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PHOTO: S.S. KUMAR

DANCE OF GRACE At the programme

Five female dancers left the audience marvelling at the sinuous grace of their bodies as they enacted one of the 18 vanams, poems from Sri Lanka extolling the qualities of animals and birds. Portraying mayuri vanama, four of them played peacocks and the fifth, an admirer of this bird dance.

This performance was part of a soiree that left a taste of Sri Lanka at the Taj Coromandel. In association with the hotel, the Deputy High Commission of Sri Lanka had organised the cultural event, which was monopolised by the Channa- Upuli Dance Troupe.

Themes included agrarian life in the island, caparisoned elephants which are a mainstay in ceremonies, a love scene in the paddy fields and the importance of percussion in Sri Lankan music. Upuli, dancer-wife of choreographer Channa, explained the performances as representations of three styles - Kandyan, Low Country and Sabaragamuwa. There were influences from India and the West too. Some movements were right out of modern ballet, which Channa has rechristened `body language'.

No matter how diverse the forms, they came together in a compelling mix. And with the story in each piece easy to follow, there was not a dull moment. Naga gurul, a masked dance from the Low Country portrayed the tussle between good and evil, represented by an eagle and a snake. Two drummers, in the background, added to the combative mood. The piece came to an end with the eagle taking the vanquished snake off the stage.

Adorned with colourful costumes and jewellery, dancers presented traditional pieces. One from the Hill Country had three dancers attempting dizzying swirls, by turns. As they did so, the clink of their jewellery combined with drum beats.

Versatile Janathwarakagoda, who played percussion for a piece titled "Drums In Dialogue", sang folk songs, one of which was presented interestingly. Raising his voice in the manner of someone shouting out a message to another who is atop a hill, he sang a few love lines. In a brief commentary, he said these lines were sung from Chennai to someone in Kolkata. And launched into the answer from Kolkata (sung in the same tone). The group sprang a surprise with a performance based on a song from "Aaja Nachle".

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