About
In recent years, Staten Island’s Tompkinsville neighborhood has earned the moniker “Little Sri Lanka,” in honor of the vibrant immigrant community that has developed in this New York City borough since the first Sri Lankan family arrived in the late 1960s. Now numbering about 5,000 people, this is believed to be the largest Sri Lankan enclave in the country, known for its excellent restaurants and, more recently, for introducing American audiences to traditional Kandyan dance through the work of the Sri Lankan Dance Academy of NY.
Classically trained in the Kandyan tradition, Tanya DeSilva started a dance school for young girls in her Staten Island attic in 1992, shortly after emigrating from Sri Lanka. From these modest beginnings grew the Sri Lankan Dance Academy of NY, which today trains approximately 50 students in Kandyan dance and drumming traditions. Kandyan dance, one of three national dances of Sri Lanka, is a centuries-old tradition in the central hill region of Kandy. The dance developed out of a healing ritual called kohomba kankariya, which according to legend was used to rid a king of a mysterious illness. The Kandyan style is characterized by a calm, central core; intricate footwork, flowing arms, and acrobatic leaps; and a percussive, stomping beat accentuated by the jingle of the silambu on dancers’ ankles. Originally performed only by men, female dancers and teachers became integral to the tradition starting in the 1940s.
Dilhan Pinnagoda is the troupe’s current director and master choreographer. The performing troupe consists of experienced dancers ranging from 15 – 25 years old, accompanied on drums by their teachers, Dilhan Pinnagoda and the master drummer Uthpala Eroshan. “Although we were born and raised here, we’re still connected to our roots,” explains Sachindara Navinna, 18, who has been with the troupe since she began imitating her older sister at 4 years old. “Dancing has built me into a different person—it is about being humble, down to earth, disciplined.”
Videos:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=gHMnbtFxXOo
https://vimeo.com/114474015