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Into My Centre
By Aneeta Sundararaj

 

Last Saturday, I was fortunate enough to get chance to watch Ramli Ibrahim dance. The show was called ‘Into the Centre’ and featured Sutra Dance Theatre (KL) & Battery Dance Company (New York). The invitation stated that it was ‘an international dance collaboration celebrating the timeless spirit of both Eastern and Western dance traditions.’ The music was great, the costumes were lavish and dances thought-provoking.

 

The star of the show was Ramli Ibrahim.

 

Here’s some information about the man from his website: ‘Accomplished in ballet, modern, and Indian classical dance, Ramli Ibrahim is a cultural icon who has performed internationally for more than three decades. As artistic director of the Sutra Dance Theatre, Ramli has choreographed stunning works and nurtured some of the brightest dance talents from Malaysia. He was instrumental in transforming the dance scenario in Malaysia by boldly charting new paths and single-handedly establishing Odissi as a widely appreciated dance form.'

 

Here are a few stories of my encounters with Ramli Ibrahim, who, at 59, is amazingly agile and a stunningly beautiful dancer.

 

Ramli Ibrahim in Alor Star

This story goes back some 25 years ago. He had come to Alor Star and was performing for the Sultan of Kedah. The venue was the now-demolished Stadium Dato’ Syed Omar in town. My parents bought tickets and I wasn’t particularly excited. After all, previous Indian classical performances dragged on forever and were deadly dull. I didn’t think that this was going to be any different.

 

A day or so before the show, a friend of the family arranged for us to meet him and listen to him speak in, of all the places, the Family Planning Clinic. I do not recall what he told us. What I do remember is that my friends and I were precocious and didn’t really appreciate the knowledge he was trying to impart. We were duly told off by the person who organised the talk and were most remorseful.

 

The next day, however, I had a moment with my father that I will treasure for all time. From the programme, we knew that one of the dances Ramli Ibrahim was scheduled to perform was the Dasha Avatar. Upon reading those words, I became very interested. Dasha Avatar is, effectively, the 10 incarnations of Vishnu, namely:

 

• Matsya – Fish

• Kurma – Tortoise

• Varaha – Boar

• Narasimha – Half man, Half lion

• Vamana – the dwarf

• Parashurama – Rama with the Axe

• Rama – King of Ayodhya

• Krishna – Ultimate statesman

• Buddha – the Enlightened One

• Kalki – who is yet to come and is expected to appear at the end of Kali Yuga

 

While Ramli Ibrahim danced on stage, I explained to my father each of these incarnations of Vishnu and the stories behind them. My father, already aware of my obsession with and love for the Mahabharat, was enthralled and understood the beauty of creation.

 

From that moment on, I was hooked on watching Ramli Ibrahim dance.

 

Ramli Ibrahim at the launch of my book

Some years ago, a book of mine (a biography of a celebrated man) was being launched. I did not know that Ramli Ibrahim was invited to the party. So, I was mightily pleased when I saw him and said hello. Then, I asked him for a favour: would he come and say hello to my mother.

 

Ever so polite, he obliged and I’ll never forget the look on my mother’s face when she realised who was walking up to greet her.

 

I often wonder if he remembers this. I’d like to think so since he seemed to remember the event in Alor Star all those years ago when we mentioned it. I don’t expect he will as I’m sure he meets so many people each day. Still, my family will always remember that he was sweet and unassuming to us and he certainly made mother’s day.

 

Ramli Ibrahim in his element

A year or so after the launch of my book, I had the opportunity to watch Ramli Ibrahim dance at his Sutra House. Imagine: the stage is a beautiful open-air amphi-theatre. The night sky is clear and there are stars above. The crowd consists of people who pride themselves in the knowledge that they’re one of the lucky few who managed to bag tickets for this sell-out show. On the fringes of the stage, there is a profusion of tropical fauna. When the enchanting music starts, the dancers make their way to the stage and give their all. The precision with which they execute their steps is a testament to the enormous discipline they’ve shown to their art. In all, it’s magic.

 

During the interval, I was telling my friend about how I watched Ramli Ibrahim perform more than 25 years ago. I remember saying that I’d never seen him dance like that again. I told her of my 25-year-old hope that he would dance Dasha Avatar again.

 

After the interval, when he came onto the stage and explained that he was going to dance Dasha Avatar, I think I was going to cry. He also asked us to experience ‘rasa’. It is hard to describe this, but I’ll try: ‘rasa’ is a completely spiritual performance. In some small way, the dancer has created a micro-universe of himself and his audience. As he dances, the spiritual connection between us is magnified and glorified. I suppose, as a spectator, I should feel that he is dancing for me alone.

 

I will never forget this second time I saw Ramli Ibrahim dance Dasha Avatar. As his performance reached its climax, with his hands lifted high to the sky and the expression of complete surrender to the Universe, I bore witness to a man who was in the throes of a divine romance with the cosmos. In that moment, he touched my core, my centre and, perhaps, my soul.

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Aneeta Sundararaj can be contacted at editor @ howtotellagreatstory.com