Described by international dance connoisseurs as one of the finest artistes of his generation, Ramli Ibrahim is a cultural icon who has performed internationally for more than four decades. His rigorous training in ballet, modern, and Indian classical  dance  reflects  not  only  his  diverse  technical  accomplishment,  but  also  his multifaceted approach to the performing arts.

As artistic director of Sutra Dance Theatre, Ramli has choreographed stunning works and nurtured some of the brightest dance talents from Malaysia, many of whom have won international acclaim in both traditional and contemporary scenes.

Ramli has been instrumental in transforming the dance scenario in Malaysia to greater heights. Today, he is known for single‐handedly establishing Odissi as a recognisable and widely  appreciated  dance  form  in  the  country,  while  creating  a  distinctively  Malaysian interpretation of this ancient tradition.

As a pioneer, Ramli is recognised internationally within the arts scene, evident in the numerous accolades conferred upon him. He is acknowledged as a ‘Living Heritage’ by the Government of Malaysia as the United Nations declared him to be a UNESCO Living Treasure in 2012.

The President of India has awarded Ramli with the prestigious Sangeet Natak Akademi Award (2011), the first ever for a Malaysian. The award is recognised as the highest national honour conferred on performing artists, gurus and scholars of the performing arts. In year 2013, he received a Datukship from the Federal Government of Malaysia.

He was most recently conferred the Padma Shri Award (2018) from the Government of India, Perdana Award (2019) and the Lifetime Arts Achievement Award (2019) by Sugam Culture and Heritage Foundation.

Sivarajah Natarajan, pioneer Fine Arts graduate of Indian descent of the Malaysian Institute of Arts (MIA, 1992), himself a walking piece of Art, is a natural born artist, God-gifted with an eye for beauty, colours, settings, form, flow, movement and design. As Trustee and Technical & Stage Director of Sutra Foundation, Siva has, over his more than 27 years involvement with multiple world dance forms, creatively contributed to Sutra’s productions. He has honed his lighting and stage design skills to match the perfect dance with the perfect stage setting and lighting, winning stage awards along the way. Siva is essentially a figurative painter. His works on canvas portray the heightened states of form of beings and objects. As a dancer’s painter, he takes the cue from the dance itself to capture on canvas the motion in still form. His works in visual art inform his imagination in lighting and set design. Siva is passionate about integrating the visual with the performing arts and his artistic explorations position him as a major force who has forged the integration of Malaysian visual and performing arts. His contribution to the unique assimilation of the combined elements of visual and performing art in theatre is yet to be recognised and acknowledged in the totality of its vision. Siva says: “My art is my devotion and offering to the Divine and friends”.

Geethika Sree started bharatanatyam under her mother, Sudha Sasikumar and then commenced odissi with Ramli Ibrahim. She was first featured at Sutra when she was eleven years old and now, she is a seasoned dancer performing internationally in Sutra’s major productions. Geethika was assistant to artistic director for Sutra’s latest productions, GANJAM, Amorous Delight and Odissi on High. She performed solo in Penetrating the Goddess 2017 and was chosen as one of the ‘Top 10 New Generation Malaysian Cultural Dancers 2017’. Geethika has recently received the ‘Guru Debaprasad Yuva Prativa Samman 2018’ Youth Award by Tridhara (Bhubaneswar) and the ‘Swayam Prakasha Nartakhi 2019’ award by Sarasalaya (Chennai). She has partnered Ramli Ibrahim in several performances of odissi for heads of states at international gatherings. Geethika is presently the principal dancer of Sutra and works full time as Sutra administrator.

Tan Mei Mei is a seasoned and dynamic performer in control of her technique.  She made impact in her first performance, The First Awakenings (Alarippu to Moksha 2005) and was subsequently featured in all of Sutra’s major odissi productions such as Spellbound, Vision of Forever and contemporary modern productions, Titiwangsa!, Transfigurations, Into the Centre, Tarikan, River Sutra, She Ra and Quintessence. Mei Mei participated in Sutra’s international tours taking in U.S., Europe, Oman, Singapore and many cities of India, which includes New Delhi, Chennai, Bangalore, Kolkata, Mumbai, Ujjain, Bhubaneswar etc and at the prestigious Konark Dance Festival in 2011 and 2017. She was assistant to artistic director for Sutra’s latest production Odissi on High (2018 & 2019). Mei Mei is known for her deft saree draping technique and knowledge of Indian textiles. She runs her family business and also teaches odissi at Sutra.

Harenthiran is a compelling dancer who has performed principal male roles in many of Sutra’s productions. Trained in odissi, bharatanatyam, ballet and contemporary modern techniques, Harenthiran is a passionate performer with long expressive limbs, projecting intense stage presence. He has taken many major roles in Sutra productions such as Spellbound, Vision of Forever, Krishna – Love Re-invented, and recently GANJAM, Amorous Delight and Odissi on High. He has toured extensively with Sutra in the U.S., Europe and major cities of India besides Malaysia. Harenthiran shows an aptitude towards choreography and contributes his creative ideas to many of Sutra’s productions.

Nishah Govind Kumar took up odissi in 2003. As a child, she first came to Sutra but moved on to study under Guru Sri Ganesan. However, her strong attraction to odissi brought her back to Sutra and her determination, devotion and passion for odissi saw her catching up with the more experienced colleagues. Nishah’s quick rise and development caught the eye of Ramli Ibrahim who encouraged her to explore her fullest potential in odissi. She made her mark as a principal dancer in Amour (Sutra’s Under the Stars series 2004). Nishah performed and travelled extensively with Sutra for many productions, namely Spellbound, Vision of Forever, River Sutra, Tarikan and many more. She took a break in 2013 to focus on her career and start a family. Nishah came back in 2017 and proved her talent in In Pieces (contemporary) & Envy, Longing, Desire (odissi).

Vickneshwaran, a highly musical and intelligent dancer, emerged from the ranks of Sutra dancers. An engineer by profession, Vickneshwaran took up odissi seven years ago. Due to his natural aptitude for dance, hard work, dedication and prodigious talent he is able to catch up in both expressive and technical proficiency and to dance along with Sutra’s senior dancers.  He was eventually chosen to perform in GANJAM at Istana Budaya and in Sutra’s recent tour of Konark Festival and Uttar Pradesh. Vickneswaran proved his mettle in his recent performance of Serentak and is now in the rank of Sutra’s regular male dancers.