Vajira - The First Professional Female Dancer of the Sinhalese Style

This article analyses the historical role of Vajira, the first professional female dancer of the "classical" Sinhalese style – the Kandyan dance. The focus is on how her life's work in training and presenting women on theatre stage in dances choreographed by her has largely influenced the modern culture of Sri Lanka. Vajira's extraordinary career is described, and her most important ballets, tours, and awards are named. The article describes in some detail some of her numerous contributions to modern dance training and highlights her role as teacher in the development of children's dance training techniques and children's ballet. Finally, it briefly presents the vision of the Chitrasena and Vajira Dance Foundation in 2014