Dancing from Ceylon. Ceylon National Dancers.

Format:

Video

Contributor:

Bloomsbury Press.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Anthropology.

Art--Asia.

Art.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (1 video file)

Distribution:

London: Bloomsbury Video. Bloomsbury Publishing. 2022.

Other Title:

Bloomsbury Video Library.

Place of Publication:

Kent, CT.: Creative Arts Television. 2018.

Biography/History:

Since its founding, Asia Society has regularly sought to facilitate greater engagement between East and West by sponsoring cultural performances in the United States by Asian performing artists. One of the earliest such events was in 1958, when Asia Society brought the Ceylon National Dancers (pictured above) to New York. The music and dance troupe, based in Sri Lanka (which was known by its British colonial name of Ceylon until independence in 1948), had been established in 1946 and toured widely in Asia, but this marked its first American visit. They performed their signature religious and ceremonial routines that encompassed Kandyan dances from northern Sri Lanka and fire dances from the south. .

Summary:

A program of Ceylonese dances, each with an explanation by T.P. Amerasinghe, dance authority from Sri Lanka. Introduction by Lucia Chase of Amercian Ballet Theatre. Performances are by the Ceylon National Dancers. The dances are of ancient heritage: the fire dance, cobra dance, mask dance, harvest dance, a dance of exorcism, the butterfly dance, and the ritual dance Ves Natuma, which was originally the prelude to a sacrifice. .

Participant:

Ceylon National Dancers.

Credits:

Director, Nick Havinga ; producer, Clair Roskam.

ISBN:

9781350910973

OCLC:

1356503257

Access Restriction:

Restricted for use by site license.