Emotions of dance

Jealousy is usually considered a single emotion but if you really stop to think about it, it actually consists of a whole heap of emotions rolled into one – anger, fear, hurt, betrayal, anxiety, agitation, sadness, depression, loneliness, envy and even feeling powerless.

With the central theme of jealousy, expressed through body language the dance troupe nATANDA will bring to you issuki. issuki is a Pali word derived from the ancient language, Sanskrit and aptly means, 'jealousy' and it will be a cultural dialogue between artist and audience where the audience will be able to confront as well as be able to identify the emotions expressed through jealousy.

nATANDA was founded by Kapila Palihawadana and it is a dance company which promotes and pushes limits in terms of dance theatre in Sri Lanka. The dancers come from various background and they are trained in traditional Sri Lankan dance as well as western classical ballet and bring about a rich and colourful dance style that goes beyond the boundaries of form, physicality, culture and geography.

issuki will consist of 17 dancers as well as two junior dancers and the performance will be in two parts. The first part will consist of a variety of dance styles, which will include jazz, modern ballet, contemporary dance, as well as traditional Sri Lankan dance.

The second part will focus on the theme of jealousy, which will combine the aspects of traditional Kandyan dance, classical ballet and Angampora, which is a Sri Lankan martial art. "This is probably the first time Angampora is being used for such a dance performance," Kapila said. In fact they had learnt the art in the course of around 1 ½ months and intertwined it into the performance.

He also hopes to take issuki to Europe, because "it has our own style," he said, adding, that it has "a traditional touch as well as an international touch" and will therefore be appealing to that part of the world.

Those performing will be a young group girls and guys between the ages of 15 and 24. The troupe also includes four professional dancers where Malith Upendra will be the main dancer. Kapila went on to say "I always introduce a new girl every year," and this year the upcoming star will be Amali Silva while the principal dancers will be Ruchira Chathuranga, Dakshika Bandara and Neelika Madushani.

The use of the modernised Sri Lankan mask will also highlight the theme of jealousy, in this dance performance. Kapila will also be performing and in fact, in his act there will be a lot of small masks all around his body.

"What we are doing is extremely difficult," Kapila said, adding that "it is a lot hard work and we have been practising for more than 10 months." "There are no sponsors involved," Kapila said, and "I wish to thank the German Cultural Institute and the American Centre for all their support."

In terms of music, he said that there will be Sri Lankan music along with rock music. Why rock music, you may wonder? Well, Kapila says that through this genre of music, he can bring out the theme of jealousy better.

Previous productions by nATANDA include Traffic, Nacca Geetha Vaditha, Aus dem Takt, Mokabalo, Modaborn and Footprints.

issuki is the seventh dance performance by nATANDA and is supported by the German Cultural Institute and the American Embassy Colombo and will be staged at the Lionel Wendt Theatre on April 4 and 5 at 7.30pm. Tickets are priced at Rs. 300, 600, 1000, 1500 and 5000 and are available at the American Centre, the German Cultural Institute and also at the Lionel Wendt Theatre.