We had all been looking forward to watching the typical dances of Ceylan, particularly the traditional ones of Kandy, said to be among the most spectacular, not only because of the rich costumes worn by the dancers, but also because of the dynamic and acrobatic style of the performances.
Because we would be watching those at the Kandyan Arts Association Hall by the Kandy lake (the 19th century creation of Kandy's last King Sri Wickrama Rajasinha), we still had about half an hour (in fact the only time we were "allowed" to wander on our own) to walk up and down a street along the lake.
Christian and I accidently noticed that close to the Dance Hall there were several galleries on the various crafts of Sri Lanka sponsered by the Government, which turned out to be really well organized (each galery dedicated to one specific craft). They made my delight during that amount of time. I couldn't resist buying some handicraft, which was really worth the price.
The Hall was almost full and the moment the traditional orchestra started playing (drummers and shell players) its monochordal though vigorous sound created a somewhat mysterious and irresistable atmosphere. The Pojja dance - an hommage to the gardian Gods followed with some of the female dancers catching out attention with their subtly unbalanced and harmonious moves ... different from anything I had ever seen before.
The costumes worn by the male dancers were particularly rich in decorations, once they had their chests, hips and backs covered with silver plates and headdresses also of silver with hanging charms and pendants that jingled at the slightest movement.
I found it difficult to make "visual associations" in the war-like dance Pantheru which according to the written programme we had been given, was supposed to highlight the virility and subtlety of the male body. I found the body language of the male dancers throughout the whole dance rather effeminate and not virile at all ..., but I must accept that the concept might be entirely different from the typical western masculine like type of approach.
The dance of the masks was very interesting, namely because of its "narrative" approach and the impact the colourful masks themselves had on the public who anxiously awaited the final outcome of the negotiation between the priest and the devil in regards to the "occupying" of the body of the sick person.
The traditional dance of Kandy, known as the Paon dance was very well performed by the female dancers who evoked various animals in a rather graceful way.
The dance of the Raban (an instrument pertaining to the family of the drums) was very well executed and in a lot of ways very much resembled some of the circus performances.
The first part of the show ended with all of the dancers on stage singing the National Anthem, to which a little interval followed, allowing us to change places in readiness for the second part, which would be performed off the stage.
(to be continued)
