Kalasuri
The Kala Suri (; ) is a Sri Lankan Sri Lankan honours system, national honour awarded "''for special contributions to the development of the arts''". It is conventionally used as a title or prefix to the awardee's name. Kala Suri ranks lower than V ...
Rajini Selvanayagam (1951/1952 – 20 October 2023) was a veteran Sri Lankan traditional dancer. She was popularly dubbed as the Queen of Dance.
Biography
She was born and raised in
Balangoda
Balangoda is a town in Ratnapura District, Sabaragamuwa Province, Sri Lanka, governed by an urban council located away from Colombo and from Ratnapura on Colombo - Batticaloa Highway(A4). It is one of the largest towns of the Sabaragamuwa Pro ...
.
Career
She founded her own dance academy "Chamara Kala Nikethanaya" in 1975. She ran the Chamara Kala Nikethanaya which was solely intended at building a value-based society enhancing culture, traditions, customs through the art of dancing.
She was well known as a professional teacher of dancing during her illustrious career and she gave so much emphasis on the propagation and sustenance of unique forms of Sri Lankan dance art. She was conferred with prestigious
Kalasuri
The Kala Suri (; ) is a Sri Lankan Sri Lankan honours system, national honour awarded "''for special contributions to the development of the arts''". It is conventionally used as a title or prefix to the awardee's name. Kala Suri ranks lower than V ...
during the
2005 Sri Lankan national honours. She was also conferred with Kala Keerthi and Vishwa Kala Keerthi titles during her career.
Death
She died on 20 October 2023 at the age of 71.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Selvanayagam, Rajini
1932 births
2023 deaths
Sri Lankan female dancers
Sri Lankan dancers
Dance teachers
People from Sabaragamuwa Province