Collections Conversations: Sri Lankan Dance Masks

One of the positive things to come out of the use of online gatherings during lockdown is the ability to invite guests from overseas to be part of our Collections Conversations. We are delighted that a conversation about two masks in our collections has led to the opportunity for us to chat with Sudesh Mantillake.

Sudesh Mantillake is a dancer, choreographer, researcher, and an educator. Sudesh received his BA degree from the University of Peradeniya- Sri Lanka, and MSc degree from the University of Lugano – Switzerland, and PhD degree from the School of Theatre, Dance, and Performance Studies at the University of Maryland, USA. He is trained in Kandyan dance, Kathak dance, theatrical clowning, and contemporary dance. Outside of Sri Lanka, he has presented his work in Athens, Sharjah, London, Helsinki, Lugano, New York, Virginia, Chicago, California, Granville, Minnesota, and Maryland. Sudesh has been an intern at the National Museum of Dance, New York, and at the Sri Lanka Educational, Cultural and Welfare Foundation, London. His recent choreography My Devil Dance explores Kandyan dancers’ experience in the European “colonial exhibitions.”