Chitrasena

Deshamanya Amaratunga Arachige Maurice Dias (26 January 1921 – 18 July 2005), popularly known by his mononym Chitrasena, was a Sri Lankan dancer, internationally known for his work in establishing a modern Sri Lankan tradition of dance and popularizing traditional Sri Lankan dance forms worldwide. He was awarded the Deshamanya award by the Sri Lankan government in 1998. He later moved to India to study other dance forms.

Chitrasena found the Chithrasena Dance Company in 1943. He studied in the Shantinikethan in India. In 1951, Chithrasena married his pupil Vajira, who went on to become a fine performer. Chithrasena has danced before maharajas, Queen Elizabeth II, dukes and duchesses, prime ministers, princesses, and kings.

Early life Amaratunga Arachige Maurice Dias alias Chitrasena was born on 26 January 1921 at Waragoda, Kelaniya in Sri Lanka. His father was late Seebert Dias, well known actor/ producer of the 20s and 30s, founder and instructor for the Colombo Dramatic Club, producer of John de Silva plays, luminary in the theatrical circles of the day, and was a pioneer actor/director of Shakespearean dramas in Sinhala and English. Chitrasena was encouraged by his father from a young age to learn dance and theatre.

In India, Tagore had established his Santiniketan. His lectures on his visit to Sri Lanka, in 1934 had inspired a revolutionary change in the outlook of many educated men and women. Starting as a small nucleus, the dance centre where Chitrasena lived and worked for 40 years was to become a landmark and a renowned cultural centre for dance enthusiasts and connoisseurs of the arts.

In 1945, Chitrasena studied at Gurudev Rabindranath Tagore's Shantiniketan in Bengal and had the distinction of dancing the lead role as Ananda in Tagore's dance drama 'Chandalika' opposite Nandita Kriplani, Tagore's granddaughter. Chitrasena is a contemporary of Uday Shankar. He represented Shantiniketan at the All India Dance Festival in Delhi. He visited numerous dance centers in Lucknow, Lahore, and Uday Shankar's dance center in Almora, Assam. He performed in a Shantiniketan show in aid of Tagore's Memorial fund at the New Empire theatre in Calcutta.

Rabindranath Tagore and the indigenous revival among India's Bengali elite inspired several Sri Lankan artistes to drop their Portuguese influenced names and adopt oriental names. Amaradeva, Sarachchandra and Chitrasena are some of those who did.

Early Period – Obstacles The early period was fraught with severe hardship, insecurity, and frustration. The urban intelligentsia, nurtured as they were on pseudo- colonial values, frowned on things indigenous or at best with native curiosity. They were unprepared to accept the idea of the traditional dance in relationship to the theatre. They faced adversities including: indignities, insults, lack of patronage, a reluctant and disoriented public, little if any media coverage, oppositional leaflets circulated claiming that the traditional dance was being destroyed, and anonymous postcards. Chitrasena was breaking new ground, and there were instances of him being actually hooted off the stage. Not belonging to the traditional dancing 'parampara', it took him years of hard work to be recognised as an artiste in his own right. Even the traditional dancers who were the proud custodians of an ancient heritage going back over 3,000 years looked on Chitrasena with derision.

There were no proper theatre facilities. In the outstations, stages were poorly constructed, the local town hall or central school hall serving as theatre. Moreover, poor theatre conditions included: primitive lighting fixtures, improvised switch board, crude cardboard and coloured cellophane, dimmers operated with fan switches, improvised bamboo frames to hang curtains, and a lack of green rooms.

Pioneering years The dawn of a new era brought with it the challenges of the unknown. In spite of the frustrations due to lack of patronage, they were years of fruitful exchange of ideas and experimentation activity. 'Ravana', 'Vidura', 'Chandali', 'Nala Damayanthi' were creative outpourings of that time, and there was a tremendous Indian influence on the local art scene. Chitrasena considered one of his earliest works, the ballet 'Vidura' (1945), to be the important break-through in his experimenting with a new medium. It was only later, after he had judged the effect of this new thing on the audience, that he moved with full confidence into his sensuous creation, 'Nala Damayanti' (1950). In Karadiya (1961), he emerged as the master.

In 1951, Chitrasena married his star pupil Vajira Chitrasena. He saw in her the makings of an outstanding dancer. She made her debut as soloist in the role of Prakriti in the ballet 'Chandali' in 1952. Her rise to stardom was coupled with unswerving discipline and dedication both as teacher, performer, and choreographer, even as she illumined her husband's career.

The Chitrasena Kalayathanaya Started in 1944 in Colombo, the Chitrasena Kalayathanaya was the center of new forms of arts and culture from the 1940s to the 70s. Begun in a rented house gifted by philanthropist Sir E. P. A. Fernando, the Kalayatanaya building situated a few yards away from Kollupitiya junction, was the oasis of contemporary innovators who searched for new vistas in the aesthetic field. Chitrasena and Vajira introduced a new creative dance form based on indigenous dance to these young artists. The school started with only a handful of students who lived and worked in the studio.

The school became a cultural haven to the leading artists of that period whose talents and contributions were to become highly recognised. There has hardly been a name in the world of arts and letters, which has not at one time or another been associated with the Chitrasena Dance School. Some artistes were launched in their respective careers. Ananda Samarakoon lived and worked with Chitrasena and created the National Anthem whilst living in the school. He composed the music for some of the early ballets – with J. Sadiris Silva for 'Vidura' and with W. D. Amaradeva for 'Chandali'. Sunil Santha After his return from Lucknow, Bathkande College of Music held his music classes at the studio. One of the country's leading authorities on music, Amaradeva's early days, is closely linked with the Chitrasena School. Dramatists like Henry Jayasena and Ernest Macintyre conducted rehearsals at the centre.

Other artists of the pioneering years included Somabandu, Edwin Samaradivakara, W. B. Makuloluwa, Lionel Algama, Somadasa Elvitigala, R L Wimaladharma, and Shelton Premaratne. The Kalayathanaya is now known as the Chitrasena-Vajira Dance Foundation. Since Chitrasena's death in 2005, the Foundation is managed by his wife, Vajira and daughters Upeka and Anjalika.

Contributions After 50 decades of colonial rule, the traditional dance was left impoverished, and it was left to Chitrasena to infuse it with a new dynamism. He is associated with the revival of the traditional dance in all its three major forms; Kandyan, Low-Country and Sabaragamu.

He was the first professional artiste in Sri Lanka. He challenged the mood of the 30s and 40s and influenced the mind of a generation, establishing himself as an artiste unparalleled in the dance annals of this country. He was the pioneer of the modern dance theatre, which proved a viable alternative to the changing social milieu that sustained the traditional dance rituals. Chitrasena steered the course of dance along uncharted paths infusing it with a dynamism that flowed from his visionary seal and dedication, creating a distinct yet meaningful medium of expression. He brought about an infusion of the Theatre, the Stage, the world of audience, confrontation and entertainment to the Sinhala Dance. Somewhere between Chitrasena's ballets Nala Damayanthi and Karadiya (Sea Water), and in some ways on a tangent to the completeness of their cycle, came the creations of Vasantha Kumar's Kumburu Panatha (The Paddy Lands Bill) and Hiroshima, together with Prema Kumar's Thiththa Batha (Bitter Rice); socio-political essays given a ballet form. Produced and directed by its founder, Chitrasena, and led by him and his wife, Vajira, the company presented two programs in their inaugural Australian tour. After his performance in Sydney, Australia, in 1963, the Sydney "Daily Herald" said that Chitrasena is "one of the most virile dancers of any nation we have seen on a Sydney stage".

In 1972 the Chitrasena Ballet returned to Australia, as the Chitrasena Ceylon Dance Ensemble, supported by the Arts Council of Australia and the Ceylon Tea Bureau, to perform at the Adelaide Festival, the Festival of Perth, Melbourne, Sydney and Canberra. After his performance in Sydney, the Sydney "Daily Herald" newspaper once again, repeated its praise of him from a decade earlier, in the very same words.

Dramas Rakthakshi in 'Siri Sangabo' directed by Henry Jayasena on the occasion of the revival of the Tower Hall Theatre. Besides spearheading the revival of indigenous dance forms, Chitrasena also made his stage debut as Othello in the Ernest MacIntyre production of Shakespeare's 'Othello' and Emperor Jones in the late Karan Breckenridge's production of Eugene O'Neill's 'Emperor Jones'.He is one of the most best actors in sri lanka.

Productions Rama & Seeta − 1943 Vidura – 1944 Pageant of Lanka (Ramayana & Landing of Vijaya) – 1948 Ravana – 1949 Nala Damayanthi – 1950 Chandali – 1952 Kumudini – 1952 Himakumariya – 1953 Sepalika – 1955 Kindurangana – 1956 Sama Vijaya – 1957 Vanaja − 1958 Karadiya – 1961 Nala Damayanthi (2nd production) – 1963 Rankikili – 1965 Nirthanjali − 1965 Gini Hora − 1968 Nirasha − 1972 Shadi − 1972 Navanjali − 1972 Anaberaya − 1976 Kinkini Kolama − 1978 Hapana − 1979 Bera Pooja – 1980 Navoda Ranga – 1981 Shishya Pooja − 1982 Dance of Shiva − 1985 Nritha Pooja − 1986

Awards Yuganthaya – 31 December 1999, awarded for his outstanding contribution to the dance of Sri Lanka. Desamanya – 6 April 1998, the highest award given to a citizen of Sri Lanka. Vishva Prasadinee – 20 April 1996, in honour of the national pride and international prestige brought to Sri Lanka by Chitrasena. Kala Bhushana – 22 May 1994, honouring the extraordinary contribution made by Chitrasena to posterity and to the development of the arts and culture of Sri Lanka. Kala Keerthi – Presidential award. Honorary degree of Doctor of Philosophy (Fine Arts) – 21 March 1991, Institute of Aesthetic Studies, University of Kelaniya, Sri Lanka. Kala Suri First Class – 22 May 1986, Presidential Award.

Books Nurnberger, Marianne, Dance Is the Language of the Gods: The Chitrasena School and the Traditional Roots of Sri Lankan Stage Dance, 1998: VU University Press. (Paperback)