Naomi presents 'With My Feet'
Naomi Rajaratnam - Sri Lanka's most well known and respected dance savant -
will be presenting a show celebrating her decades in dance on September 16 and
18 at 7.30 pm at Bishop's College Auditorium. Even though the show is a
compendium comprising highlights of all Naomi's famous "With My Feet" shows to
date, it also features some new dance numbers and an energy that transcends
previous shows to take on a life of its own.
This show, which is rife with symbolism, mixes the portrait of old elegance with
intricate choreography. It further adds symbolism by the use of black and white
exclusively throughout the first half of the show.
Resurfacing all the joys of extravagant dance numbers, the first half of the show
comprises old favourites and new choreographies the like of Alpha, Olympic
Dream, Ballroom Fantasy, Blue Danube, Trio Tango, Fusion, Toy Story, Out Of
Africa, Hot Samba, Black Orchid and Streets of Fire.
In the second half, the audience gets a surprise as the colour is exhibited to an
impressive display. Style also merges with form and costume to give spectators a
riot of neo style that they have seldom witnessed before.
Performing numbers that are radically different from the strict western style of
Latin American and Ballroom, these dance numbers are new and fresh and
include such curiosities as the Indian "Bhangra", which is a whimsical take on
Bollywood choreographed by Gayan and introduced for the first time at this show.
The fermented mixture of dance and colour then mixes and churns, rising to a
crescendo from items like Starting Something, Vogue, Big Spender, Colours of
Summer, Imagine, Yeah and Kiss Me, to overpowering finale of Proud Mary.
As described, this show is a fusion of Latin American, Ballroom, Contemporary,
Jazz, Oriental, Bollywood and Freestyle. The show brings together the best of
decades of dance, with diverse forms of dance in combination with spectacular
choreography reminiscent of big dance numbers of the 1950s musicals.
In addition, the sets are elaborately and lovingly created to mimic fantastic
cityscapes while costumes are also designed to further enhance the audience's
emotional connection to the dance number by capturing the era of the subjects.
The driving force behind the project is Naomi Rajaratnam - a dedicated and
enthusiastic dance artiste. She has been at the forefront of Sri Lankan dance for
well over 30 years, and, in that time she has been a mentor and a guide for many
of Sri Lanka's most talented and accomplished dancers.
This dance extravaganza is sponsored by Milgro, Singer, Necto and
Samayawardhana Printers and the proceeds of this show will be donated to the
Dev Siri Sevana Elders Home in Welisara. Tickets and box plan for this event will
be available from September 5th at Bishop's College Auditorium.
