Dear Friends,
Once again it’s Navarathri, the nine days of celebrations when artists celebrate and renew their pledge for the gift of art and knowledge.
Artists, especially musicians and dancers perform in temple halls and ‘sabhas’. There is a palpable cultural community engagement everywhere.
This is also a busy time for Indian dance institutions everywhere in the world. It’s no different at Sutra.
One of the Navarathri days at Sutra House was dedicated to the Hiichiikok Foundation students, most of whom are kids from the Temiar community of Gua Musang (Kelantan), who are studying in Kuala Lumpur.
Traditionally, this is also the time when the senior dancers and students find themselves involved hands-on with ‘seva’ (the Sanskrit root word for ‘service’) – selfless service.
Sutra dancers find themselves acting as bridges of tradition for the community. Here, you find them preparing the Hiichikok students for their first public performance, putting their make-up, teaching them to tie their saris the traditional way, helping them with their dancing bells.
I remember those pre-Covid days when, together with the famous enthno-musicologist, Marina Roseman, we would visit the Temiar community of Santih, situated at the upper reaches of the Perak River at the border of Kelantan.
We somehow lost contact with the Temiar community during and post-COVID. You can imagine how deeply moved I was when I discovered a whole group of Temiar kids at the Hiichiikok Foundation during one of our Dance Outreach workshops!
I managed to convince their guardian to send them to Sutra for movement and dance class.
They started their class, once a week, just over a year ago. Uniforms are given only to those who come to class regularly and are serious about their dance.
Improvement comes naturally when they see the senior dancers perform, culminating in attending Sutra performances in theatres.
We believe that dance will empower them physically and help them to gain self-confidence in life. This would take time and I appreciate the support of Sutra’s senior dancers who take turn to teach them.
It would be interesting to see how they would develop in the next Navarathri in 2026!
In this video, the senior dancers prepare them, body and soul, for their first public performance. Indeed, a novel experience and can be of a trial by fire for these kids to confront their fear of exposing their vulnerable ‘dramatic’ self.
Fortunately, the audience are those who are keen to have them empowered and see Dance bring out their artistic best!
Sutra