Mandala, a South Asian performing arts organization in Chicago, will present Masks & Myths: Devils and Dancers from Sri Lanka on Saturday, October 6 at 7 pm and again on Sunday, October 7, at 3 pm at the Reva & David Logan Center for the Arts, 915 East 60th St. in Chicago.
Not since the 1893 World’s Columbian Exposition have Sri Lankan dancers appeared as part of a highly visible international exchange. At that time, Kandyan artists performed in cages as so-called “devil dancers” at the Ceylon Pavilion on the fairgrounds.
Dubbed “Devil Dancers,” Sri Lankan dance artists in the current show will “present their voice, history and culture, loud and clear.” The performance will feature Sudesh Mantillake and Ashwaty Chennat with the Mandala Ensemble & Sri Lankan Guest Dancers, Ruwansiri Chinthaka Bandara and Shantha Thennakoon; special guests I Gusti Ngurah Kertayuda and gamelan orchestra, Rika Lin and Fujima (artists of Shubukai), Khazna (Middle-eastern dance), Ayolo Drumming (Djembe and West-African drumming), and Nicole Volpe (Ballet).
Mandala describes their show:
In 1893, Chicago had hosted the World’s Columbian Exposition, and infamous and pivotal moment in American history. Great buildings and parks [were] built to represent the greatest architecture in Western and Classical civilization; and various communities were brought to fill in the scenes, as colonial conquests. Amongst these, were the “people of Ceylon,” who spent afternoons pouring tea for American sight-seers in Hyde Park, Chicago.
125 years later, Sri Lankan dancers and musicians present their artistry with honesty and agency. Mandala presents Masks and Myths as a historical and liberatory experiences for both performers and Chicago’s communities. Through a three-part program–the traditions of Sri Lankan performance, the effects of colonialism on artistry, and the progression forward–our artists hope to express the power and bravery necessary to keep art forms living and moving.
Tickets are $25 (general admission), $20 (student/seniors) or $50 (VIP) and available at https://mandalaarts.org/tickets/.
“Masks and Myths” by Mandala Arts.