Presented as part of SIMA Jazz Now: Summer Series

Ecstatic music and dance from Sri Lanka.

In a rapturous celebration of ancient Sri Lankan culture, Baliphonics and Australian Art Orchestra bring age-old rituals to life through traditional dance, chanting and music.

In a spectacle of dance, music and light, this unique group draws upon an astrological healing practice known as Bali Ritual, in which deities are invoked and demons exorcised.

On a recent trip to Sri Lanka, Peter Knight (Artistic Director, Australian Art Orchestra) formed a friendship with leader of Baliphonics, Sumudi Suraweera. This friendship formed the start of an exciting collaboration combining the yak bera (demon drum), clarinets and other traditional instrumentations with the signature experimental jazz stylings of Australian Art Orchestra.

This is the first time the Sydney Improvised Music Association has had the pleasure of hosting the Australian Art Orchestra to present this superb night of dance and music in the wonderfully atmospheric surrounds of the Annandale Creative Arts Centre.