upon other than on the orthodox classics. The New York Martha Graham School of Art promotes modern steps for those who wish to embrace them. They promote the new generation of creative talent to professionalism.

Graham whose repertoire is worldwide and sensational, thought the new school of dance must emerge from the young ones and hence, the trend remains with emerging stars like Natasha Jayasuriya caught up in its artistic web.

I met Martha Graham, at the New York City Ballent and she took me into the practicing area where the girls and boys were doing The Maple Leaf Rag just on hard wood as props and it looked so sensational, directed by the frail Graham who was in her nineties and a few days before she died. Infact, before I returned to Sri Lanka she had passed away. That was Martha Graham and her contemporary outlook the future.

Jazz developed like Jazzmusic, borrowed from Amer. Negroes who used African technique based on polycentrism and the isolation of individual body parts. Everything had to act together along with the mind as well.

The word jazz appeared around 1917 and developed into jazz ballet which the audience must know when they take their seats to watch Natasha's Unleashed.