The Southern Sri Lanka Dance Company from Matara will give a rare performance of Sri Lankan masked dances on April 11 at Kennedy Theatre.

Drama and ribald comedy spiced with demons, animals, kings and queens are interwoven into masked performances that convey traditional values and contemporary concerns to villagers in marketplaces, village centers, private courtyards, and sometimes tourist sites.

The company will perform a variety of dances with percussion accompaniment.

Magul Bera: A symbolic presentation of a procession with ceremonial drumming.

Pooja Dance: The performers invoke the blessings of the guardian deities of the island.

Pandampaliya (Dance with fire): A fire ritual traditional to the southern part of Sri Lanka.

Devol Dance: A sequence from a folk ritual performed for immunity from evil influence.

Nonchi and Ana Bera: It was a tradition in ancient Sinhala society for the king to give his proclamations through a drummer. The wife of one such drummer, who has had a little too much to drink and finds it difficult to return home, goes looking for him.

Salu Paliya: A traditional devil dance used to identify what demon must be propitiated in order to cure a sick person.

An exhibit of Sri Lankan masks at the East-West Center Gallery is on display April 14 through June 14.

Tickets: $18, $16 senior, military, UH faculty/staff, $12 student, $10 UHM student with valid Spring, 2009 ID. Etickethawaii.com, 944-2697 (press #1), or at authorized outlets.

Beginning April 6, walk-up sales will be available at Kennedy Theatre Box Office 10 a.m. to 1 p.m., Monday to Friday; April 11 from 5 p.m.)

Concert information: 956-7655