THE BURGHER ELITE AND KANDYAN DANCE

September 9, 2016, 7:32 pm

By KAMALIKA PIERIS

Several members of the Burgher elite of the twentieth century took an interest in Udarata dance. Dr Andreas Nell (1864-1956) was a medical specialist in eye diseases working at Victoria Memorial Eye Hospital, Colombo from 1905-1924. He was educated at Trinity College Kandy. He was interested in Sinhala culture and had written on many aspects of it, including ‘Some Trees & Plants of Mahavamsa’.

Nell had supplied a brief essay, probably as ‘programme notes’, to the recital of Kandyan dance organized by the 43 Group in Colombo in July 1945. Neville Weeraratne says these ‘authoritative notes on the Kandyan dance’ are worthy of reproduction. The essay, however, is not listed in Goonetileke’s ‘Bibliography of Ceylon’ and is no longer available.

In his essay, Nell had noted that a good traditional dance troupe should show the following dances, naiyyadi, kalagedi, leekeli, udekki, pantheru, daha ata paliya and ves sellama. He also spoke of vannam. There are 25 or 26 vannam in Sabaragamuwa, about 22 in Uva-Bintenne and 18 in Kandy, he said. They represent the movement of birds and beasts. In certain areas they are more song and recitative than dance, in others the dance predominates. The vannam should be placed in a special class and not confused with the other dances.

Nell liaised with the European dancers and singers who came to Sri Lanka to perform. He accompanied them to performances of Kandyan dance. In 1923, Anna Pavlova, the famous Russian ballet dancer was touring Asia. She visited Ceylon and saw a performance of Udarata dance in Kandy. Andreas Nell said that Pavlova had been charmed by posture of the dance, the rhythms and the movements. She wished to revisit Kandy again just to see again the Kandyan dancing with its perfect rhythm.

In 1926, the Denishawn Dance Company, an important company at the time in USA, visited Ceylon as part of their 1925-26 Far East tour, performing in Colombo and Kandy. In Kandy, Shawn hired a troupe of Kandyan dancers to dance for them. Andreas Nell said that Ruth St Denis took photographs at this ‘arranged day performance,’ bought a costume and expressed great delight at the experience. Clara Butt, the English singer had toured the East in 1930 performing in India, Malaysia, Burma and Ceylon. She too had seen a Kandyan dance performance. Nell said Clara Butt also had been charmed with the rhythm and had some items repeated for her intense enjoyment.’ (Neville Weeraratne “43 Group” p 135).

Lionel Wendt (1900 – 1944) a lawyer by profession was very influential in the arts in Ceylon. He was a fine pianist and photographer, and was a great admirer of Kandyan dance. He had gone to see the Esala perahera in Kandy when the Colombo elite shunned it. He was the main influence in the prize winning documentary film ‘Song of Ceylon’ directed by Basil Wright. (1934).This film prominently features Sinhala dance. The film starts with a Sinhala chant, features a Ruhunu masked dance, an Udarata dancing class and the Ves dance of the Kohomba Kankariya. Wendt took the dancer Ukkuwa and Suramba to London to record the sound track.

Wendt actively supported the dancers who, he thought, would help advance Kandyan dance. Wendt helped the dancer Sri Jayana at two critical points in Jayana’s career. Wendt provided the money for Jayana to obtain a Ves tattuva. He had attended Jayana’s Wes ceremony as well. Wendt thereafter gave him Rs 10,000 to help him travel to India. Wendt also funded in the 1930s, a controversial Kandyan dance performance by Miriam Peiris in Colombo which ‘shocked the nation’.

Lionel Wendt was an outstanding photographer. He had been influenced by the innovative European photographer Man Ray. Basil Wright considered him to be among the ‘six best photographers I have come across.’ Wendt photographed many Kandyan dancers in striking poses and these appear in his book “Ceylon” published in 1950. They included Nittawela Gunaya dancing, Suramba drumming, some pantheru dancers and a portrait of the youthful Jayana in Wes costume. Lionel Wendt had gone in search of Jayana to his home to photograph him. These photos are much admired even today.

George Keyt (1901 – 1993) the painter was a firm supporter of the Kandyan dance. Keyt had seen the superb dancing at Amunugama and understood its nuances.

Kohomba Kankariya, he said was ‘a dance of great distinction deploying a grace not easy to emulate. The dance is full blooded and vigorous. It cannot be put into the category of folk art. It is part of a society which though rural, is nevertheless sophisticated, unlike the villages in Europe. ‘In a kankariya, the dancing is done by the best dancers and best drummers assembled from many villages, he added. He described the Ves costume in great detail, emphasizing the Sinhala terminology. There were two types of Naiyyadi dance, he said. The original Naiyyadi was a lasya or female dance created by a woman. It is now danced by men. The other, Tani Kachchi, is ‘a dance on the way to being Ves.’

Keyt contributed an essay ‘Some notes on Kandyan dancing’ to the journal “New Lanka” in 1953. In this essay he spoke of the different forms of Udarata dance, Ves, udekki, panteru, also raban, kadu, kalagedi and likeli. He observed that kalagedi dance was initially danced to the small pana drum which gave out sharp abrupt beats. ‘There are charming descriptions of this dance in folk poetry.’ The naiyyadi dance was originally danced by women, he said. ‘To see it danced by Ransina in Amunugama is an experience never to be forgotten.’

Keyt knew the drummer Suramba and dancer Sri Jayana, the future leaders of the Amunugama tradition. Keyt had designed the building for Suramba’s dance school in Sirimalwatte, Gunnepane. It was completed in 1929. Keyt, Harold Pieris and Lionel Wendt had contributed towards the establishment of the school. Keyt had designed the cover for the opening day souvenir. (Sunday Times 13.2.2000). Keyt helped Jayana to start his career as a dancer. When Jayana at 18 years needed money to buy his Ves tattuva for graduation, Keyt had informed his brother in law Harold Peiris who told Lionel Wendt, who gave the money. Keyt attended Jayana’s Wes ceremony.

Keyt went to Bombay in the early 1940’s and sent across to Kandy, a group of Indian dancers who were trying to find their dance feet, after leaving Uday Shankar’s Almora. Jayana was asked to teach them, which he did. Then Jayana was invited to India, and his 1944 trip was funded by Martin Russell, Lionel Wendt and Harold Pieris, all known to Keyt. Jayana travelled to India with George Keyt and Keyt arranged for Jayana to stay at Mulk Raj Anand’s house.

Herbert Keuneman (1908-1977) started as a teacher at Richmond, 1931-1934, and then became a Christian priest for a while, thereafter he worked as a writer and journalist. He was responsible for the text of the Studio Times publication, The Handbook for the Ceylon Traveller. (1974). Keuneman contributed an essay on Kandyan dance to the journal ‘Arts of Asia’ special issue on Ceylon, January 1973. This is, in my view, one of the best essays written on the subject, with much emphasis on technical details and good photographs. It has not received the recognition it deserves.

The Kandyan dance, Keuneman said, ‘however fragmentarily preserved, is one of the great dance systems of Southeast Asia’. He said the Sinhala dance is not descended from Indian dance and the three dance forms of Udarata, Pahata rata and Sabaragamuwa are all facets of a single dance form which he calls Sinhala dance. He sees the move from ritual dance to modern stage presentation as a positive development.

Keuneman debunks the notion that Udarata dance is descended from Kathakali, which he dates to 16 century. ‘Sinhala dance cannot have developed from Kathakali. One is pure dance the other is theatre,’ he said. ‘Also there is a great difference in the basic stances in Kandyan dance and Kathakali.’

He uses diagrams to show the difference in the two starting positions. The feet turn outward in Kandyan dance, at 180 degrees. They turn inward in Kathakali. The body is upright with deep bend in the knees in Kandyan dance, and weight is on the flat of the sole. In Kathakali the legs are positioned outwards and the upper body also bends forwards. This is the only essay I have come across which discusses this matter. I wish to add that in Kathakali, the dancer balances on the outer side of the foot, with the foot turned upwards. Anybody trying to do Kandyan dance from this uncomfortable position will promptly fall over.