Traditional dance in modern times

By KAMALIKA PIERIS

Udarata dance made the transition from ‘traditional ‘to ‘modern’ society during the last phase of British rule. The move was carried out by the dancers themselves. Their main concern was the survival and preservation of traditional dance. By the time the country regained its independence in February 1948, traditional dance was well entrenched. The independence celebrations of 4th February 1948 included a very effective Udarata dance by Nittawela Gunaya. He danced the Turanga vannama.

Traditional dance was treated as a valuable component of the indigenous heritage. A postage stamp with a picture of a Ves dancer, in a dance pose, was issued in April 1950 . In 2000 there was a new stamp, featuring Maligawa dancer Simon Malagammana, in ten colors for ten denominations. A ‘dancer series ‘of currency notes were issued in 2011. Rs 20 note had Ves dancer and geta bere, Rs.50 note had Vadiga patuna and yak bere, Rs. 500 had Thelme and yak bere, Rs. 1000 had Sabaragamuwa dance and davul bere, Rs. 5000 had Nagaraksha and Gurulu raksha.

Traditional dance was also given prominence in tourist promotion. The first Tourist Board dance poster with C. K. L. Samarasinghe’s drawing of a Ves dancer ,appeared in 1948, followed by a poster with a stylized drawing by Harry Rogers for Quantas-Ceylon in 1950. A poster of Dalada Maligawa, drummers and dancers appeared in 1956, the Buddha Jayanti year. Then came the well known poster of Vajira in Gajaga vannama (photographed I am told by Nihal Fernando of Studio Times) and a less well known one of a Ves dancer and female dancer, both in the 1960s.

‘About twenty years ago, Udarata dance was not known outside the Udarata except for a handful of connoisseurs ‘said George Keyt in 1953. ‘It is now receiving growing recognition in Ceylon and abroad. The status of dancers has improved, and side by side with the traditional art there has arisen a creative and interpretative aspect,’ he added. ‘Kandyan dance has surprisingly retained its fundamental character and it basic purity of technique and style’, agreed A.H.E Molamure in 1956.

That is because the transfer was led and supervised by the traditional dancers themselves, notably Jayana, Pani Bharatha and Chitrasena. These three dancers arrived at the right time. They were born in the early 1920s. Pani Bharatha in 1920, Chitrasena, Heen Baba and Jayana in 1921. When Ceylon reached the pre-independence period of the 1940s, these dancers were in their prime. They started dance schools, established their own dance troupes and also got dance into secondary school. They were helped by well off, well connected patrons who came from the westernized elite. This was crucial to their success. E.P.A. Fernando, a graphite merchant and one of the richest men in the country supported Chitrasena. He funded Chitrasena productions and rehearsals and gave him a house at a low rent. The Burgher elite helped Jayana and Suramba with money and encouragement.

Dance troupes flourished from the 1950s onwards. The leading dancers of the time, such as Sri Jayana, Pani Bharatha and Heen Baba had their own dance troupes. For many years Pani Bharatha’s dance troupe functioned as the state dance ensemble. The tall and majestic figure of Pani Bharatha was a familiar sight leading his troupe, whenever there was a ceremonial occasion or indeed any occasion demanding a dance performance, said D.C.Ranatunge. If any organization needed a dance and drum performance for a function they turned to Pani.

Dance troupes were invited to perform abroad. Pani Bharatha’s troupe went to West Germany in 1953. In Tokyo, on a subsequent tour, the whole troupe including Pani had got drunk. The audience had gradually left the hall, saying the drums were too loud. The drummers had said they did not know how to drum softly. Jayana’s troupe visited a staggering 30 countries and in 1989, had won the most popular dance group medal at the "Festival folklore de Pyrenees".

The most publicized tours were those of the Chitrasena troupe. Between 1957 and 1972 Chitrasena Company had danced in Australia, Brunei, Canada, Czechoslovakia, France, Germany, Kazakhstan, Malaysia, Netherlands, Poland, Switzerland, Singapore as well as Madras, Bombay and Delhi, Moscow, Tashkent, St Petersburg and Alma Ata. On their first tour, rice, dhal, dry fish and other food stuffs accompanied them from stop to stop. The dancers said they needed the food they were used to. But they also liked the vodka, plum brandy and Scotch whisky which was offered.

The State Dance Ensemble was created in 1976, for the fifth Non Aligned Conference held in Colombo. They danced ‘Asa disi mihira’ directed by W.B.Makuloluwa at this Conference. The dance ensemble of the National Youth Council was created soon after. Both troupes are excellent, said Tissa Kariyawasam in 2008. The armed forces and the police also established dance troupes in the 1970s. Many of the dancers recruited were from natum parampara. I thought their dancing very good, but I am not an expert on the subject.

Sri Lanka’s traditional dances continued to win recognition abroad, in the post independent period. Audiences abroad are usually spellbound by the dance forms and by the drums, said Upekha Chitrasena. The Chitrasena dance troupe had rave reviews, rapt and enthusiastic audiences and standing ovations around the world, particularly in India ‘where they recognize the difference in technique between our traditional dances,’ she said. ‘ My father, Chitrasena, was treated with great respect and looked up to in India’. Upekha added,’ I enjoy doing workshops and demonstrations, particularly for children and try to organize these whenever we perform abroad’.

Dance departments in foreign universities recognized our traditional dance. Piyasara Silpadipathy said in 2007, ‘I have done workshops and lectures in renowned institutions such as University of London, Royal College of Music, Royal Academy of Music, in London, University of Canterbury, New Zealand and University of Ottawa, Canada on drums and dancing. If they were not interested then I would not have been invited to visit their universities so many times. Foreign dance experts visited Sri Lanka to research traditional dance. Their findings were published.

Historical sources indicate that from the ancient period up to the Udarata period women danced. George Keyt who lived in Kandy and knew Udarata dance said, in 1953, that the kalagedi dance was initially done by women. There was a special naiyyadi dance also which was exclusively danced by women. ‘To see it danced by Ransina of Amunugama is an experience never to be forgotten,’ he said. Both dances are now performed by men, he added.

This indicates that at some point, during British rule, men had taken over the performing aspect of dance, but women were not completely excluded from dance activity. They taught dance. Pani Bharatha (b. 1920) recalled that in his youth, when the male dancers left to carry out their ritual duties elsewhere, the wives took over the classes. The film ‘Sakkarang’ (2016) set in the British period also showed this. In the 1950s women from the natum parampara, such as Ransina, obtained land form the government and started dance schools of their own in the Udarata.

Women outside the natum parampara were exposed to dance when Udarata dance was included in the school curriculum. They now study dance at the University of Visual arts. They dance in both lasya and masculine styles but the preference is definitely for the masculine style. At the National dance festival, Colombo in 2002, I found that the women danced predominantly in masculine style. Most dance teachers provide ‘graduation’ ceremonies for women dancers without the Ves. But in 2003, Miranda Hemalatha held Ves bandima ceremonies for women dancers. Traditional gurus and veteran Kandyan dancers are usually present at a Ves mangalyaya but none were present on the occasion. The dancers were not invited for any events thereafter either. Miranda Hemalatha, undaunted, said at the time that she was planning a Kohomba Kankariya with women dancers.

Ruhunu dance flourished without interruption in the south in the pre- independence and post independence periods. The guru gedera tradition was still in existence in the 1950s. Perera (pseud) from Uhanovita village, Pitigala, started to study dance under his father at eight years. His father was an astrologer, healer and pahata rata dancer. Perera then went on to study dance at a kalayatanaya and later established in his own dance troupe. ‘Those days it was the men who danced, now it is the females who are showing an interest in Ruhunu dance, he observed.

Tissa Kariyawasam said in 2009 that traditional rituals were ‘still carried out in Ambalangoda and Weligama.’ ‘I can remember that even up to the end of the 20th century, we used to hear a distant beat of a drum on the night air at least 4 days a week’ said a resident of Ambalangoda. . ‘The Modera devale perahera in Ambalangoda went on for nearly two hours, ending at Randombe. It had almost one hundred dancing groups, each different from the other, with separate sets of drummers.’

Ruhunu dance is now included in dance presentations abroad. For a performance in Australia, one presenter eliminated the Sinhala dialogue in the Daha ata sanniya and replaced it with mime. The dance consisted only of masked dancers. "We got much applause and 8 or 9 curtain calls. Pandam paliya and Gini sisila had to be done out of doors, due to fire restrictions. The audience was fascinated by the fire dance acrobatics and the fire eating especially since they had a great fear of it", he said (2007).

The Daha ata sanniya continues to be performed, for its ritual value and as a spectacle. In 2003 Rotary Club of Colombo District 3220 organized a performance of the Daha ata Sanniya at BMICH western garden. The performance was edited to suit urban audiences as well as tourists but the seven paliya and the 18 sanni dances were performed. Chitrasena Foundation had a performance in May 2016 in Colombo by dancers from Matara led by Kalasuri Parawahara Somathilake. In July 2016 there was a performance of the Daha ata sanniya at Walisinghe Harischandra Park, Anuradhapura, organized by the Provincial Ministry of Cultural affairs.

Source: www.island.lk (07 December 2016)