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personality
Candidly
Ramli
We take pride inMalaysia being a peaceful multiracial
countrywith a diversemulticultural background. One of
the treasures youwill uncover in our diverse society is
the great expression in the arts. Ramli Ibrahim, one of the
country’smost accomplished performers in Indian classical
dance, is a cultural iconwith international acclaim. He has
been performing formore than three decades. Here he
shares a conversationwith
Marrion Tan
of Fireflyz about
his aspirations and future planswith the Sutra Foundation.
B
ORN
in Kajang, Selangor in 1953, Ramli exemplifies
a talent whose star was poised to rise. In 1969, at
the tender age of 16, he attended the Royal Military
College and upon completion, left to further his
studies in Mechanical Engineering in Australia.
He graduated from the University of Western Australia with a
Bachelor in Engineering (Mechanical) in 1975.
However, Ramli had a change of direction, as he wanted
something more out of life. Simultaneously, Ramli had been
dancing whilst studying at the University. He auditioned
and was accepted in 1976 into the Australian Ballet School
and graduated in 1977. It is from that year, his professional
career sprang to life. Upon graduation, Ramli was invited
into the Sydney Dance Company under Graeme Murphy.
It was in Sydney that he met distinguished
bharatanatyam guru Adyar K. Lakshman and began
studying this Indian classical dance style seriously. His
debut in Graeme Murphy’s Poppy, as Nijinsky at the Sydney
Opera House marks the start of a brilliant career as a dancer
extraordinaire.
Today, as artistic director of the Sutra Dance Theatre, Ramli
has choreographed stunning works and nurtured some of the
brightest dance talents from Malaysia. He is also instrumental in
transforming the dance scenario in Malaysia by boldly charting
new paths and single-handedly establishing odissi as a widely
appreciated dance form.