Malam Bulan di Pagar Bintang 2.0

Malam Bulan di Pagar Bintang, a triple-bill contemporary modern dance production, costumed in black/white, sees its second season in January 2025!

From the very beginning, besides its association with Indian classical dance, Sutra had pioneered and created many notable contemporary productions. These works had contributed to forging a multi-cultural Malaysian identity and defined ‘modernity’ from Asian perspectives.

Malam Bulan di Pagar Bintang explores Malaysian contemporary modern dance genre as an important aspect within the rich tapestry of Malaysian dance.

The three dances premiered in Malam Bulan di Pagar Bintang are conceived and choreographed by Datuk Ramli Ibrahim.

Concept, Artistic Direction & Choreography Datuk Ramli Ibrahim

Lighting Design M Guna

Assistants to Artistic Director Rathimalar Govindarajoo & Geethika Sree

Featuring Artistes of Sutra Foundation Rathimalar, Geethika Sree, Tan Mei Mei, Nishah Govind Kumar, Renuka, Vanizha, Nithya, Jyotsnaa, Tharanitha, Kaaviyashri, Janusre, Kushbu, Shemmy Kumar, Melvin, Hareen Loganathan 

Costume Design Kesheen Regunathan

Stylist Rajavel Neelamekan

The Program

Revelling Music  Colin McPhee & Lou Harrison

“Revelling is a vignette of impressions of Bali, Java, and spiced with that of Khajuraho. The period when I lived in Ubud in the 70s was that of discovery of the spirit of Balinese dances and the gamelan. The book A House in Bali, a fascinating read, by Canadian American composer Colin McPhee living in Bali in the 1930s, was an eye-opener to the magic that was Bali. Later, I met American composer Lou Harrison whose composition, inspired by Javanese gamelan, was the work I chose to express the awe I felt when confronted with the sensuality of the temple sculptures of Khajuraho. The black and white poleng magic cloth represents the balance of good and evil which must be sustained in the maintenance of the process of Life ”

Ramli Ibrahim

INTERMISSION

Stand by Me Music  Alex Dea (Chinese American composer now living in Java working on contemporary gamelan music) World Premiere Voices by Geethika Sree, Rathimalar Govindarajoo, Alex Dea Kidungan voice by Ibu Bei Mardusari, diva of Mangkunegaran Palace (1909 – 1993) Cithara sampling and Reaper software mentorship by Jean-David Caillouet

Stand by Me takes its creative point of embarkation from Sappho (630 – 570 BC), considered one of the greatest lyric poets whose poetry survived in fragmentary forms. Her extraordinary works are known for their clarity of language, vivid images and immediacy. Stand by Me explores the theme of transformation in human relationship, of love, of coming of age, of separation and ageing.

“I was asked to create something contemporary, abstract, and minimalist. I am used to Sutra’s luscious Indian classical music and so I was delighted to offer something different from my corner of the avant-garde sonic world. My composition expresses the theme of transformation through 20th century contemporary music techniques. Here is a metamorphosis of spoken text where worlds become melodies of abstract sounds where one finds the aesthetics of musical minimalism and inter-cultural elements from sounds of Greek harp, bells from Bali, Myanmar and India which represent the safe haven while learning about Life. I bring in English translations of life lessons from the ancient Greek poetess, truth-seeker, dreamer and philosopher, Sappho. Her words are transformed through elongation and microtonal changes, expressing the feelings and rasa as a person grows and changes.”

Alex Dea (Composer)

INTERMISSION

Malam Bulan di Pagar Bintang Music  assortments of vintage film music mainly by P Ramlee and Saloma

The vignettes of favourite old Malay songs represent a passing of an era which still holds a soft spot in the public’s memory. All the 5 songs featured have a common metaphorical allusion - the Moon or Bulan, a popular Malay metaphor often associated with love and beauty. Old film recordings sung mainly by P Ramlee and Saloma are re-visited where the choreography, like the songs, evokes the playful, romantic nostalgia of a bygone Malay era.