Description

𝟏𝟒 – 𝟏𝟖 (𝐖𝐞𝐝 – 𝐒𝐮𝐧) 𝐅𝐞𝐛𝐫𝐮𝐚𝐫𝐲, 𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟒 𝐃𝐏𝐀𝐂 𝐓𝐡𝐞𝐚𝐭𝐫𝐞

With ‘First Sighting’, Sutra Foundation launches 2024 with the premiere of a new bharatanatyam production, featuring 8 Sutra dancers.

At one time, Sutra prided itself as the country’s leading creative force of bharatanatyam. However, over the years Sutra creatively stirred and charged the imagination of Malaysians with bountiful yield of excellent odissi productions, at the expense of its bharatanatyam legacy.

Now, however, Sutra is keen to reclaim once again its previous exalted position in bharatanatyam.

With ‘First Sighting’, Sutra aims to apprise this state of affairs with the energized presence of two accomplished bharatanatyam dancer-teachers, Rathimalar Govindarajoo and Ishwar Muthkumaran, presently helming Sutra’s bharatanatyam faculty.

Rathimalar, a bharatanatyam dancer initially trained in Sutra, became the dance-star of the contemporary modern Shobana Jeyasingh Dance Company (UK); Ishwar Muthkumaran, on the other hand, is at the other end of the spectrum, steeped in traditional Tanjore Quartet background.

One can expect an interesting creative ‘clash’ of modernity within a highly traditional paradigm.

The challenge for ‘First Sighting’, is not only to take on the difficult and complex pure dance passages but to come up with fresh and interesting re-arrangements for group composition, while still retaining the classic and traditional aesthetics within the classical format of bharatanatyam.