Randolph hosting Quillian International Symposium on Sri Lanka

Randolph College will host “Movement Rhizome: Quillian International Symposium on Sri Lanka,” a celebration of the culture of the South Asian country, next month. 

Curated by Quillian Visiting International Scholar Sudesh Mantillake, the event will explore the intersection of dance, performance, film, geography, philosophy, anthropology, architecture, religion, music, literature, rhetoric, decoloniality, and migration. 

It includes a series of workshops, panel discussions, film screenings, and mindful movement sessions that culminate in a special performance by Mantillake. 

The symposium runs from Feb. 5-10, with Mantillake’s performance of Sri Lanka’s traditional Kanyan dance on Friday, Feb. 7, at 7 p.m. in Houston Memorial Chapel. 

Mantillake choreographed the piece, “Contextualizing My Devil Dance,” and will be joined by fellow performance artists Chinthaka Bandara and Vajira Mantillake, as well as students who have been studying with him. 

In the performance, Sudesh Mantillake seeks to reconnect Kandyan dance with its origins. 

Though now widely recognized as a theatrical art form, Kandyan dance was initially rooted in spiritual and restorative practices within Sri Lankan communities. But when British colonizers and missionaries encountered these rituals, they misinterpreted them as “devil worship,” stripping them of their true purpose and cultural significance.

This performance aims to trace that journey—examining how Kandyan dance was misunderstood, how colonialism reshaped its perception, and how it evolved through nationalism and globalization into its current form. 

“I want to show what happened in the past, while also looking at how a culture, how an artform, can be misinterpreted,” Mantillake said, “and how we can reclaim that.”

The performance is free and open to the public, as are a Sri Lankan dance workshop on Wednesday, Feb. 5, at 2 p.m., and two film screenings and talkbacks on Feb. 9 and 10 (see full schedule below). 

The Feb. 10 screening will feature the an excerpt from the in-progress film Why We Dance: Ritual, Performance, and Healing in Post-War Sri Lanka. 

Mantillake, one of the film’s producers, is featured in the documentary, which, when finished, will include footage of his Randolph performance. 

“I think it’s the first time a full-length, international documentary has been done on Kandyan dance,” he said. “They’re going to record my engagement with the Randolph community. I feel like, in a way, Randolph College is going to be featured in the final film as well.” 

The symposium’s other events, including several roundtable and panel discussions, are open to registrants. For more information or to register, visit https://www.randolphcollege.edu/calendar/quillian-symposium. 

Wednesday, Feb. 5 

• Sri Lankan Dance Workshop, 2 p.m. Michels Athletic Center Dance Studio
  Featuring Sudesh Mantillake and Chinthaka Bandara

Friday, Feb. 7 

• Contextualizing My Devil Dance performance, 7 p.m., Houston Memorial Chapel
  A performance and dialogue with Sudesh Mantillake, Chinthaka Bandara, and Vajira Mantillake

Saturday, Feb. 8  

• Contemplative Practice Session, 8:30 a.m., Houston Memorial Chapel 
• Identity and Politics Roundtable, 9 a.m., Houston Memorial Chapel
• Building Resilience Through Art & Performance, 10:45 a.m., Houston Memorial Chapel 
• History & Performance, 1:30 p.m., Houston Memorial Chapel 
• Film Screening and Talkback: The Dance Ritual of Eighteen Vannamas, 4:15 p.m., Nichols Theatre 

Monday, Feb. 10 

• Work-in-Progress Film Excerpt Screening and Talkback: Why We Dance: Ritual, Performance, and Healing in Post-War Sri Lanka, 6 p.m., Nichols Theatre