Dances of Kandy

Khema Da Costa	Upeka Da Silva

Khema Da Costa was initiated at the age of four years to the traditional dances of the south and of the region of Kandy by the great Sinhalese teachers of Kandy. Khema recreates the ancient ritual through the Thandava style (traditionally masculine), adapting them to contemporary techniques of dance which she discovered in 1980. In Sri Lanka as in numerous international dance tours, Khema is usually always accompanied by the percussionist Dayaseela, who belongs to the thirteenth generation of a line of percussionists of the southern coast of the island.	Upeka Da Silva is the daugther of the famous couple of Sinhalese dancers cinghalais, Chitrasena and Vajira, and the granddaughter of Seebert Dias, a theatre person. She has performed since childhood on the greatest stages of the world with the famous troupe directed by her parents. She established herself quickly as a solist through her style, cleverly mixing traditional techniques with the use of modern interpretation and dramatic art. Upeka founded her own troupe in the eighties. Today she carries and perpetuates the tradition of the dances of Kandy as a dancer and a teacher.

Hill dances

The origin of the dances of Sri Lanka go back very far to immemorial timesof its aboriginal tribes and their demons.

A Sinhalese legend tells us that 2500 years ago a vision of these dancesfreed a king from his bewitchment.

Today,it exists three distinct types of schools of dance in Sri Lanka :
- Those of Kandy (of the region of the hills
- Those of Sabaragamuwa (in the centre)
- Those of the southern coast.
Only the dances of Kandy have become typically Sinhalese and are closely associated with the idea of national dance. Why? Although Sri Lanka was successively colonised all along its history, the Kingdom of the hills resisted the yoke of the foreign invader till 1815. In this region where these "almost forgotten arts" belong, dance developed under royal patronage and the oral tradition had the time to spread through the villages. Based on the sounds and ryhthms of drums (symbols of theword and of magic) the dances took on various forms : Ves (the mostancient, magic), Naiyandi (court dances), Udeki (ritual dances), Pantheru (juggling and balancing with discs), Vannam (solos dances accompanied by songs covering numerous themes among which eighteen are "classic").

In the 20th century, these dances are considerably evolved through the initiation of great masters such as Chandralokha, Seebert Dias, theatre person, and above all, Chitrasena and his wife,Vajira (Upeka's parents).

Keeping the mystery and the rigorous original technique of their art, these dancers enrichened their tradition through influences which came from South India (Bharata Natyam and Kathakali) and through their research in contemporary dance. Answering to the desire of the Ceylonese people to see theatre, they have adapted forms of traditional dance to dramatic representation and to ballet with magnificent success.

Initially reserved to men, the dances of Kandy are today feminine (lasya) as well as masculine (tandava).

They marry force and grace through innumerable rhythms of percussion. According to the code of these pure dances, the dancer develops his creativity between heaven and earth. Overtaken by his personality, he tells a story but does not use the mudra, language of his hands as in the Indian traditions.

The actor can incarnate an animal in its essence of bring to life mythical heroes.

The repertory is infinitely rich. Ravi Shankhar asked the dancing couple, Vajira et Chitrasena to create a choreography to his music. Numerous artists, such as Martha Graham, the mime Marceau, the Russian starts have taken from the mysterious sources of these dances.

_______________________________

Books and publications:
"Nritya Puja, a tribute to Chistrasena years in the danse", 1986.
"Dances of Srilanka", W.B. Makullowa, s.d. Dances and Magic drama in Ceylan Beryl de Zoete, 1948.
"Kohomba Kankaria, a traditional Folk ritual in the hill of Srilanka", Sneviratine, 1978.
"Dancing", M.D.Raghavan, 1961.
Film : "Soirée cinghalaise : danses traditionnelles", salle Adyar, 1998.
Disques : "Magie cinghalaise, musique sacrée de Ceylan", 1979.
"Les tambours magiques de Ceylan", 1975