Randolph College relaunching Quillian Visiting International Scholars Program

Sudesh Mantillake

Randolph College will relaunch its Quillian Visiting International Scholars Program next year.

Sudesh Mantillake, a permanent faculty member in the Department of Fine Arts at the University of Peradeniya, Sri Lanka, will be the visiting scholar for the 2024-2025 academic year.

During his time here, Mantillake will teach classes, make presentations, and meet with faculty, staff, and students. He will also lead a faculty study tour to Sri Lanka next May.

“I look forward to welcoming Sudesh Mantillake to campus this fall, and for the many ways he will provide rich learning opportunities for faculty, staff, and students,” said President Sue Ott Rowlands, who convened a committee to shape the program and determine the process by which future scholars will be dominated and selected.

Mantillake is passionate about the intersection of dance, philosophy, education, healing, and activism.

His research interests include dance historiography, cultural heritage, traditional dance, and nation building. He is trained in Kandyan dance of Sri Lanka and Kathak dance of India, as well as theatrical clowning and contemporary dance.

He has presented his work all over the world and in his dance film, In Search of Ravana, in which he questions the multiple identities given to the mythical king Ravana.

Mantillake has been awarded the International Teaching Fellowship (the University of Maryland, 2013-2014), the Leonardo Fellowship (University of Lugano, 2006), the University Prize for Academic Excellence (University of Peradeniya, 2004), and the All Island Sri Lanka-Best Solo Dancer – Kandyan (Ministry of Education, Sri Lanka, 1997).

He has been an intern at the National Museum of Dance in New York, and at the Sri Lanka Educational, Cultural and Welfare Foundation in London.

In addition to being a permanent faculty member at the University of Peradeniya, he is vice-chair of the International Council for Traditions of Music and Dance National Committee for Sri Lanka and a member of the Research Committee of the International Association for Creative Arts in Education and Therapy.