Sutra Dance
Theatre presents
India tour
of Spellbound
January 24 - February 21, 2010
December 18,
2009
SPELLBOUND... A tryst with the timeless
beauty of Odissi
By Sutra Dance Theatre, Malaysia's
premier dance company
Artistic Director: Ramli Ibrahim
Lighting & Technical Director:
Sivarajah Natarajan
Tour schedule
Jan 24: Nishagandhi Festival,
Kanakakkunnu, Thiruvananthapuram, 7.45pm
Contact: T.V. Prasanth / (0471)
-2560444
Jan 27: Noida, New Delhi
Contact: Jyoti Shrivastava
Jan 29: ICCR Auditorium,
New Delhi
Contact: Malaysian H Commission
Feb 1: Ahmedabad
Contact: Dr. Preeti Menon/ Maulik
Shah
Feb 5: Colombo, Sri Lanka
Contact: Shenali / info@thesovereignhotel.com
Feb 6: Chariot Hotel, Mahabalipuram
Feb 9: Ashram Theatre, Pondicherry
Feb 10: Auroville, Pondicherry
Feb 12: Pondicherry Town
Centre
Feb 17 & 18: Imphal,
Manipur
Feb 21: Konark Festival,
Bhubaneswar
Contact: Sibashis Pradhan
Sutra Dance Theatre based
in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia is recognized as the leading creative performing
arts institution in Malaysia. Artistic Director, Ramli Ibrahim and his
Sutra Dancers have become a household name in raising the status of dance
in Malaysia to what it is today. Sutra’s multi-racial dancers of Malay,
Indian, Chinese and mixed races, speak well of dance transcending racial
and cultural barriers.
Sutra has been recognized internationally
for its excellent performances of Odissi, and their performance of Spellbound
has travelled extensively from many cities of India to Carnegie Hall, New
York and the United Nations in Paris and Vienna. Spellbound will feature
authentic Odissi repertoire created by traditional Odissi Gurus from Orissa,
rearranged for group composition under the artistic direction of Ramli
Ibrahim.
It is a miracle that in such a short
period of just about forty years, Odissi has become one of the most popular
Indian classical dance styles performed in the major dance centres of the
world. The current form of Odissi is the product of a mid 20th century
revivalist movement and reconstruction. Dedicated dance gurus, scholars
and dance enthusiasts draw inspiration from existing dance traditions (gotipuas
and maharis) in Orissa, indigenous manuscripts and studied the sculpture,
painting and poetry of the region.
But what is more stunning is the
implantation of Odissi in Malaysia mainly through the pioneering work of
Malaysian dancer, Ramli Ibrahim. Not only that, it may be added that Sutra’s
Odissi has distinct 'Malaysian' features. These developed slowly and surely
in the last twenty years through the grooming of a generation of Malaysian
trained Odissi dancers who brought life to new Odissi works commissioned
by Sutra. The Sutra brand of Odissi is also a living testimonial of multi-racial
and global Malaysia at its best.
Spellbound offers audiences a wide
repertoire of Odissi, especially commissioned from Guru Durga Charan Ranbir
and rearranged into a stunning group composition by Ramli to suit the contemporary
audience.
Spellbound challenges the artistic
limits of not just the artists but also the audience. Spellbound is a manifestation
of the timeless beauty of an ancient temple dance of Odissi in the physical
realm. But not only that, it also transforms a theatre experience into
an emotional and spiritual one. Don't miss it!
Ramli Ibrahim has set dance
stages ablaze from Chennai to Paris for more than three decades. His rigorous
training in ballet, modern, and Indian classical dance reflects his multifaceted
approach to the Arts. As artistic director of the Sutra Dance Theatre,
he has choreographed stunning works with his distinct artistic sensibility
and nurtured some of the brightest dance talents from Malaysia. Ramli has
been instrumental in transforming the dance scenario in Malaysia by boldly
charting new paths and today, he is known for single-handedly establishing
Odissi as a widely appreciated dance form. Ramli has received the Fulbright
Distinguished Artist Award 1999, 3 Lifetime Achievement Awards (BOH Cameronian
Malaysia 2003, ANGARAG Orissa 2006, Federation of Associations of Cultural
Promotion (FACP), Asia 2009) and The Natyanjali Trust Award, Chennai 2009
besides many other Federal Awards from Malaysia. He has steered a
highly successful international Odissi festival, Stirring Odissi '08, in
Kuala Lumpur and led Sutra at Carnegie Hall, New York 2008. He is presently
chairman of Sutra Foundation.
Enquiries
Sutra Dance Theatre
12 Persiaran Titiwangsa 3
53200 Kuala Lumpur
T: (60-3) - 40211092
F: (60 -3) - 4023 2548
E: sutradancetheatre@yahoo.com
W: www.sutradancetheatre.com |
