A 28-member cultural troupe from “Chandana Wickramasinghe and the Dancers Guild” will perform “Sri Lak
Rangana”...

By Ramesh Uvais

Kuwait will hold a “Sri Lanka Culture Week”, jointly hosted by the Embassy of Sri Lanka and Kuwait’s National Council for Culture, Arts & Letters from today upto May 2. The event, the first ever promotions of its kind, is co-sponsored by the Sri Lanka Tourism Promotion Bureau (SLTPB) and the Sri Lankan Airlines (SLA) with the support of a host of well-wishers.

A 28-member cultural troupe from “Chandana Wickramasinghe and the Dancers Guild” will perform “Sri Lak Rangana”, a cultural extravaganza throughout the week featuring Sri Lanka’s well-known historical and contemporary dance and fusion acts while an orchestra will entertain the guests with classical music.

Kuwait’s Sri Lankan Ambassador Sarath Dissanayake played a key role in organizing this event.

A Batik Designer/Artist, Sonali Dharmawardene, a member of the Sri Lankan Troupe is scheduled to make special presentations to audiences of high profile ladies in Kuwait on the theme “Batik, Lifestyles & Role of Sri Lankan Women”.  Parallel to the main event a handicraft exhibition will also be held throughout the week, which will feature Sri Lanka’s Handicraft, cottage industries, handlooms, masks, bronze items, gems & jewellery and other ornaments.

It is also significant that an “MoU on Tourism Cooperation”

Contd.

on C 7

‘Sri Lanka
will be signed with Kuwait, which is the second such instrument to be signed by Sri Lanka with a Gulf country after Bahrain.   

The celebrations would facilitate further promotion of Sri Lanka – Kuwait relations and would help create awareness on Sri Lanka’s rich culture, heritage, dance, music etc.  among the Kuwaitis and the larger expat community.

Sri Lanka Commenting on the significance of this event, veteran dance choreographer Chandana Wickramasinghe said this was the first time that Kuwait was going to witness the wide variety of our dancing prowess.

“There are five concerts during the week. April 26 and 27 are dedicated to Ministers in the Kuwaiti government and diplomats. The shows will be open to all on April 29 and 30. We are performing with 28 members of our group and that is going to be a novel experimental move. I have plans to take this evbent to other parts of the world too,” said Chandana.