ශ්‍රී ලංකාවේ සාම්ප්‍රදායික පහතරට නර්තන කලාව සහ සංචාරක කර්මාන්තය - Srilankan Traditional Low Country Dance and Tourism Industry

The purpose of the present research paper is to examine the possibility of applying low country dance as a branding product for the promotion of the current tourism industry in Sri Lanka. Among the traditional dance arts of Sri Lanka, the low country dance tradition can be identified as a unique dance tradition that reflects diverse local cultural identity at its best. The notable characteristic of the low country dance form its choreography, elegant costumes, the masks and the dramatic elements representing all Abhinaya aspects i.e. nrtta, nrtya, natya. Unlike other dance traditions, low country dance tradition reflects the unique characteristics of local culture and techniques where dramaturgy plays a major role. The significant nature provides a better platform to identify low-country dance as a branding item to promote tourism in the country and it will enable the Sri Lanka’s tourism to reach an important milestone in the current tourism industry while promoting local/vernacular products among tourists. The study applied a mixed method to collect and analyze data: whereas the primary sources and the elements of low country dance tradition was examined to identify the unique characteristics of the particular dance tradition, the quantitative survey was conducted to examine the thoughts, ideas, opinions and the attraction of the audience. The participants were selected on random basis by using convenient sampling method and the information was collected through questionnaires and interviews. Ethical clearance was obtained prior to collecting data from the selected participants. Through this, data were collected on the responses of tourists to the low country dance art of Sri Lanka and their awareness of it. Literature survey was conducted prior to the field survey to identify the essential characteristics of the traditional low country dance tradition. The analysis of the data confirmed that there are many shortcomings between the tourism sector and the dance sector, and it was confirmed that those involved in the tourism industry should pay attention to the contribution that local arts can make a significant contribution to promote their industry. Accordingly, it was concluded that low country dance, which reflects the essential characteristics of local art, and other related arts can be used as guiding factors to promote Tourism industry in the country.