Archive & Memory
Enchanted Masks: Reimagining “Vesmuhunu” Through Contemporary Practice-Led Performance
Dhanushka Seneviratne
DS Dance Research Lab
- Date
- Time
- -
- Room
- A03
- Format
- Interactive demonstration
- Chair
- Nigel Ward
Presentation abstract
Abstract
This practice-led research investigates the cultural, ritualistic, and artistic significance of Sri Lankan dance masks “Vesmuhunu” through an embodied, contemporary performance framework. Rooted in traditional dance forms and folk theatre, these masks have long served as powerful performative objects within healing rituals such as “Thovil”, where “Yaksha Muhunu” (devil dance masks) play a central role. Their intricate craftsmanship, symbolic potency, and ritual function position them as vital carriers of Sri Lanka’s intangible cultural heritage.
Responding to the archival collections of Sri Lankan masks held at the British Museum, particularly the Hugh Nevill Collection, this study examines how these historical artefacts can be reactivated within contemporary dance practice. By engaging with the mask as both a cultural object and a dynamic performance tool, the research explores how embodied knowledge can generate new interpretations of heritage material. The project foregrounds the mask’s dual identity: as a museum artefact shaped by colonial collecting histories, and as a living, sensorial object embedded in ritual performance traditions.
Through choreographic experimentation, the study develops a contemporary dance work that reimagines the mask’s performative agency. Movement research is informed by traditional Sri Lankan dance vocabularies while embracing improvisation, interdisciplinary methods, and somatic inquiry. Audience interaction forms a key component of the methodology, positioning spectators as active participants in the unfolding dialogue between body, mask, and cultural memory.
Ultimately, this research proposes a framework for understanding Sri Lankan dance masks as evolving cultural entities objects that hold historical narratives yet continue to generate meaning through embodied practice. By bridging archival study with contemporary performance, the project contributes to ongoing conversations on heritage preservation, decolonial performance-making, and the role of practice-led research in revitalising traditional cultural forms.
Meet the presenter
About the presenter
Dhanushka Seneviratne
Dhanushka Seneviratne is an award-winning professional dancer, choreographer, Oriental Ballet director, interdisciplinary artist, international research scholar, and academic. She has lectured in choreography theory, practice, and dance research at the University of Kelaniya, Sri Lanka, where she also supervised undergraduate and postgraduate research, coordinated the Performing Arts degree program, and contributed to curriculum development. She holds an MA in Public Art and Performative Practices from London Metropolitan University (2023) and a Certificate in Teaching in Higher Education, awarded with Best Research Honours (2021). Her scholarly interests include Dance/ Movement Therapy (DMT), Dance Science, dance history and archival studies, dance on screen, ritual dance and cultural preservation, and community led creative practice. She is a member of the Dance & History Association of Germany. She currently serves on the Europe Committee, representing the UK, for the International Association for Creative Art in Education and Therapy (IACAET). Also, member of the One Dance UK organisation. She is also the founder and artistic director of DS Dance Research Lab UK (DSDRL).