In collaboration with PASSIONS, VOICE OF ASIA is proud to present timeless articles from the archives, reproduced digitally for your reading pleasure. Originally published in PASSIONS Volume 44 in 2011, we present this story on Ramli Ibrahim, an icon in Malaysia’s dance scene.
A guru, an artiste, a champion of the Malaysian arts scene, and a bona fide cultural icon… These are just some of the terms that can be used to describe Ramli Ibrahim. The foremost interpreter in Malaysia of Odissi – the classical Indian dance – Ramli is someone who can be truly called a living legend. To those who have seen him perform, and marvelled at how his nimble feet trip the light fantastic, such an appellation is no mere hyperbole. They testify that Ramli Ibrahim is indeed the Lord of the Dance.
For Ramli Ibrahim, dancing is the manifestation of his innate desire to entertain, and he told PASSIONS that even as a young boy, he had already been bitten by the bug. It was more than just an interest. It was a calling – a vocation which he pursued alongside his studies (a little known fact – he is a mechanical engineer by training).
Learning the intricacies of the different forms of the art – from traditional Malay folk dances to ballet, Ramli joined the Sydney Dance Company, and during that time performed with the troupe across Australia as well as in parts of Europe, London and New York. It also gave him the opportunity to learn the dance for which he is now celebrated.
It is none other than Odissi, which he picked up under the tutelage of the late Guru Deba Prasad Das – one of the four masters who reshaped the dance during the 1950s. Incidentally, Ramli also trained under Guru Shri Adyar K. Lakshman – one of India’s leading Bharatanatyam practitioners. While appreciating the beauty of both, he admits that it was Odissi which captured his heart as it has a more fluid and emotional form.
In short it is the ideal dance for someone who lives to express himself. And no one dances with such dynamism or energy as Ramli – graceful, flawless and mesmeric. Bringing words and songs, myths and rituals to life with his intricate movements, Ramli has sent and is sending waves across the country and the world with his Odissi.
But more than just to entertain, Ramli Ibrahim has broken barriers with his art, and perhaps there is no better epitome of the spirit of 1Malaysia in the arts scene than he. After all, here is a Malay Muslim who has embraced a dance that has its roots in Indian Hindu tradition.
Furthermore, since forming the Sutra Dance Theatre in 1983 – for which he is the choreographer and artistic director – he has been teaching that beautiful art to a younger generation of Malaysians from all ethnic groups. Such has been the impact of Sutra that what was once unknown has become accepted. It is as Ramli said, “Over the years, our audience has become more cosmopolitan and informed, and Sutra’s Odissi has become a mainstream theatre event in Malaysia.”
Owing to the growing popularity of the dance form, Ramli eventually conceptualised the first Stirring Odissi Festival in 2008, which gave Malaysians the opportunity to experience the many artistic visions inspired by the Odissi.
Through Ramli’s integrated vision of the arts, theatre is an all-encompassing universal vessel for creativity – a way to express the rich tapestry of life in all its brilliance, colour and soul. Having taken New York by storm again in September 2011’s season of Odissi Stirred, there is no doubt that the Master will continue to mesmerise audiences and break down barriers, as only he can.
