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Chandri, Indira and Nadeera come together to present a unique blend of dance and art

The effortless beauty and grace of his movements are still remembered by many who watched him dance on stage. Today he transfers his expertise into vivid performances through choreography. Chandri Peris, one of Sri Lanka’s most celebrated dancers, is back in the island from his current home in London to present ‘New Directions’-a festival of dance and art.

Bringing together dancers from diverse backgrounds, the performance merges various dance forms such as Latin American, Ballet, Kandyan and Bharatha natyam, to create a unique show. “This is an opportunity for people who have never presented their work before,” says Chandri. The stage is set for new dancers, for professionals who are learning new techniques and new styles of dance that emerge from the combining of the traditional ones.

Remarking on the capabilities of the human body, Chandri says that dancers should be willing to learn different styles and not confine themselves to one particular method. There is no need for boundaries between the various styles, he says, and there are ways and means by which you can adapt your body to do something different. The last item of the show which is based on a contemporary style, infused with a number of other techniques and has an Indian flavour, illustrates his view that to “combine means to enrich.”

The festival will also feature an art exhibition by Chandri himself and fellow dancer Indira Gunasekera. The idea behind such an event is to have a combination of cultural activities taking place at the same time, which is fairly common in the West, says Chandri. The activities can be anything that falls within the category of ‘culture’, he says, adding that by next year he hopes to have other events such as Children’s Theatre as well included in the festival.

In London, he says, he regularly attends workshops in choreography where one can either watch or participate by dancing. Every new trend touches base in London, he says, and from these workshops one can learn and absorb many things to suit your own purpose.

His experience in Europe has also taught him to put together performances within a short time frame, he says.

The dance performance itself is to last only an hour and ten minutes, without intervals. In this way the audience will be able to focus and appreciate it better, says Chandri, after which they may go on to view the exhibits.

Nadeera Rajapakse, who has been dancing since childhood, is presenting her choreography for the first time at this show. “Working with Chandri has been an incredible experience,” she says, commenting on his patience and his ability to bring together dancers from different backgrounds and blend each of their talents to create an original piece.

Chandri, who began his dancing career in ballet with Oosha Saravanamuttu, went on to study dance in Australia and England, moving towards contemporary dancing. He obtained a Masters Degree and M.Phil. from the Labam Centre in London. His studies have been a combination of sociology, politics and dance. At present he does media monitoring for the Mayor of London.

The festival, ‘New Directions’ will take place on August 11 and 12 at 8 p.m. at the Lionel Wendt.

Dance lovers will be able to see a new Sri Lankan choreographer introducing her works at the New Directions Arts Festival.

Nadeera Rajapakse is no stranger to the dance fraternity of Sri Lanka. Those in western dance have seen her and admired her wonderful technique and athleticism. Even though she has not been living in Sri Lanka for the past 10 years, Nadeera has appeared in concerts almost every year since she left Colombo to pursue her studies in Paris. Most of these concerts have been with the Oosha Garten of ballet and with Chandri Peris with whom she has worked for several years.

Nadeera will bring a blend of intellectuality and knowledge of dance to her choreography. She has a unique blend of having a PhD in Economics (University of Sorbonne, Paris), a masterly knowledge of four languages (including French and Spanish), a diploma in Optometry (gained from Varilux University, Paris) and an ongoing practice of several dance techniques that she keeps in touch with, whilst living in Paris.

Apart from studying, Nadeera teaches English and Economics and fits this into a busy schedule of taking technique classes in Classical ballet, and Modern dance.

She has always loved dance and has admired the works of the more progressive and modern classical choreographers like William Forsythe, Maurice Bejart, Roland Petit, Jiri Kylian and Alvin Ailey. She is a great admirer of Kandyan dance and recognises its vibrancy but feels that this wonderful dance form has lost its direction.

Her tastes in music is also a vibrant mix of African rhythms, South American styles of music, Electronic House music, and Arabic and Indian traditions and of course Western classical music.

This mixture of multicultural dance techniques and music styles will undoubtedly bring out an unusual style of choreography that will be new to audiences in Colombo.

Better known as a dancer, Indira Baron known to local audiences as Indira Gunasekera will present her paintings at the Harold Peiris Gallery at an exhibition that will be part of the New Directions Festival presented by Chandri Peris.

After having begun her artistic career as a dancer, Indira is now pursuing a career as a painter.

Indira began dancing with the Oosha Garten of Ballet in the late sixties. After undergoing training in classical ballet in Wales and in Ghana, she returned to Sri Lanka in 1977 and formed the Contemporary Dance Theatre along with Chandri Peris and several others including Naomi Rajaratnam, Jerome De Silva, Channa Wijewardena and the late Richard de Zoysa.

The Contemporary Dance Company’s first production which was sponsored by Ceylon Theatres Ltd included Indira’s own versions of ‘The Game’ and ‘Afternoon of the Faun’ amongst several other original works. This particular show introduced contemporary dancing performed by an entirely Sri Lankan group of dancers to audiences in Colombo. Indira then went on to perform in a version of Andrew Lloyd Webber’s ‘Song and Dance’ and ‘Evita’ both of which were directed by Graham Hatch,choreographed by Chandri Peris and starring Michele Leembrugan.

Indira began painting in Nigeria before she settled in Rennes, Brittany, where she continued to follow classes in art and began by working individually as a water colourist. She became a member of the Atelier Artistique in Rennes, which is an organisation of aspiring painters who are taught by professional teachers from the School of Fine Arts. This is a government-funded project that is promoted throughout all regions of France and is validated by their respective municipalities, councils and the ministries of Sports and Youth. She has been the president of the Aterlier Artistique since 2003.

She has lived in Mexico, Algeria, Iraq, Ethiopia, Ghana, Nigeria, Britain, Wales, France and of course, Sri Lanka. The influences of having lived in several countries is evident in her work as a painter. The textures, colours, styles, subject matter and materials and the manner in which they are used, are reflected in most of her work.

At present she lives in Paris with her husband Christophe and their three children.

An exhibition of her work will be held at the Harold Pieris Gallery, Lionel Wendt on August 11, 12 and and 13.