The Dance Pilgrim

I borrow and paraphrase from Neil Armstrong, the words he uttered when he set foot on the moon on 20  July 1969, as 75 young men and women enrol for ASWARA’s first intake of degree program  students on the 6 January 2008. Of these, 18 will pursue a Bachelor of Dance with Honours majoring in either performance or choreography, and the rest in Music, Theatre, Film and Writing. It is a historic day for ASWARA (that began as ASK in 1994) in particular, and for the arts in Malaysia in general. It is even more historic as I remember the total enrolment of merely 10 full-time students 8 years ago in the Dance Diploma program that has now swelled to 80 - how we have grown! While there is a deep sense of awe and satisfaction with the journey thus far and the growing numbers, there comes with it a great sense of responsibility as I look ahead to the delivery of fresh content and subsequently to the finished products of these programs. I ponder the industry and wonder how education and profession

Fig. 1: With peers Wong Kit Yaw, Mohd Seth Hamzah in the opening of Menempa Tari Tradisi. 2022.   I am Dean of the Faculty of Dance at the National Academy of Arts, Culture and Heritage Malaysia, (Akademi Seni Budaya dan Warisan Kebangsaan) better known by its acronym of ASWARA. Although I have done this work since 1998, it is still seems surreal because the journey has been completely  unexpected.  I never aspired to become a performer or choreographer or pursue a career in the field of performing arts although my involvement began incidentally at the age of 10 when my La Salle Primary School, Petaling Jaya (LSPJ) teacher, Celine Vincent organized end-of-the-year performances in the classroom. We had to draw, paint, practice elocution and create short skits that nurtured our creativity, collaborative and leadership skills. However, I suspect it was primarily designed to keep 40 boys occupied and out of mischief! This introduction to theatre  grew to become a large part of my school-li