Dancing your way through

By Vidushi Seneviratne

If hearing your favourite tune spontaneously makes you want to get up and dance (whether it's in the middle of your living room, or while in your doctor's waiting room), or if watching a performance on stage makes you wish you were up there as well, dancing just might be your calling.

You could be a classical Anna Pavlova in the making

Whether you want to be a dance teacher, make a career out of professional dancing or become a choreographer in whichever dance technique, following the necessary dance studies is vital.

An extremely fulfilling career option, and gradually becoming quite a feasible profession in Sri Lanka, for all of you who want to study dancing at a serious level, but have doubts about how exactly to go about it, then read on because we've done all the research.

Ballet:
You might be a classical Anna Pavlova in the making, or have the potential to be an innovative "freestyler," but what are the options available for young, striving ballet or contemporary dancers?

With quite a few ballet schools of a high standard existing in the country, those interested in dance can follow classes, right up to the Diploma level.

According to Natasha Jayasuriya, who is now the Artistic Director at the Deanna School of Dancing, she went through the usual system of completing the examinations conducted by the Royal Academy of Dance (RAD), the syllabuses and exams are handled by the foreign body itself.

Apart from going through the ballet schools itself, for more information on how to apply to universities regarding dance studies, you could contact:

Mrs Ranmali Mirchandani
The British Council
49 Alfred House Gardens, Colombo 0030
Tel: (94) 11 452 1538
Fax: (94) 11 258 7079
Email: ranmali.mirchandani@britcoun.lk

And here are some of the best dance schools available for all you aspiring dancers.

Royal Academy of Dance
36 Battersea Square
London, SW11 3RA
United Kingdom
Email: info@rad.org.uk

School of Arts
University of Surrey
Guildford, Surrey
GU2 7XH
E-mail: dance@surrey.ac.uk
Elmhurst Ballet School
Heathcote Road,
Camberley,
Surrey.

For those of you who don't want to follow exams, but are interested in continuing dancing perhaps while being in university following a degree in another area, these options might come in handy.
The numerous dance companies consisting of up to eight state-of-the-art studios on one premises, would give you the chance to get a varied insight to many dance techniques from around the world.

Pineapple Dance Studios
7 Langley Street
Covent Garden
London
WC2H 9JA
E-mail: studios@pineapple.uk.com

Dance Factory
4-10, Yorkshire St. Richmond VIC. 3121,
Australia
Tel: (03)94299492 / (03)94298806

Kandyan and Oriental dancing:
With a few reputed dance schools teaching traditional Kandyan dance existing in the country, there is ample room to gain comprehensive knowledge in this aspect.
With the rebuilding of the Chitrasena Kalayathanaya on the cards, the institute will offer a chance for you to study traditional dance, and also other related aspects such as choreography, lighting, costuming, stage management and other theatre-related subjects. The academy will have a rigorous training programme and syllabus for students who hope to reach international standards. Heshma Wignaraja, grand daughter of Chitrasena, promises that her experiences in the West will be incorporated in the knowledge gained by the students enrolling at the Chitrasena Kalayathanaya.
For those of you who prefer studying in Asia as opposed to studying in the West, the best option would be India. Students who want to study within a traditional dance or theater framework could look into programs at:

Nithyagram
Hessaraghatta
Bangalore 560 088
Karnataka
India.
Tel: +91 80 8466313 / 4

Kalakshetra Foundation
Tiruvanmiyur
Chennai 600 041
India
Other avenues:
"Students who are interested in studying theatre-craft would need to go overseas as there are very limited options in Sri Lanka.” says Heshma, who received her B.A from the University of California Berkeley (USA) in Theatre Arts with a focus in Dance, a perfect place to experience cultural diversity along with top quality academics.
More Colleges in the USA with good theatre programmes include

UCLA
UCLA International Institute
11248 Bunche Hall
Box 951487
Los Angeles, CA 90095-1487
Tel: (310) 825-4811
Fax: (310) 206-3555
Email: webmaster@international.ucla.edu

NYU
Tisch School of the Arts
721 Broadway
New York, NY 10003721.
Department of Dance
111 Second Avenue, 3rd Floor
Phone: 212 998 1980
Email: Department of Dance
Bharatha Natyam:
An age-old traditional Tamil dance technique, Bharatha Nátyam, has become a big part of Sri Lankan performing arts, and studying this dance technique seemingly has many prospects for young dancers.
According to Abiramy Kandeepan, a teacher of Bharatha Natyam, there are roughly two ways of becoming a teacher in this art. You could study dance as a subject for O/Ls, A/Ls, and then obtain a degree in dance from either the Ramanadan Academy at the University of Jaffna or from the Vivalananda College, affiliated to the University of Batticaloa. Following of classes being adequate enough to open your own private dance institute. In order to get the maximum exposure and competent training in traditional Tamil dance, India would be the best option, with most universities offering excellent B.A and M.A degrees in dance. These might be some of the best options in India.

Bangalore University, Bangalore
Bangalore University,
Faculty of Arts,
Jnana Bharathi,
Bangalore, 560056
Tel: 3355036

Bharata Kalanjali
6, Jeevaratnam Nagar,
Adyar, Chennai 600020,
Tamil Nadu.
Tel: (91-44)-24911125
Email: bkalanjali@eth.net

Kalai Kaveri College of Fine Arts
18, Benwells Road,
Tiruchirappalli.
Tel: 0431 - 2460678

Other avenues:
- Choreography
Affiliated to the Bangalore University, the Institute of Kathak and Choreography is the only institute in India to accord a B.A. Degree in choreography, and is an excellent place for all of you interested in creating your own dance routines and productions, to get educated in Choreography.

Natya Institute of Kathak and
Choreography
37, 17th Cross
Malleswaram West, Bangalore 560055
Website: www.natyamaya.org