Dancer follows own beat to revitalize performing arts
Dancer follows own beat to revitalize performing arts
Kunang Helmi, Contributor, Ubud, Bali
Ramli! The Heart of Sutra
James Murdoch, foreword
Sutra Dance Theatre
in association with Silverfish Books, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia 2004
160 pp
This delightful pictorial biography of contemporary Malaysian dance icon Ramli Ibrahim, who founded the Sutra Dance Theatre company in 1983, is an indispensable reference book. It is a must, not only for those interested in Southeast Asian dance, but also for dance connoisseurs and erudite readers.
Ramli! The Heart of Sutra, inspired by Ibrahim's 50th anniversary in May 2003, was made possible by sponsorship from the HSBC Bank Malaysia Berhad Foundation. It was also the foundation's first project.
Illustrated by a beautiful collection of remarkable black and white photography by four renowned Malaysian photographers, the biography is framed by an analysis of Ibrahim's career provided by long-time Bali resident, James Murdoch, a distinguished writer of contemporary dance and music.
Ibrahim is widely quoted regarding his experiences in the world of performing arts. Also a proficient writer on arts and culture in Malaysia, he has written two plays, and is currently preparing a book on the traditional Malay dance, Makyong.
Ibrahim is not only a talented dancer and choreographer -- he has received renowned international awards like the Fulbright Distinguished Artist 1999 as well as the Lifetime Achievement Award at the Malaysian BOH Cameronian Arts Awards 2003 -- but is also a skillful teacher, having trained many of the finest Malaysian dancers over the past 21 years.
Book designer William Harald-Wong, who collaborates closely with Sutra Dance Theatre, has produced a remarkable, balanced, yet lively layout within the scope of the book's square format.
The first impression of the unfolding storyline is one of dynamic rhythm as conveyed by the superb images. This rhythm is sustained not only by the sequence of succeeding images, but also by each individual image: even when blurred, they transcend moments frozen in time to convey the very essence of movement and expression.
Aside from portraits of Ibrahim performing his extensive repertoire, the biography also includes photographs of members of his dance company performing with or without him.
Ramli! also features those who inspired or taught him, such as legendary Indian dancer Ram Gopal, who passed away recently.
Readers are thus able to grasp the interactive process of teaching dance, while drawing a vivid image of the actual dance performances.
As Murdoch points out: "There are very few dancers indeed who have mastered the three major world dance techniques: classical Western Ballet, Martha Graham modern technique and Indian classical dance as in Bharata Natyam and Odissi."
The extent of Ibrahim's dance palette is readily evident in the introductory seven pages, two of which depict his first 20 years.
Ibrahim's parents were not prepared for the extent of their son's potential for a career in dance, although it was obvious that he was already comfortable performing in public at a young age. He also had a perfect dancer's physique and stage presence. Before going to university abroad, Ibrahim watched classical Indian dance in Kuala Lumpur, where he also learned Malay folk dances.
Ibrahim has a mechanical engineering degree from the University of Western Australia. However, throughout his stay in Perth, he also studied classical ballet with West Australian Ballet director Kira Bolusloff, who was brought up in the great Russian classical ballet tradition. It was here that Dame Margaret Scott, director of the Australian Ballet School in Melbourne, spotted his talent and immediately offered him a two- year scholarship.
Instead of finding work as an engineer, Ibrahim went back to school, albeit one with a curriculum similar to London's Royal Ballet Covent Garden. Later in life, this radical change in professional direction justified his affirmation: "It is just as difficult to be a good dancer as it is to be a good engineer or doctor."
In Melbourne, persistent and disciplined as he would always prove to be, he found classical Indian dancers who agreed to teach him, despite the disapproval of his ballet teachers.
One measure of his superior ability as a dancer is the fact that he was the only 1977 graduate of the school who was recruited by Graeme Murphy, artistic director of the Sydney Dance Company.
In 1978, inspired by the young Malaysian's talent, Murphy created the role of Nijinsky for him in Poppy, based on the life of French artist Jean Cocteau. Ibrahim's career as a principal ballet dancer was launched -- but which also included mastering the modern dance techniques of Martha Graham. At the same time, Ramli performed Bharata Natyam, a classical southern Indian dance.
In 1980, the Australian Council for the Arts made an exception and awarded the Malaysian national a one-year grant to study in India.
Ibrahim's Indian dance skills progressed rapidly, facilitated by excellent teachers: studying the Bharata Natyam under Adyar Lakshman in Madras and the Odissi under Deba Prasad Das in Orissa province.
However, his complete dedication to dance contributed greatly to his advancement, as shown by an extract from a letter: "... here in Puri, I dance seven days a week. And secretly, I am going twice a week to another guru -- Guru Deba Prasad Das, who lives in Bhubaneswar. This means, twice a week, I would have to wake up very early in the morning and endure the two and a half-hour trip to Bhubaneswar in a rickety old bus -- for my eight o'clock morning dance class."
After his year in India, Ibrahim returned to the Sydney Dance Company for a year, touring New York and Europe, then decided to go home to Malaysia.
Ibrahim was also drawn to choreography, and his first major breakthrough was his 1985 creation, Adorations, in which, according to Murdoch, "He created a way of presenting an informative and entertaining production of Odissi without the tiresome lecture format so many Indian dancers still use."
Despite invitations to perform internationally, Ibrahim was aware that in Kuala Lumpur, a structure to support and provide employment for professional dancers had hardly been established. Driven by an overwhelming desire to provide a platform for contemporary dance in Malaysia, as well as preserving older dance traditions like Makyong, he founded Sutra Dance Theatre in 1983, at a time when funding for the performing arts was almost nonexistent.
Contacted in Kuala Lumpur recently, Ibrahim pointed out: "For me, the name 'sutra' evokes not only the ancient Indian form of verse, but also the Malay word for silk, besides referring to a thread of a flower garland."
Sutra House is now a showcase center for the arts, a forum that not only hosts dance rehearsals, performances and art festivals, but also painting and photograph exhibitions. Its facilities include a salon for international and interdisciplinary discussions, a visiting artist's studio, a library open to members and a small restaurant.
The open, sunken amphitheater in the garden can seat an audience of 200, and has seen the likes of distinguished Indonesian choreographer Sardono Kusumo, who performed with Ibrahim in 2003.
Rounding off the biography is the impressive and extensive repertoire of Sutra Dance Theatre, listed in chronological order, together with a comprehensive list of performances and works commissioned or premiered by Sutra Dance Theatre. This is followed by a long list acknowledging artists, friends and collaborators of Sutra.
It is here -- if not earlier -- that the reader fully appreciates all the Malaysian dancer has undertaken to raise the prestige of performing arts in Southeast Asia, and in the course has, indeed, become the heart of Sutra.
This title is available at Ganesha Book Store, Ubud, Bali.