Starbuck’s Live & Inspire series returns with its second series of inspiring talks from extraordinary Malaysians. To kickstart the second season, dance maestro Ramli Ibrahim was invited to share his experiences and success story in raising the profile of Indian classical dance in the country.
In a chat with Komunitikini, Ramli Ibrahim said that he felt there really was no need for Malaysian dancers to always want dances to be identified as ‘authentic Malaysian dance’.
“As a country, we are never free from (each other’s) influence. As China took Buddhism from India, as did Balinese. So we should not always be wanting to create something ‘new’.
“I would say it’s the genius of the people, through some selective process, (that) will eventually create something that is our own,” he said.
When asked to comment on the current Malaysian dance scene, he said more platforms need to be created for the youth to explore the arts and showcase their works. He also thought it a healthy means for them to channel their energy.
Though he admitted that a dancer’s life was an ongoing struggle, he believed that many good works can be born from trying situations.
At the Live & Inspire session, response was so good that there were quite a few people standing to listen as Ramli shared his experiences and challenges promoting dance in the country.
“Everyone should dance,” Ramli said, responding to a question from a member of the audience.
He bemoaned the waning interest in traditional dance among Malay males, with traditions such as public joget dancing slowly dying out.
“The Malay man has forgotten how to dance,” he said.
More to look forward to
Tim Fernandez, director of Live & Inspire says that future sessions of the informal chat sessions would likely be brought on tours.
When asked why there were no schedules put up of future shows, he laughed and said that it was intentional – to keep people in suspense.
Komunitikini.com also came on board as a media sponsor for the series, joining main sponsors Maybank, Starbucks as well as IACT College, the Sun, Voize.my, Bangsar Village, JobStreet.com and SME Magazine.
CJMY
C. Khor
