by: Rentak Sejuta
(Photo Credit – Dragon @ Rentak Sejuta: Southeast Asia’s #1 Music News Site (C) 2016)
Articulate, expressive and with sound technical mastery and understanding of her craft, Divya Nair is also another of Sutra Foundation’s brilliant young talents. Originally trained in ballet, then pursuing bharatanatyam and odissi with Sutra Foundation under Ramli Ibrahim, Divya who is of Indian & Chinese parentage, exemplifies what Malaysian performing artistes can achieve when they put their hearts and souls completely into it. Her dedication, commitment and passion has seen her participating in all of Sutra’s major productions, with appearances in venues such as the prestigious Carnegie Hall and the Kennedy Centre in the US. Divya who is also no stranger to contemporary work, is seen here putting on another visually engaging performance in Sutra Foundation’s excellent “Glorious Passages” at the Temple of Fine Arts, last night.
Proficient in both odissi and bharatanatyam, Geethika Sree seen here in “Glorious Passages” is among Sutra Foundation’s finest new generation dancers. Initially schooled in bharatanatyam by her mum, Sudha Sasikumar, the founder of Nritya Kalanjali Dance School in Ipoh Perak, Geethika began learning odissi from Sutra under Malaysian dance icon Ramli Ibrahim and was already featured in Sutra’s “Alarippu To Moksha” at the tender age of eleven. Geethika who is noted for her inherent “angasuddha” (perfection of body pose) is currently a seasoned international dance performer with Sutra and has been performing in many of their major international tours. Her exquisite and triumphant performance in “Glorious Passages” last night, continues to reinforce the undeniable fact that Malaysia is truly blessed with world class dance practitioners, thanks to its passionate, dedicated and undying dance propagators, such as Ramli Ibrahim and Sutra Foundation.
Intense yet beautiful, Divya Nair and Geethika Shree take it to the next level in Sutra Foundation’s Gorgeous Passages. So immersive and emotionally engaging were they that even non dance fans will be converted. Their continued success is a triumph for all Malaysian classical Indian dance propagators and practitioners.
