Brought to you by the Deanna School of Dancing, ‘Switch’ will be an exciting fusion of classical ballet and vibrant hip hop, the first of its kind attempted by the school. The premise of the show is that of a newspaper coming alive in the form of dance, complete with a Crime segment featuring gangs in burlesque clubs, Travel News with Egypt as its destination and a Lonely Hearts column. All this will be performance by over 120 students from both their junior and senior classes.

It will be choreographed by Natalie Jayasuriya (Head of Senior School) and Natasha Jayasuriya (Artistic Director/Head of Junior School). Natalie Jayasuriya, Deanna’s eldest daughter, studied Classical Ballet, Modern, Tap and Spanish at The Elmhurst Ballet School, UK. Having completed her Elementary Dance Certificate when she was 16, she returned to Sri Lanka and both performed in and choreographed DSD productions and has helped in many of the classical and freestyle dances along with her mother and sister. She currently heads the Senior School and teaches Classical Ballet and she also runs the Galle branch of DSD.

Natasha Jayasuriya has an eclectic repertoire of dance styles, from classical ballet to hip hop to Spanish to tap. Her qualifications span from being a Gold Standard in Ballroom Latin American dancing to Intermediate (Royal Academy of Dancing, UK) in Ballet. She is currently spearheading the Hip-Hop and freestyle campaign in Sri Lanka, putting on show after show (such as Hipnotic and Kinetic), multiple demonstrations of her innovative and immaculate choreography.

Deanna School of Dancing has a goal that will warm the heart of dancers everywhere. They aim to produce professional dancers who are as serious as they are passionate about what they do. Their vision is to nurture and develop a unique and internationally recognized approach to dance education, and to also encourage dancers to adopt a special and highly valued approach to their art. Tickets will be available from Tuesday, 15th July at the Deanna School of Dancing (30/63H Longden Place, Colombo 7.)

When – 6th & 7th August, 2014
Where – Bishops College Auditorium
Time – 7.30 p.m.
Tickets – Rs 2,000, Rs 1,500, Rs 1,000, Rs 750 and Rs 500 (Balcony).

By Marissa van Eyck