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Dipa Khondoker is a well known name in the country’s dance arena for her skill in both folk and modern dance. Interestingly, she did not come to this field with any plan or preparation. She took formal training on dance after getting inspiration from others for her performance in some cultural functions in Bangladesh and West Bengal.
   In May 1971, when Dipa was a student of class six, she had left the country for India with her family as a refugee. Her elder brother Rafiqul Alam formed a cultural group in Narikeldanga in Kolkata with Mitali Mukharjee, Fakir Alamgir, Naren Bishwas, Pijush Kiran Pal and others to raise fund for the Liberation War and inspire the freedom fighters.
   ‘I used to cry a lot to take part in the cultural programmes of the team as my elder sisters Rekha Das and Shikha Das were in the team. My elder brother did not allow me at first as I was very young at that time. But I was adamant to perform,’ said Dipa.
   ‘Finally I was given a chance to take part in the rehearsals and the organisers recruited me to perform dance in the programmes held in the refugee camps. That was the beginning of my career as a dance performer,’ she continued.
   After coming back to the newly liberated Bangladesh, Dipa Khondoker also got the opportunity to take part in various cultural programmes in the country.
   Her well-wishers inspired her to continue with her performance as a dance artiste. It was at this stage she decided to take formal training on dance.
   ‘I took lessons on dance from Ustad GA Mannan. Basically, I got trainings on folk and modern dances. Later, I took lessons on various forms of classical dance, like Odissi and Manipuri to improve my dance compositions,’ Dipa said.
   In 1979, Dipa Khondoker joined an institute called ‘Performing Arts’ as a dancer. During that time she got training on Korean ballet, from which she had learned a lot and adapted several styles for her modern fusion compositions.
   About the compositions of her choreography Dipa Khondoker said that she always gives priority on chorography to present a particular theme. ‘I also present the local mudras in my choreography so that viewers can get the touch of Bangladeshi culture.’
   ‘I do prefer fusion by taking styles from foreign dances in my compositions but I do not want that to suppress our own tradition. I do not like to create gimmicks on stage.’
   According to Dipa Khondoker, dance is a language of expression. She wants to express both crisis and beauty of life through her compositions.
   Recently, Dipa Khondoker has composed Rabindranath Tagore’s Dui Pakhi for the Tunatuni Festival this year. She has presented a comparison of the sufferings of birds with that of women. She has also plans to compose a dance item based on a poem by Rabindranath Tagore.
   Earlier, she had composed a dance on poet Jasimuddin’s Kabar and famous a folk-tale Rupban.
   Dipa khondoker joined Bangladesh Shilpakala Academy in 1983. Since 1999, she has been working as the Director of the Music and Dance Department of the Academy.
   Dipa feels that an archive on performing dance is needed so that young dancers may get to know the history and style of this genre of performing arts. She also hopes that the Academy will arrange regular shows on dance of young and promising artistes and will arrange training courses regularly.
   According to Dipa Khondoker, patronisation is needed to produce a good production. ‘Many of the young dancers of the country have the required talent and we can provide proper training courses for them. That way they will be able to contribute towards the development of dance in this country,’ said Khondoker.
   Dipa Khondoker has been running a cultural organisation called Dibya Sangskritik Sangsthan since 1990. She gives training mainly on folk and modern dances to the students of Dibya.

Mohammad Abu Shahin, a photographer working with the Information Ministry, has won first prize in the 3rd Photography Competition on Rajdhanir Sukh-Dukkho, organised by the National Institute of Mass Communication.
   Mohammad Taj Uddin of the Bangladesh Rifles and Pankaj Sikdar of the Bangladesh Agriculture Research Centre won second and third prizes respectively.
   Piyal Mahmud and Kazi Anwar Sadat of the Information Ministry also won special prizes.
   The Director General of the Institute, Syed Mahbubur Rahman distributed the prizes on July 28.
   The competition was open to photographers who work at both government and non-government organisations.
   The organisers also arranged a photography exhibition on the same subject, held from July 24 to July 28 at the Institute.
   The other participants of the exhibition were Mohammad Almas Hossan, Sheikh Daudul Haque, Suraiya Aktar Munni, Mohamm Omar Faruk, Mohammad Yusuf Ali, ATM Mainul Haque, Mohammad Nasir Uddin, Mohammad Shah Alam, Abhik Adnan Siddique, Riasul Islam, Nurul Haque Bachchu, Mohammad Abdus Sattar, SM Salahuddin, Mohammad Raqib Hussain, Anjan Rahman, Mohammad Mamunur Rashid and Mohammad Mushfiqul Haque.

Those who recall the times in which Sitara Parvin lived and on which she made a sure mark as a teacher in the Department of Mass Communication and Journalism of Dhaka University have now come forward with their unique eulogy to an individual who will not easily be forgotten. Onusmriti Sitara Parvin is basically a tribute to the academic who lost her life in a tragic road accident in the United States in June this year. The tribute consists in a compilation of the articles that appeared in the print media in the days immediately after Parvin’s death.
   Included in the collection are write-ups from Professor Golam Rahman, Professor Sakhawat Ali Khan, Fahmidul Haq, Shumona Sharmin, Zafrin Chowdhury, Syed Badrul Ahsan, Kamal Lohani, AAMS Arefin Siddique, Selina Hossain, Zahid Newaz, Kamrul Hassan Manju, Tapan Bagchi, Subroto Shankar Dhar, Firoz Zaman Chowdhury and Shirin Banu Mitil. Praiseworthy editing has been done by Firoz Zaman Chowdhury and Abu Naser Rajib, with the cover design coming from Azhar bin Farhad. Priced at Taka twenty, the compilation can be had from the seminar library of the Department of Mass Communication and Journalism, Dhaka University.

Highbrow fans of Harry Potter are holding an academic conference about the teenage wizard this weekend.
   Professors and academics will take part in the event at Reading University, looking at topics such as the social issues of the wizarding community.
   Light-hearted events will include a mock trial of potions master Severus Snape and a Hogwarts-style banquet.
   Accio spokeswoman Serena Culfeather said: ‘The appeal of the Harry Potter books is so wide-ranging that we felt a conference exploring the text was long overdue’.

Ten European films are scheduled to compete for the Golden Swan at the third annual Copenhagen International Film Festival next month, organizers said.
   The festival, which is set to take place in the Danish capital August 18-28, will feature films from across Europe, including ‘One Long Winter Without Fire’ by Swiss director Grzegorz Zglinski, ‘Death of Mr. Lazarescu’ by Romanian director Cristi Puiu and ‘Factotum’, a Norwegian-US production by Bent Hammer.
   The Hungarian film ‘Fateless’ by Lajos Koltai is also in the running, as is ‘Harry’s Daughters’ by Swedish director Richard Hobert, French-Israeli film ‘Live and Become’ by Radu Mihaileanu, and ‘Murk’ by Danish director Jannik Johansen.
   The last three films on the list are ‘Up and Down’ by Czech director Jan Hrebejk, the British ‘A Way of Life’ by Amma Asante and German ‘Willenbrock’ by Andreas Dresen.
   British director Nicolas Roeg will preside over the jury at the festival, and the panel will comprise Danish director Susanne Bier, German actor Udo Kier, Icelandic director, screenwriter and actor Baltasar Kormakur and Canadian actress Arsinee Khanjian, organizers said.
   In 2004, the Russian film ‘Granny’ beat out 11 other European movies to win the top honours award at the festival.

Maximilian (Murphy, Shrek 2, The Haunted Mansion) is the last of a breed of vampires who inhabit a Carribbean island. He goes to Brooklyn in search of a half-vampire woman to be his bride. But his search turns out to be a real pain in the neck, as he leaves a trail of bodies, and the New York police are hot on his tail.
   He finds Rita (Golden Globe® winner Bassett, Mr. And Mrs. Smith, Mr. 3000,) who is the daughter of a human mother and a vampire father. Maximilian tries to lure her into a destiny that she herself cannot understand.
   Vampire in Brooklyn
   HBO
   8:30pm
   Starring
   Eddie Murphy, Angela Bassett
   Genre: Action/Thriller