‘Applause’ was held on the 25th, 26th and 27th of April, 2014. Presented by the Synchronised Swimming team of Visakha Vidyalaya and directed by Rovini Illukkumbura, the show was held at the Visakha Vidyalaya Swimming Pool Complex. The Guest of Honour on the closing night was a past Visakhian and Sri Lanka's first ever Sports Etiquette Trainer Ms. Krishani George. Special invitees were Hon. Namal Rajapakse MP, and a distinguished past Visakhian and a former Vice Principal Mrs. Sita Siriwardene.

The Visakha Synchro Team comprises of 40 swimmers – whose ages range from young kids in grade 3 to ones doing their A/Ls.  Also featured were 16 dancers who stayed dry on a stage, complementing the swimmers below them.

It’s amazing to note that while an underwater sound system was in use for the first two days, on the last night a technical glitch meant that the girls had to rely only on their training and instinct. Having said that, there was hardly a difference in the quality of the performance, something commendable indeed.

The event started with the lighting of the oil lamp, a brief history of Synchronised Swimming in Visakha (21 years of the sport was being celebrated as well) and a brief welcome by the captain, Piyusha Sumanapala, who spoke of the gruelling training involved to achieve such discipline and split-second timing, made possible only by a deep love for the sport. She thanked the teachers in charge, their coach and choreographer and the team itself in a heartfelt speech.

The show started with ‘Wake Me Up’ with the swimmers joined by dancers on the stage to give the audience a hint of what to expect from the whole show. ‘Unconditional’ was performed by two girls, and was very well done, one girl had an especially infectious grin that she kept up throughout the show and was delightful to see! Next the captain performed a steamy dance to ‘Right Now’ on stage. Michael Jackson’s ‘Thriller’ saw senior and junior swimmers alike coming together, and the costumes were particularly cool. ‘Superbass’ was also really fun with adorable costumes. Aneka Abeywickrema’s ‘Born This Way’ was excellent, and even an untrained eye could see that it was a difficult routine to do. ‘Roar’ was a favourite, bringing in the itty bitty swimmers from grade 3 into focus while the seniors executed stunning moves – the combination was great.

‘My Love’ was slick, two dancers on stage leading into two swimmers. ‘Wrecking Ball’ was slower than others, but nice and contemplative. ‘I Love It’ was really fun, with a high level of energy that was catching. ‘Starships’ was colourful, with the use of umbrellas that brought another dimension to the show. All of the routines comprised of difficult moves performed in the deep end of the pool, including jumps where the girls push themselves up from just water!

They clearly saved the best for last, however, as the final three songs just blew everyone out of the water. ‘Let Her Go’ was very emotional, the dancer was beautifully balanced and the rendition of the song was just exquisite. ‘Show Me the Money was funky, the two dancers were tight, acrobatic, and flexible, with a great rhythm. And of course the finale ‘Applause’ was the best routine yet, with the whole team in all its glory, decked in Gaga costumes. Though I have no knowledge of the technical terms, there were many amazing, difficult moves that were executed with such ease! It was a fitting end to a fabulous show.

Overall, the team was able to marry their strenuous training to beautiful execution, and the result was a show that lived up to all the hype surrounding it and then some.

Comments from audience members

“It was great, as a past pupil I think they put up a great show, it’s nice to see the team effort. Also, the costumes are colourful and lovely.” – Suguni

“It’s excellent. Roar was my favourite. It was really awesome, and the girls on the stage are also great.” – Diganthi and Sumaya

“It was good. We’re excited. We want to be in it one day.” – Piyushi, Thiseni, Sayumi

By Marissa van Eyck
Pictures by Nisal Baduge