The Korean Connection

The links between Malaysia, particularly the Faculty of Dance at ASWARA and South Korea are getting stronger every year. The invitation of Shariful Azmi Suhaimi to the 5^th Daegu Korean Traditional Dance Festival and Workshops that took place between 18 and 25 May 2009 is another that has cemented the artistic ties between these two countries. This festival was held at the Daegu Dong-gu Culture and Sports Center, a theatre that seats 1200 audience and also at smaller venues at universities in Seoul and Daegu City. This intimate festival features performances and workshops by artists from across Korea and Shafirul was the sole international participant, which is an incredible honour for a young artist.

Born in Sabah, 29-year old Shafirul is the son of senior choreographer Suhaimi Magi. Shafirul is an experienced traditional dancer who gained experience by dancing Sabah Cultural Board and the Kedah Performing Arts Organization, performing in England, Scotland, France, Indonesia, China and Thailand before enrolling as a student at ASWARA, and has completed his Bachelor of Dance with Honours (Choreography) program in 2010. His body of work is extensive placing him among the leading voices of artists of his generation having worked and performed in Antara in Istana Budaya, in choreography by Suhaimi Magi, Curfew! with Judimar Hernandez, Junior White 2 choreographed by Choo Tee Kuang for the First Mydance Festival, Langkah Baru and Jamming the Box at The Actors Studio as well as being the principal dancer in Joseph Gonzales’ 2003 national tour of Awas! He has participated in short-term international study programs and workshops in Singapore and the Cudamani Summer Program in Bali, Indonesia. He was nominated for Best New Artist at the Cameronian Arts Awards in 2005. In 2006, Shafirul won the Ministry of Culture Best Young Artist Award in the field of choreography. His choreography Tapak 4 which combines silat and contemporary dance won the performers Best Group Performance at the 8^th Boh Cameronian Arts Awards and is now a staple of the repertoire at ASWARA as well as the professional ASWARA Dance Company.

At the Daegu Festival, Shafirul was required to teach several workshops of terinai and silat besides performing. Terinai is a beautiful court dance from Perlis that describes a marriage ritual through dance and is most rarely performed anymore. ASWARA was very fortunate to have the services of Dr. Zamin Haroon also known professionally as Chandrabhanu to teach this dance over a period of 2 years to students including Shafirul. This young artist now has the task of teaching it as part of the compulsory module on traditional Malay court dance to the Diploma students. Silat is a Malay martial art form that has innumerable schools of practice, also forms the core of the ASWARA curriculum and is a legacy from the late Anuar Abdul Wahab who passed away suddenly after serving as lecturer for 15 years at ASWARA.   

Shafirul taught at these workshops to full-time dance students at three universities, namely the Daegu University of Art, Sejong University and Korean National University of Arts. This is a milestone for him as a young artist. “This has been the best experience of my life. Although I have performed internationally with cultural groups and with ASWARA, this is unforgettable because I was invited as a solo artist and it was an amazing opportunity for me to learn and to share. What made me strong and special was my traditional dance knowledge that I was able to combine with my contemporary dance training.” As part of the cultural exchange of this program, Shafirul was also taken to attend performances including Soul, Sunflower at the The National Theater of Korea performed by The National Dance Company of Korea and Shall We? by the Daegu City Modern Dance Company. “The performance and technique of the dancers were unbelievable, while the attendance at the performances was overwhelming. The audience was very responsive to these modern works which showed greater exposure and appreciation for the arts in general, and showed their pleasure with astounding applause and standing ovations,” observed Shafirul.

The Diploma in Dance ASWARA graduates Liu Yong Sean and Lee Wen Yan have completed the Bachelor of Dance, while Maz Irwan has completed his Bachelor of Film Studies, all of them on full Art Major Award (AMA) Scholarships given by the Korean Government, at the Korean National University of Arts, one of Korea’s premier arts institutions. In 2008, freelance dancer and graduate from the Hong Kong Academy of Performing Arts, Lim Thou Chun spent 4 months on an artist collaboration exchange between Asia, Europe and Africa, while the 2009 reciepient was former Sutra Dance Theatre dancer January Low. In 2010 the selected artist was Lu Wit Chin, another Malaysian graduate from the Hong Kong Academy of Performing Arts. This particular program is geared towards performance at the Seoul International Dance Festival SID Dance. With Shafirul’s participation at the Daegu Festival and another upcoming invitation to another ASWARA star Aris Kadir in June for the World Masters Dance Festival, indicates a growing presence of Malaysian artists in Korea. These above invitations are concurrent with numerous government-to-government invitations which see a large number of traditional dancers and musicians participating in festivals, arts management programs and workshops throughout the year.

In 2011, I was invited to be a part of the Asian Dance Committee and subsequently elected to be its inaugural Co-Chairman together with Hong Sung-yop, Artistic Director of the Korea National Contemporary Dance Company. The main goals of the committee was to establish the Asia Dance Company, the preparation of a digital archive centre, adjudicate the choreography competition which would lead to the performance at the soon-to-be completed Asian Arts Centre in Gwanju in 2013-2014. The committee consists of 2 representatives each from the 16 member countries (one government official and one dance expert) as well as officials and artists from Korea. All meetings and costs for hosting the committee are borne by the hosts. The South Korean government is investing sizeable funds in developing the art forms and creating extremely effective means to promote their culture through education and artist exchange programs. At the same time, the fact that Malaysian artists are receiving these awards is testimony to the improving standards of dance training and performance in Malaysia. At the same time, Malaysia can learn from these models and use these experiences to further promote the various dance genres on an international platform. Indonesian forms of Javanese, Sumatran and Balinese dance and music are already recognized in the curriculum of several universities in United States. As Shafirul succinctly states:  

         I was very impressed with the love the Koreans have for their culture and the standard of their performances. I am astonished with amount of funds made available to independent artists to develop their ideas and promote their choreography as well as learn about arts management. Most importantly, I hope to find more opportunities such as this to spread the knowledge of traditional Malaysian dance which is still not known internationally. I am grateful to all my teachers especially Gan Chih Pei and Kim Yong Chul from Korea, for providing me with this chance of a lifetime.

©Brijesh Bolar