‘Snow White: The Fairest of Them All’- was presented by the Wendy Dance Studio at the Lionel Wendt on May 19 and 20. The show featured 100 of Wendy Perera’s students, aged from 4 to 15 dancing ballet  to the classic tale of Snow White, with a few twists of course.

The talented dancer Kiho Tanaka, danced the lead role of Snow White, while Wendy’s own teacher, Mrs. Jayasundera performed the role of the wicked queen.

The show comprised two sets. The first half told the tale of Snow White while the second half featured 4 genres of dance from jazz and hip hop to comtemporary, representeing the 4 seasons; spring, summer, autumn and winter.

The telling of Snow White was a bit hard to follow, with no narrative speech, the story was told simply through dance. But since there were added routines to the story, it did get confusing at times. Children dressed as flowers, animals and quite a few things I still haven’t figured out yet along with the 7 very tall dwarves danced, pirouetted and twirled around  the stage to classical and even some contemporary music.

Mrs. Jayasundera gave a steller perfomance as the wicked witch, as she perfomed not just through dance but with her expressions as well. As for Snow White, Kiho Tanaka is a performer to keep an eye on in the future. Graceful and poised she was a joy to watch.

As for the younger children, there were a few stumbles here and there, but as this was the first public performance for many of them, it was certainly a job well done on their part. Wendy Perera herself performed a contemporary piece towards the end of the tale, showing us just how beautiful ballet is with her grace and style.

Wendy Perera

The 4 dances for the second half were entertraining to watch as the children performed to various well known songs. My favourite would have to be the representation of winter, a contemporary dance full of sorrow. A touching tribute was payed to Wendy by her students at the end of the show and she certainly deseved it.

All proceeds from the show will go towards the Children’s Home- Home of Hope.

By Lake Argent

Pics by Kithsiri de Mel