Embodying Change: Rangi Fernando on Dance, Therapy, and Cultural Roots

In this episode Dee chats to Rangi Fernando, a Sri Lankan-born dancer and dance movement therapist who has recently returned to Sri Lanka after living in Germany. Rangi shares her journey of transitioning back to her homeland and her passion for Dance Movement Therapy (DMT), which she believes is a powerful tool for self-expression and therapy. She discusses her first major community performance project, 'Spotlight,' aimed at empowering women through dance. The episode delves into the origins and benefits of DMT, Rangi's unique career shift from accounting to dance, and shares insights on the connection between mind and body, the potential for movement to enhance well-being, and her initiative 'Sync and Move.' 

She also talks about her plans to expand her work in Sri Lanka, including corporate sessions, one-on-one therapy, and working with marginalized communities. The episode highlights the richness of Sri Lankan culture and the importance of representing it globally.

SUMMARY

00:58 Meet Rangi Fernando: A Journey of Dance and Movement

02:23 The Challenges of Transitioning Cultures

05:52 Understanding Dance Movement Therapy (DMT)

09:44 The Art and Science of Movement Therapy

13:35 Rangi's Personal Journey: From Accounting to Dance

18:16 The Birth of Sync and Move

21:42 Practical Tips for Enhancing Wellbeing Through Movement

23:19 Practicing Stillness and Sensory Awareness

24:18 Tapping into the Nervous System

24:44 The Power of Posture and Confidence

26:43 Journey to Germany for Dance Movement Therapy

30:00 Spotlight: Empowering Women Through Performance

38:58 Future Plans and Community Engagement

43:28 Cultural Identity and Global Representation

46:37 Final Thoughts

About Rangi Fernando

Rangi is a Sri Lankan dance movement psychotherapist and movement artist based in Germany, dedicated to community growth and the empowerment of women. As the visionary behind the globally recognized Sync & Move method, she has inspired over 1,500 practitioners across India, Singapore, Germany, the UK, Turkey, France, and Sweden. Seamlessly blending the artistry of Sri Lanka and Europe, Rangi creates transformative experiences through movement, dance, therapy, yoga, and performance.

Her Sync & Move method has expanded to over 100 workshops in seven countries, uniting over 170 dancers in four large-scale showcases and impacting more than 5,000 individuals worldwide.

As the pioneer of Dance Movement Therapy (DMT) in Sri Lanka, Rangi is celebrated for introducing a fresh perspective on dance, making it accessible to everyday people. Her ground-breaking work continues to bridge Western cultural integration with Sri Lankan practices, enriching the therapeutic landscape with new possibilities.

Instagram : rangi.f 

Title: Sri Lanka: Modern Perspectives from an Ancient Melting Pot
Host: Dee Gibson — Sri Lankan-born, award winning designer based in London and founder of boutique hotel Kalukanda House in Sri Lanka. www.kalukandahouse.com | instagram @deegibson2017 & @kalukandahouse

Podcast Themes:

• Modern Sri Lankan identity and culture
• Architecture, art, and design
• Sustainability and heritage
• Diaspora experiences and storytelling

Why Listen:
This podcast offers deep, intelligent storytelling about Sri Lanka’s evolving identity — a blend of East and West, ancient and modern. It’s for listeners who love culture, travel, architecture, and thoughtful conversation.

Transcript

Speaker 0:17

Welcome to Sri Lanka. Modern Perspectives from an ancient melting pot, the podcast that lifts the veil on what? And more importantly, who makes up this beautiful island? I'm your host, Dee Gibson, founder of Boutique Hotel Calcan House on the South Coast. In each episode, I chat to a fascinating guest, creative people with positive impact who you don't get to hear about and I think you really should know about. After all, travel can be expansive and regenerative and is best served with a healthy dose of people interaction. This is the island I get to see and I want to share with all of you.

Speaker 2 0:59

In this episode, I talk to Rangi Fernando, a Sri Lankan born dancer who has been living in Germany and recently returned to the island. It can be tough making a physical move between cultures, but Rangi is passionate about dance and movement as a form of self-expression and therapy. To watch her is to see fluid flow and Rangi shares the origins and benefits of her pioneering dance movement therapy. DMT. She's just completed her first hugely successful community performance project spotlight aimed at women's empowerment and we chat just before the big day 55 women explore their womanhood by taking to the stage and performing in front of an audience for the very first time. This is an episode you really don't want to miss.

dee-host978_1_02-18-2025_131300 1:51

Randy Fernando, how are you?

rangi_2_02-18-2025_184300 1:53

Um, good day. Thank you for having me

dee-host978_1_02-18-2025_131300 1:55

We managed to meet in London, to say hello. And two hours later we were still talking.

rangi_2_02-18-2025_184300 2:01

we've tried to meet a couple of more times. It just didn't happen after that.

dee-host978_1_02-18-2025_131300 2:04

Yeah, 2024 was, uh, a very, very busy year, but listen, we're here now. Are you in Colombo Where are you?

rangi_2_02-18-2025_184300 2:13

to be specific.

dee-host978_1_02-18-2025_131300 2:14

Oh, okay, because you were in

rangi_2_02-18-2025_184300 2:16

I was in Germany. I left in, on the 9th of February.

dee-host978_1_02-18-2025_131300 2:23

has, has that been sort of a big transition for you? I mean, I know you, that you are, uh, Born and bred Sri Lankan, but you spent quite a lot of time out of Sri Lanka, so how has that transition been coming back from the West

rangi_2_02-18-2025_184300 2:35

it's been, uh, it's been reflective and it's been, I wouldn't call it a struggle, but it's, it's new. I didn't think I would feel like this because in my mind, I thought, you know, I, I visit Sri Lanka quite often because I have my work going on here. So even though I was based in Germany, I kept coming back home quite often. So in my mind for me, I thought, okay, it's just, I'm doing my thing, you know, I'm going back home, but coming back and, and realizing that I'm not heading back, I'm really here with a little bit of a shift of the mind. And, uh, it took me it's still taking me time. I want to be based here for some time. So it's been a reflective process and I feel like I've also been preparing for it for a while. I've known that it's going to be a challenge. cause even though I graduated, uh, in November, I still stayed in Germany for some time because I needed to process this. because I've evolved and I've changed, uh, and I've lived in Sri Lanka also my whole life, even though I've been traveling quite a lot. Um, so there comes some sort of pressure to fit back into your previous life, what you used to eat, what you used to do, the way you used to drive, the way you used to dress, you know, it comes to every little detail. And it's. Also comes to a point where you have to admit or accept that you have changed that you're no longer that same person and a love space for your newer version or for you right now to get to know this person in this setting. Because I think what happens is that we discount that or rather I discounted that I because it's home. So I took away the time of transition. Um, so now it's actually now that I'm telling myself, it's okay, take your time and it's okay that it's, it feels a little uncomfortable because if not, I'm, I was giving myself a little bit of a hard time. Why am I feeling uncomfortable? I'm home. I shouldn't be like this, but as a therapist, I think I've also been trained to allow my feelings to, you know, be, and to observe it from the outside. So it's, it's. One word for me is it's been reflective and it's been interesting, the transition.

dee-host978_1_02-18-2025_131300 5:00

Well, I mean, we've dived straight into question number eight on my list of questions. No, no, no, That was such a great answer. Thank you for sharing that. Because I've spoken to many people now on the podcast and also outside of the podcast, um, who are Sri Lankans living in Sri Lanka, Sri Lankans living outside of Sri Lanka, returning Sri Lankans, uh, Westerners moving to Sri Lanka. And what I'm interested in hearing is there's always this play on identity and, how we see ourselves. the world. especially when you're doing some kind of meaningful work, which we're going to come on to in a moment, it's kind of getting comfortable with the definition of yourself before you can then, go out and do the work that you're doing, let's roll back a little bit to what you do. So you are, a DMT practitioner, Dance Movement Therapy and the way you move, it is so fluid. I wouldn't even know how to describe it. So you have to see it to believe it really. So more about DMT and what that means and where it comes from.

rangi_2_02-18-2025_184300 6:16

Um, so Dance Woman Therapy is describing it in words itself is, kind of difficult because, difficult because it's, it's very process based, it's very body based. So you have to kind of feel it and go through the process, but I will describe it. So it's a psychotherapeutic user movement, where you focus on a person's integration of emotions, social, physical, and cognitive well being. So it's kind of an integration and a holistic approach in terms of how you integrate all these things, because Movement starts from, from the day that you're born. Not, not so much before that, while you're still in your mom's tummy, you're moving. So movement is really the first language that you learn as a human being. And then through your process of development, you learn different ways of moving. And when I say that is different ways of using your body and how you engage with the world, how you identify yourself. When I say identify how you. How you come to recognize that you're separate from the environment, that you are able to crawl, that you're able to stand, we do all that before we start talking. So really, as humans, it's really in our nature to move, it's in our nature to use our body a certain way, we are not meant to be sitting the whole time. And what we do as movement therapists is that we hold space, for people. To connect back to their bodies, and we use our bodies as vessels to support them to channel their emotions or channel whatever that they're going through at the moment. And we support them to align mind and body. So the whole premise of movement therapy is that the mind and body are interconnected and whatever that happens to the mind also shows up in the body and vice versa. So in a gist, really, that's what it is. I

dee-host978_1_02-18-2025_131300 8:35

So are you saying that, um, because in our modern world, we've become much more cerebral and we use our brains so much, we analyze so much, we kind of, everything from the neck down tends to be just something that we don't think about and actually we know. Um, that our bodies hold lots of trauma and emotion and what you're saying is that to get out of your mind and into your body and somehow dissipate all of that through

rangi_2_02-18-2025_184300 9:06

wouldn't really say get out of the mind and into your body. I would say it's a space to give them time to come together. Uh, so. Typically in a session, you give it time, you slow down and you allow your mind and body to come together and have a conversation and be in agreement for a little time. Because what happens is that as we go through life, we, of course, it's sometimes the body that overpowers, sometimes the mind that overpowers, So it's really a time for the mind and body to. come together in alignment.

dee-host978_1_02-18-2025_131300 9:43

That's really interesting. And how does that differ from or does it differ from yoga?

rangi_2_02-18-2025_184300 9:49

Yoga can be therapeutic. can feel therapeutic, but it's not therapy. So that's where the key difference is. even dance movement, contemporary dance, it can feel therapeutic. Some people find running therapeutic. But it's not therapy. There's a big difference in the contract. When someone comes into a session, someone comes into a yoga session, you're the yoga teacher. You're not really there to develop a specific plan and to come into an agreement with your client to start out an emotional, emotional issue they're going through or something like that. You're there to, show them. different postures of yoga or, or take them through a yoga session. Uh, so that's the main difference in the two. And also as a dance movement therapist, you also have access to different modalities, so I might, as a movement therapist, I might use yoga in my session. If that supports my client to achieve whatever that we agreed upon, I might use boxing if that client needs to need some form of strong movement, which I would have analyzed before and kind of come up with a plan for the client. And then I realized, okay, this person needs boxing or this person needs maybe Tai Chi. Movement such as Tai Chi or they might need if they need more confidence, I might give them more opening up movement or using their arms a little more. So, as a movement therapist, you have access to these different tools. And they're trained in that.

dee-host978_1_02-18-2025_131300 11:26

I get that. I'm very physical person and I like to move and I definitely have to move every day. Otherwise just things start going wrong. And I think I understand what you're saying. Because for me, a different pace or tempo of my movement each day, I know instinctively now, because I'm that much older, what I need in order to deal with whatever I'm sort of processing, sort of get myself some kind of equilibrium before I can sit down and work, that kind of thing. But I'm curious about, because it is dance movement therapy. So why is it not just a movement therapy then?

rangi_2_02-18-2025_184300 12:05

Dance is the base of it all. Um, for me, rather, being a dancer is the base of it all. The moment I disconnect from being the dancer, I cannot bring it in. And that's where the art comes, comes into play. Uh, you're still creative. So the sessions are very creative. it's a Form of improvisation, and I think that's why I love it so much because I love improvising in my movement. I'm not someone who Enjoys choreography that much. I like improvisation. I like finding things along the way which ultimately has become my lifestyle as well So in a movement therapy session You're diving into a process together with your client and you don't know what you're going to face You don't know. You're just having trust in the relationship and you're having trust that you're going to explore this together. And, and that's really where the art comes into play. So the sessions are creative. So you have to address these certain plans that you have, that you develop for your client in a very creative manner. So that, that's why dance is important.

dee-host978_1_02-18-2025_131300 13:15

Oh, it sounds so fun, Rangi. I just wish you were in London and I could come to one of your sessions.

rangi_2_02-18-2025_184300 13:20

you.

dee-host978_1_02-18-2025_131300 13:21

I'm really in. Next time I'm Colombo, I'm definitely going to come and, and see you at work and

rangi_2_02-18-2025_184300 13:27

I hope you will, but I might also visit London before that. You never know. Um,

dee-host978_1_02-18-2025_131300 13:33

Oh definitely. we should make that happen. how did you get into this line of work? What were you doing in a younger self? Have you always been in this space?

rangi_2_02-18-2025_184300 13:44

That's an interesting question. Uh, with a long answer, actually. But, uh, as my youngest self was, uh, was an accountant, actually. The very kind of shy, kind of, quiet, accountant.

dee-host978_1_02-18-2025_131300 14:02

I was not expecting that answer. I really wasn't expecting that answer at all. Wow.

rangi_2_02-18-2025_184300 14:11

so my bachelor's is in accounting. But to be very honest, I really enjoy numbers. I like numbers. I like reading. I like studying. I like facing exams. So the academic in me is quite, quite strong. And, um, so that version of myself decided to do accounting and, I did very well. I came back to Sri Lanka. I actually studied in Malaysia. I was there for three years and I came back home and I, you know, you, I followed the, the checklist, you know, the The set out formula for success. I followed that to the dot and I got my corporate job and I was there for 10 years and getting promoted and I really enjoyed it all. I, I, to date, I consider my corporate life also as the biggest training I had. It was kind of my campus or my university in a certain way. Yeah, that's when movement came along while I was still working, but the younger self would never believe that I'm here. The younger self also loved dancing. but never considered it a career option, never. Even my, even much later than that, I didn't consider it a career. But I knew I really loved it. It was very weird because I kept looking for freedom in it. I just didn't know what it was. Because I used to do, I'm a Kenyan dancer, so I looked for freedom in Kenyan dance. I looked for freedom in Latin American, so I competed in Latin American. And I looked for freedom in it. And I, I think my search was for freedom in movement and, um, yeah, I found it.

dee-host978_1_02-18-2025_131300 15:52

Yeah, uh, boy, have you found it? I love that answer because not only do I have a finance background, but freedom is one of my favorite words. And, uh, it's interesting that you instinctively went towards movement

rangi_2_02-18-2025_184300 16:06

for me, it's also the link that made a Big impact on my life because the more I search for freedom in my movement, the more I also became free in terms of my life, in terms of my mind. And when I say freedom, I don't mean freedom in a general term. What I mean is even in my thinking, you know, the box kind of thinking, it just slowly vanished away. My eyes kind of opened up and I still call it a fourth dimension to life. I got a new. new expansion to life. And I think, and I think it's not that I've achieved it. I think it, it keeps evolving. It's the, the version of freedom. Yeah.

dee-host978_1_02-18-2025_131300 16:46

finance and accounting specifically is so regimented. You've got, a list of rules and there's kind of the boundaries and you don't go beyond those boundaries. And now you're doing this thing, which is. Yes, academic in some ways, really, because of the therapy aspect of things, but you're using your body and kind of going beyond all these boundaries. I think that sort of contrast is really

rangi_2_02-18-2025_184300 17:09

And I think the contrast is needed.

dee-host978_1_02-18-2025_131300 17:11

yeah, yes, completely agree, completely agree. Yeah, and this is why I asked this question, And actually it's such a common answer. The number of people who say, well, actually I started off in this much more sort of academic background, and then I kind of broke out including myself, but I, I think times are changing now, but I am aware when I speak to my children as well, I am aware of, you know, telling them. these stories about how people have ended up where they are today, where they started. And you know, it doesn't have to be, you make a decision right now and that's it for the rest of your life. It's going to be fluent and you move with the times, but let's come back to your movement. So, watching you move is I don't know. It's, it's almost like there are no bones in your body and you bend and shape and sway and it's very beautiful to watch you move. It's actually quite, therapeutic, I think, just, just watching you. So You're pioneering in this space as well because you're the founder of, um, an ideology. Would you call it that? Called Sink and Move. Um, aren't you? So is that a form of DMT? Does it predate? What was that? And is it even still

rangi_2_02-18-2025_184300 18:35

it is still alive to, to be very honest. I'm trying to figure out wait, wait, uh, sets of the home for Sink and Move because I started Sink and Move when I, discovered this. Mind body connection, because I realized, when I gave myself to, when I gave myself permission to move however I wanted to move, it was a big unlock for my mind. And it, it's very interesting for me now when I think back that I didn't know that I was allowed to move like that. I never thought that I could, because previously. Talk to Rangi five years ago. If somebody puts a camera in front of me and asked me to move, I would still be searching for steps. I would still be searching to figure out where should my hand be? What kind of, you know, choreography should I do versus me? Now you put a camera in front of me. I can instinctively move. I'm so connected to the. Instinct or the intuitive sort of mover within me that I can just move. And that's also very mind oriented thing, because I. No longer care about the judgment that comes from outside. I'm not moving for someone else. I'm not moving, thinking, Oh, I hope I look good. I move for me. So that's why I started thinking more because I realized how much it changed the way I operate in the world, how I presented myself during that time I was at the corporate, how I approached my customers and I, how I would pitch a product and. And I wanted to share that with people. I didn't want to share it with dancers because I realized that this was It's very important for people because it's a life skill almost to have and I want to share that. And that's why at that time for me, I just named it Sync Move. I didn't think it would grow to this extent. And I started at the corporate I was working at. Uh, the sessions I did was at office, for people after work, they would come and they would take a session and, it grew. So I call it my archive of movement. Yes, dance movement therapy is my latest qualification, but before that, I'm also a yoga instructor. I'm also a meditation coach. I also have a lot of knowledge on somatic movement and laban movement. So, so sync and move has elements of all of them put together with my, my kind of interpretation of them all. So I call it my archive of movement. So I'm looking at it more in terms of a movement method. Uh, yeah, so I wouldn't call sink and move dance movement therapy. It's not therapy.

dee-host978_1_02-18-2025_131300 21:20

Okay. So it's, it sounds like it was, um, uh, finding a way of expression through your body and maybe even a form of sort of body language, which you could use in sort of corporate environment. And now you've moved on to evolving into DMT and making that grow. God is so interesting. Are there any particular movements that you have come to learn that can be attributed To an increase in wellbeing, that you're starting to realize is a pattern in terms of body parts or, I don't know, increasing our mood, that kind of thing? Yeah.

rangi_2_02-18-2025_184300 22:05

call it increasing well being, but in general, so every session I do leaving aside a one on one movement therapy session, leaving that aside, but a group session I do in terms of movement, I build people up. So we start from connecting to our breath and then we go into connecting to our senses. And from there we bring in different forms of. Movement. But there's a method to this way of doing it. So I would say those are the main things that we can incorporate into daily life because nobody has to guide you through that. So little things there. Firstly, even though it might sound contradicting, I would say stillness. That's the biggest thing that you can do for your well being. stillness. You just, you just stay still and you maybe keep, maybe if you place your one hand on your heart and the other hand on your You feel your heart beat and you feel your stomach expanding and contracting as you breathe in and out. And that itself is a huge thing that you can do because you're coming back to your body. You're letting your mind also meet your body. And this I'm telling myself too, because I also don't do it, um, as much as I should be doing. so stillness is a big thing that you can give. And, and while you're being still, you can also close your eyes and just do a quick check of your senses. A very quick scan. You know, just think about what you can hear, what you can smell, what you can taste, but how your clothes are touching your body. And then you kind of take some time to let it settle. And then you open your eyes while you still stay connected to the rest of your senses. And you really take in the light and you take in the room. And that is a big thing you can do. So, sometimes regardless of where you are, if you feel like jittery and you're stressed, this is a big thing you can do. You can just, just come to stillness, just come back to your breath. Come back to your body. And that itself is a big thing. And from there, of course you can tap into your nervous system. So in the sessions, actually we do it quite extensively, but you can do like just very small tapping. Just from the top of your head, back of your neck. So giving your nervous system a little bit of a wake up or like time to align. So that is another thing I do. And. When I need confidence or rather than anyone needs confidence, we all know this, I think, uh, it's, it sounds funny, but in superman pose, it works. because there is a, there is a feed body feedback effect that happens from your body to the mind, mind to the body. and you stand in it, your body is going to send a signal to your mind that you're confident. It's, it's very natural. Just checking in with your posture itself. If you're hunched, your mind thinks you're not confident. And if you, if you adjust your posture for long enough, you can trick your mind into thinking that this is the feeling you want to have. Because at the end of the day, it's all about what you feed your mind and your body. these are little things that you can do. And I can keep talking about it for a very long time.

dee-host978_1_02-18-2025_131300 25:37

and I could listen to you for a very long time. I find this absolutely fascinating, and I read about it as well. And the mind body connection is so strong, and It's a shame that we're not taught this stuff in schools, because it should be, I think, part of the academic

rangi_2_02-18-2025_184300 25:53

I do want to explore while I'm in Sri Lanka. I do want to explore trying to connect with some schools and, uh, because I think at that, when you arm people at that age, you're really giving them tools for life. And I think it's very

dee-host978_1_02-18-2025_131300 26:10

I completely agree. In order to be able to understand yourself and get yourself out of tough situations, whether they're mental or physical, to understand how you can use the whole of your body to kind of self regulate and put yourself in a strong position or understand if you're feeling a particular way, why you might be feeling like that through self reflection and how you can find some sort of, uh, I think we really do need to talk about what you're doing back in Sri Lanka. you came back to Sri Lanka via Germany. So let me just take you back to Germany for a second. How did you end up in Germany of all places? Because. There are so many Sri Lankans scattered across the world. Um, Germany isn't normally the first place that springs to mind. Beautiful country as it is. So how did you end up

rangi_2_02-18-2025_184300 27:03

I've had that same thought living there sometimes. I just step out and I'm, I'm just like, What? How did I end up here? How did I end up in this place called Heidelberg that I never knew existed? Uh, but yeah, I

dee-host978_1_02-18-2025_131300 27:17

So pretty,

rangi_2_02-18-2025_184300 27:18

very beautiful, very beautiful. I, I miss it so much. I think I still haven't fully grasped that I'm not there anymore because I think I think I'm going back kind of feeling, but it's beautiful. And how I ended up there was because, um, They have one of the most recognized programs for dance movement therapy. So it's a master of arts, and it's a university called SRH Heidelberg. It was a Google search I just Googled because as I was going along this, part of sharing movement with people. I came across different people who had more challenges, bigger challenges than what I could handle at that time. Uh, you know, people who are suffering with severe depression, people who had suicidal thoughts. And I, of course, I can give them a general session similar to a yoga session. So this is again me going back to your question, of yoga and movement therapy. So I can give a general session. But I'm not still targeting their need. They're going through this particular thing, and they have this particular challenge, and I was so curious as to how can I help them a little bit more? Because then everyone says, Oh, this is like therapy, this is like therapy. So it was a very simple Google search of, Can dance be therapy? Something like that I Googled, and then, and then it just took another turn, and I just kept searching and searching, and, and, and. And I came across, uh, SRH and yeah, and then I ended up there and it was quite challenging to be honest, because I also was not sure that I could get into the program because my bachelor's is in accounting, even though I had all these other things happening and I'm a dancer, I also was not sure, uh, because Typically, I don't meet the pre requirements of the program because I don't have a background of, that in my bachelor's. So, I was the only finance student in the program. Uh, but of course, they had very, uh, tough interview process and so on. and in preparation to get into the program, I did many other little qualifications. I don't call them little, but I armed myself with a lot of things. Um, and of course in my experience in Sri Lanka also helped a lot.

dee-host978_1_02-18-2025_131300 29:49

Wow. A Google search. You ended up in Heidelberg and you come back. You're bringing your amazing therapy back to Sri Lanka. That is So cool. I mean, before we started recording, I was asking you what your, you know, what your plans are in Sri Lanka. We've got to talk about what you're doing at the moment, in terms of preparing for this event and the program that you're running, in April, which is, which is super exciting, called Spotlight. you've only been back a week and you've already kind of just been Dived straight back into life there and the work that you've been doing. What is Spotlight and what does it look like? And what's the event going to be in April?

rangi_2_02-18-2025_184300 30:33

So Spotlight is, I would say it's a community performance built around women's empowerment. So March also happens to be the month of women's empowerment. So it Well together, and I did spotlight, I would say Spotlight 1.0 before I left for Germany. So that was two and a half years ago I did one, and now I'm doing Spotlight 2.0 as as I arrived back to Sri Lanka. So for me, it's also very special. So Spotlight is for, for me, I'm a performer. And I, for me, I've gained a lot from performing on stage, putting myself out there, allowing people to witness me in this form of intimate space, rather. It's an intimate part of myself that I'm sharing when I move on stage. And I wanted others to have that feeling. I didn't, I didn't like, not that I didn't like, I felt there was a huge gap when people watch me performing and they admire me, I think it's beautiful. But I want you also, or whoever also, to have the feeling I have when I perform. Join me there and feel it. Spotlight is about me sharing my spotlight with 50 other women and taking them through a process of, um, preparing for it and preparing them in a way that they build confidence, that they build ways of expressing themselves, getting comfortable in their skin, working through group dynamics, figuring out how to work with each other, working towards the bigger picture. And actually also going back to their childhood of wearing costumes, getting makeup done, and having their families witness them in movement. So yeah, so, so for me, actually, when I'm doing Spotlight 2. 0, now I'm bringing a whole new angle to it all as a dance movement therapist. So I'm more, I feel I'm more equipped to handle it through a different lens. So it's, they will go through 15 different, uh, sessions. So the sessions will have movement therapy angles put into it, and in a way where they become prepared to be on stage on the, on the 5th of April. And this is not a small performance. It's pretty big. So we have about 800 people in the audience. And for someone who has never performed before, it's quite, it's quite a challenge. It's a lot. You're asking a lot from yourself when you say, I'm going to perform in front of 800 people. I'm going to let 800 people witness me in movement. It's, uh, so it's for me when people register for it itself, they've done a big job. It's, it's very courageous of, uh, people who never performed to say, I'm going to do it. And then seeing them through the 15 sessions and they keep that the word they they told themselves they keep that promise and that itself is just amazing. And the bonds they form with each other and how they support each other and how they make me a part of the team. So for me, I'm very excited to see all this happening. So because I've done it before, I know, um, the kind of things that's going to happen, but at the same time, it's still a new experience because it's new people. I'm Yeah. So it's happening on the 5th of April.

dee-host978_1_02-18-2025_131300 34:06

dynamics.

rangi_2_02-18-2025_184300 34:07

New dynamics.

dee-host978_1_02-18-2025_131300 34:08

Sounds fantastic. Do they, do they, um, do they get on stage individually or

rangi_2_02-18-2025_184300 34:14

They don't get on stage individually because it's 50 people. So it becomes a little tough to manage that. Uh, but as a group they get on stage. Yes.

dee-host978_1_02-18-2025_131300 34:25

and so are you working through these 15 sessions on choreographing them through something, but working with them as individuals

rangi_2_02-18-2025_184300 34:34

I try to keep the session aware that a movement therapy session would go. Of course it's not therapy, but I still follow the same structure where we have warmups. And we have a key part where we can have a choreography, we can have exploration. So that's the key part. And then we have reflection at the end. So the reflection part happens in each session where we share in a group in terms of what we went through, how we feel. So that's where the, that's where actually the most important thing happens, where you connect the dots, where you reflect a little bit more. And especially when you hear the people talking, it helps you also to reflect about certain things and you have these like aha moments. Um, so each session is structured in that way. But of course, the middle section, the exploration part, can be a choreography. It can also be an exploration. So, I'm also not, uh, the type of person, I don't enjoy teaching the same choreography over and over again. I don't like that. So each time, it would be done a little differently. And it's a challenge, because we have, um, 13 different items. Um, And it's, it's, it's interesting. It's a challenge. And sometimes also some of the items they're improvising on stage. So there's one item where we just mirror. So mirroring is a big part of dance woman therapy, where therapist and the client, we mirror each other's movement. So on stage, we're going to do it where they mirror my movement. So for one whole item is 50 women connected together, listening and moving at the same time, because mirroring means you have to be very present in your body. You have to be present in your group, and you have to also be connected to the person you're mirroring. So it's a lot of, um, connection going on, and it's a lot of Trying to be aligned in your mind and body so you can listen to what the person is doing and without a delay, you're going to follow it. So, yeah, I try to equip them with all the tools needed to, uh, yeah, be on stage. Yeah.

dee-host978_1_02-18-2025_131300 36:43

I mean, the energy that's going to be coming off that stage is gosh, it's going to be so exciting. I mean, to even to have a space with 800 people and a stage with 50 women, that is going to be quite a spectacle. and how did they find you? What are they looking for? The women that come to you?

rangi_2_02-18-2025_184300 37:02

very interesting because just today I asked two girls, like, why did you, because some of them have, I won't call them girls. I call them women. Uh, some of them have been with me for. Now almost 45 years since the time I started. They've been there. So I also get curious because I'm not sure how they what they come. Some of them come wanting to dance, but they find something completely different. Some of them come wanting to reflect and then they connect to something in terms of movement. So how they find me is for me, my most biggest platform is Instagram. So they find me on Instagram, but when I asked them, they don't come to me to learn to dance. Because I, I don't teach dance. I give them the feeling of. Um, so, but some of them, I think it's a process of discovery for them and me, to be honest, and somehow they find me. It's a, it's a,

dee-host978_1_02-18-2025_131300 38:16

Yeah. It's an experience. Yeah. You're like a pied piper.

rangi_2_02-18-2025_184300 38:24

Yeah.

dee-host978_1_02-18-2025_131300 38:26

You're drawing all these women towards you. I know you said that you had something like a hundred applications for this, and obviously you had to whittle it down to 50, and I'm sure that there are going to be loads more of these kind of, uh, spectacles. I mean, that's what I'm, that's the word I'm going to use, because it's going to be something so beautifully artistic. But do you think you'll also be Running sessions. Is that your plan outside of these performances? Will you be running sessions, you know,

rangi_2_02-18-2025_184300 38:55

So I said, so,

dee-host978_1_02-18-2025_131300 38:57

sort of

rangi_2_02-18-2025_184300 38:58

yeah, so April for me for the next month, uh, apart from working on the. Spotlight program. I am also hosting separate sessions. So I'm hosting some corporate sessions. So corporates have invited me over because it's also Women's Empowerment Month. And my specialization also happens to be that I'm from the corporate world. So for me, I really enjoy Build like, uh, merging the two worlds of mine. So, I really enjoy doing cooperate movement sessions. Uh, so I, I have quite a few of those happening. And from April, I'm going to start my one on one, uh, sessions for therapy. So, I have my, I'm building up a private practice for me. Uh, in a space. So I have a space just for that. Um, and I'm also getting in, uh, sorry, listed in two different, uh, channeling platforms so that clients can find me then channel me, uh, for movement therapy. So those will be more long term commit, commitments. So when it comes to one on one client, we would sit together and develop a plan and then we would stick to that plan. And, and, and for me, It's not possible for just the therapist to do the job just as with any form of therapy. It has to be the client that has to drive the car at the end of the day. We just hold the structure and it's up to so that it's a two way process. So yeah, I'm excited for that part actually because that's really where I will bring in more what I Gathered in Germany into that, because that's going to be my new part. And also I am going to work with marginalized communities because my work has been predominantly in Colombo. So Colombo in a certain type of population. Uh, so for me, I really want to approach or or go towards more marginalized populations because I feel that's where I will kind of be able to contribute a little bit more. And that's where I will also be challenged a little bit more. Uh, so I really do want to Um, engaged with that. And I am working with certain NGOs. So right now we're in discussion. So it's a matter of, uh, building that up and figuring out which one I want to go ahead with. Uh, cause I also don't want to do too many things, uh, which is something that I have promised myself not to do. Uh, so I want to actually pick certain things and deep dive into them.

dee-host978_1_02-18-2025_131300 41:45

I meet people. Like you, who are really interested in using these disciplines and art forms and their own knowledge to empower women. And it's not just in Sri Lanka. I think the world over even the most empowered women in the West need some kind of outlet and some. you know, self expression through their bodies in order to just process the, the stuff that they hold on their shoulders. And then, you know, in places like Sri Lanka, which is, progressive, but of course in these kind of smaller communities and, and as you say, the marginalized sections of society who just need. To have someone to reach out a hand and say you can do this and actually it doesn't require education, it doesn't require language, it transcends all of that. You've got it in your own body and it just needs to be released. So I think it's an incredible thing that you're doing and it's wonderful to hear that you're working. Corporates and, and NGOs as well. We're coming to the end of our time. I think we've crammed quite a lot into a short space of time, but not enough. There's never enough. But you are, part of the Herra community, um, which is this group of creative women that we're putting in the spotlight as well, just for, for the rest of the world to see how wonderful Sri Lanka is. Why do you think it's important for people outside of Sri Lanka to understand more about the people on the island and particularly the women? Well, that's

rangi_2_02-18-2025_184300 43:28

when I went to, when I was spending my time in Germany, what I was learning there, uh, in the, in the master's program, the more I went deeper into it, I realized that these are things, these are things that we've had in Sri Lanka, healing rituals we've had. We have devil masks and sunny masks, mask therapy, we've had them, and we have so much heaviness in our culture and so much, uh, so much that we can kind of take to the world. And I didn't appreciate it when I was living here, I didn't give it the amount of respect it needed. Of course, I knew that it existed, but I didn't know the extent to which it can reach. Because growing up, you don't pay much attention to it or I don't know why, but the moment I left and, and I was going deeper into the movement therapy, my academics, I saw Sri Lanka in a different lens because I also got to witness myself amongst a group of 12 different people from different countries. And my identity has so much to do with my culture and and and I need and I wanted to learn more about it and my representation ultimately became very strongly about me being Sri Lankan because that's where my, my roots came from. That's, that's where the way I talk, the way I walk, the way everything is because I'm from here. And when you're And you're also representing a very, um, like diverse culture and a culture that has a lot of depth. And yeah, and I think I grasped a different level of appreciation for it while I was there that my research also ended up being about that. So, and I also saw the, because I got to witness the different cultures, I'm not saying that the other cultures are not special, but there is something truly. Truly healing something about, about the land here, about being from Sri Lanka. And yeah, I still don't know the full answer to it, but I think it's very important for people to see that. And I feel in a way that we're all ambassadors of it. And it's important that it's our time to show it. Uh, so I feel this level of responsibility and a level of, uh, calling towards it.

dee-host978_1_02-18-2025_131300 46:04

Yeah, I see that. It's a beautiful answer. And I, I definitely agree that there feels a general awakening, around the world, but also, uh, around culture and identity and how those two things are linked. Um, and when you've got it in your DNA, there is something. that brings you back no matter where you are in the world. There's something that happens. There's a catalyst at some point in our lives that brings you back to that real grassroots level. Um, it's been an absolute joy to speak to you. Thank you so much for sharing. And also hopefully we'll be able to share where they can come and find you when they're visiting Sri

rangi_2_02-18-2025_184300 46:49

Yeah, sure.

dee-host978_1_02-18-2025_131300 46:50

because I think people need to hear more about you. So thank you so much for being

rangi_2_02-18-2025_184300 46:55

Thank you so much for having me. It's been lovely.