Team well versed in Kandyan dance and local culture from US College to visit Sri Lanka
View(s):Not every tourist who visits the country can exhibit in-depth academic understanding of Sri Lanka’s culture and the Kandyan dance, or be able to sing a song from a renowned Sinhala drama.
The 22-member group from Randolph College in Lynchburg, Virginia, comprising faculty and students who are due to visit Sri Lanka shortly, are impressively conversant in the Kandyan Dance and will amaze listeners with their melodious rendition of a song from the Sinhala drama Sinhabahu. They delighted
Sri Lanka’s Ambassador in the US, Mahinda Samarasinghe and the Embassy staff with one of these songs, on their recent visit to the Sri Lanka Embassy in Washington DC.
Taking Kandyan dance to the US: A performance at Randolph College
For the first time in in the history of Liberal Arts in the US, Sri Lanka’s Kandyan Dance is being taught in a university setting for academic credits. The person behind this is Dr. Sudesh Mantillake, permanent Faculty Member at the University of Peradeniya, currently a Quillian Visiting International Scholar at Randolph College. His fascination with the “the holistic learning environment” is what drew him to select Randolph College for his sabbatical, where he spearheaded the study of Sri Lanka’s culture, history and Kandyan Dance in an academic setting.
In February 2025, he organised the Movement Rhizome: Quillian International Symposium on Sri Lanka, which delved into Sri Lanka’s culture, history, and resilience through performances, workshops, and academic discussions. The highlight of the symposium was a unique “docu-dance” performance “Contextualising My Devil Dance,” led by Mantillake and accompanied by Chinthaka Bandara on percussion and vocals, and Vajira Mantillake in dance and vocals. It was a critical exploration of art, culture and history than a regular cultural performance.
Leading the academic team visiting Sri Lanka is Prof. Sue Ott Rowlands, the 11th President of Randolph College, who passionately believes in the importance of global partnerships. Prof. Rowlands has loved Sri Lanka since her first visit in 2010. She was introduced to
the country by Asanga Abeyagoonasekera, Sri Lankan academic, geopolitics and foreign policy analyst and son of late politician Ossie Abeyagoonasekera, during a chance meeting at Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts. With leadership experience in the performing arts in several colleges across the US, she has also undertaken solo performances in India, Taiwan, New Zealand, Italy, Chile, Switzerland, Saudi Arabia, Hungary, Wales, England, the Czech Republic, and Sri Lanka.
Prof. Rowlands and her group plan to visit the UNESCO heritage sites in Anuradhapura, Kandy and Galle, several of Geoffrey Bawa’s architectural masterpices and also the village of Sirambiyadi off Puttalam, to learn about Kaffir traditions.
Prof. Rowlands is preparing to sign three Memoranda of Understanding (MOUs) with the University of Peradeniya, the University of Colombo and Sripalee Campus, focused on student and cultural exchanges, and demography-related research programmes. These will be general MOUs, to be followed by specific projects later, Prof. Rowlands said.
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