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PERSONALITY
Artistic Movement
Whendid the interest inperformance andphysical theatrebegin?
As a child, I always imagined myself dancing and improvising in the forest, along the
riverside, on a boat or in the paddy fields. As I was growing up, I used tempo to create
my own rhythm structure in classes to remember the lessons, and even used different
body movements to remember the different components of law studies in college. That
action caught my classmates and teachers by surprise, but I am a kinaesthetic learner
and my body and mind operate at full capacity when I move. It was realising this that
led me to become more interested in performance and physical theatre.
What trainingdidyouundertake?
I started my professional theatre training with the Canberra Youth Theatre, studying
physical theatre and Butoh (a postmodern Japanese art form), and I fell passionately
in love with the world of theatre and performing art!
My first professional theatre practice started with a six-month internship with a
Brisbane-based physical theatre company – Zen Zen Zo
Physical Theatre – the largest theatre training centre in
the southern hemisphere. Over a period of two years I
had the honour to work as a teaching artist, producer,
artistic coordinator, performer and assistant director
for the company, honing my artistry and delving
deeper into my ontology as a performance maker.
How is physical theatredifferent fromdance?
F
or me, physical theatre combines text, movement,
musical notes and theatrical poetry. We don’t shy
away from using choreographed movement to
share stories, encouraging the audience to connect
the dots in the absence of text. I think dance can be
more abstract than conventional theatre, but theatre
is more text based and can be boring. Physical theatre
sits somewhere between the two and brings out the
best of both.
Whatwas the reactionof your family
and friendswhenyoudecided tobe
a performance artist rather than a
lawyer?
There were lots of disagreements;
lots of dissatisfaction, especially
because I come from a traditional
Asian family where only being a
doctor, lawyer or accountant counts
as a real job. Even now, my network
of friends changes from time to
time, and sometimes I don’t see my
Australian friends now I’ve moved
Performer, teacher and an arts inspiration,
Soonufat
Supramaniam
isoneofthemostexcitingmovementartists
inMalaysiaand iscommitted intobringingartseducationto
the future generations.
Sarah Rees
hears why this young
manwas born tomove.
back to Malaysia, however, I still
feel this strong sense of connection
through time and space.
Whydoyou feel passionate about
art education?
In a limited theatre space, we
change, challenge, support and im-
pact art makers and the audience,
but in education I get to share my
love and my experience through
crafting unique human experience
for my students. I always believe in
self-led exploration and experience
based teaching, especially now
I work in a rural area teaching
English and Arts to disadvantaged
communities. I see arts education
as an important tool for character
improvement, active engagement
and creativity development.
What canyoungpeoplegain from
havingarts education?
Self-expression, confidence, com-
munication skills, analytical skills,
creativity, endless possibilities in
navigating their own stories and us-
ing them to share their ownworlds.
INK, Perth Fringe Festival 2013
Nine Deaths One Life,
It’s Finally Here!, George
Town Festival 2014