Asia Dance Channel

The PETRONAS Performing Arts Group (PPAG) opened their 2009/2010 season with a performance comprised of two segments staged from 18 to 20 December 2009 at the PETRONAS Philharmonic Hall. The first segment is a highly condensed 60-minute dance drama adapted from the Ramayana epic called “Rawana”, while the second segment, “Laman Etnik”, featured various ethnic dances from Borneo. As a whole, PPAG’s first offering of the season was a fantastic feast of the senses that showed a lot of effort and thought and dedication. Although the production failed in certain matters, it certainly showed itself worthy of the endeavour and is an exciting pre-cursor to the season ahead.

When I first found out that the “Rawana” dance drama segment would take up 60 minutes of the performance, my first reaction was a groan. My fears were that the dance drama would end up a protracted affair filled with long, endless moments of self-indulgence, and that the Ramayana epic would not be done justice. Unfortunately, the latter misgiving came true. Fortunately and happily, the first did not.

There is a reason why they call certain stories, sagas and cycles like “Ramayana” an epic. The decision to concentrate on a certain portion of the Ramayana saga was prudent and well-appreciated, but, unfortunately, PPAG was still unable to do justice to “Rawana”.

With so many characters and chapters to the story, the scenes were, by necessity, short and somewhat compact, and unfortunately turned out to be quite choppy, especially in transitions. It would be helpful if you are already familiar with the story as character motivations sometimes do not make sense, and some scenes seemed to have been included as gimmicks.

Two LCD screens parked at either side of the stage presented the scene synopsis in Malay and English. For the lucky bilingual ones, the Malay subtitles afforded a more accurate synopsis. For the English-only crowd, those subtitles, at the very least, lent an air of fun and hilarity for the broad-minded and non-traditionalists.

The stage was already decked out in construction that made full use of the space available while setting the mood and background with sufficient ease. The sets composed of stairs and mountains and hillsides that reached up to the first floor balconies, and gave a sense of grandness befitting an adaptation of an epic saga. The musicians and singers were introduced prior to the show, and pyrotechnics heralded the beginning of the show.

And, from the first moment, Fahizal Ismail as Rawana captured the audience’s attention with a forcefulness that demanded attention and he treated his character with grace and respect. Rawana’s eight heads were wonderfully and ably performed by Nasir Hassiam, Fazuren Othman, Zaizuladli Mamat, Muhammad Fikrie Mat Adan, Saril Sarip, Dolah Che Salih, Albar Ramdzan, and Mohd Asran Yaacon. Their choreography and synchronicity were greatly supported by the complete commitment that they gave to their individual roles and the teamwork that they displayed. There was one main character and eight supporting components of that character on stage, and they did a wonderful job of presenting themselves as one contiguous character.

Rawana was strong, arrogant, confident, and powerful, and he commanded the stage each time he appeared. One of the things that stood out, and perhaps made his character such a joy to watch, is the creative choreography that presented his character and aspects. The same cannot be said about some of the other characters and choreography.

In one hour, the audience finds out that Rawana wishes to live forever, and subsequently falls in love with Mandudori, wife of a rather lame Dasaratha. No one really understands how Dasaratha got a wife as hot as Mandudori, and why Mandudori would fight so hard to return to him when he seemed to give her up to Rawana so easily. But, love is a many-splendored thing that can turn a girl’s head enough to plead the gods for a clone, called Mandudaki, who is then passed off to Rawana as the real thing. In one of their duets, the happy Mandudori returns to a crushed Dasaratha to tell him of her successful plan and how they now may live together happily ever after. Upon hearing the happy news, Dasaratha does what any red-blooded male would do in his position – infiltrate the scary palace of Rawana to check out if Mandudaki was just as hot as his own wife and proceeds to get her pregnant.

Mandudaki then gives birth to Sita, who is set adrift in a river ala Moses by the mid-wife instead of being outright killed, as ordered by Rawana. Years later, Sita is a gorgeous babe who is happily in love with Rama, brother of Laksamana. Supernakha, Rawana’s sister, falls in love with Rama but is defeated by Laksamana who cuts off her nose. Hell gets a lesson in scorned women when Supernakha gets big brother Rawana to kidnap Sita.

The amount of acting skills and commitment that each performer brought to his role is stupendous, impressive, and effective. Supernakha, played by Shalinda Ismail, and Bibasenam, played by Raziff Abd Rahman, are just two of the more outstanding characters and performances.

Overall, the choreography was strong, interesting, creative and engaging, and, at times, inspired. Where the choreography failed, though, was in the duet scenes. It seemed like most of the effort went into Rawana, Supernakha, the ensemble performances and the battle scenes. The duets lacked imagination and life, and were almost one-dimensional in nature, as well as indistinguishable from each other. Despite this, however, the PPAG dancers deserve highest praise for the amount of work that they put in, and the feat that they have accomplished.

They performed beautifully and seamlessly, with full commitment and lively expressions. The musicians already did such a great job with the beautiful and sometimes haunting music that drove the mood and emotion of the story. But, the dancers truly stood out with their teamwork, technical ability and artistic presentation.

The second segment of the show was a 30-minute affair that took place after a 15-minute intermission. The stage was subtly re-arranged to resemble a stage in the lush rainforest. The musicians came on-stage, and immediately started on their first musical item that combined Sabahan and Sarawakian music characters for a fitting overture to “Laman Etnik”.

Altogether, there were ten dance pieces, with the first and the last pieces, “Overture Laman Etnik” and “Finale”, featuring a colourful and electrifying fusion of choreography from the various traditional dances of Borneo.

The ethnic dances from Sabah featured were “Dansa” from the Cocos Islanders of Lahad Datu that reminded us of Malaccan Portuguese and Spanish dances, Sazau Papar from the Papar district of Sabah, the Titikas dance from the Orang Sungai of the Kinabatangan district in Sandakan, and the Bajau’s Igal Tabawan from the Samporna district.

Sarawak was represented by Ngajat Lesong, a traditional Iban dance from the Kuching district, the Melanau’s Tari Menyak from the Mukah district of Sibu, Rejang Be’uh from the Bidayuh tribe of the Bau district, and the Ngajat Ngeleput of the Orang Ulu folk of the Miri district.

Soft, fluid, and graceful movements were the main characteristics of these dances from Borneo. Even the warrior dances showed a harmony with nature that is reflected in their artistry and culture. “Laman Etnik” also brought a dash of excitement with it when one of the dance pieces began with a warrior standing at one end of the imposing stage and trying to pierce one of the balloons attached to a tree at the other end of the stage. He succeeded only in his third try, and reminded us how fearsome these strong warriors are, and how worthy they are of our respect.

Overall, the dances were beautifully engaging, colourful, full of life and impossibly graceful. The diversity of dances presented is an apt reminder and eye-opener to the diversity of Malaysia. There is so much to learn and explore. Even for Sabahans. I found myself discovering a few new dances that I have never heard of, and found myself falling in love with Borneo all over again.

Half an hour passes all too quickly, and one wishes that there were more traditional dances to be presented. We exited the hall feeling sated and yet hungry for more. With such beautifully trained dancers, talented choreographers and musicians, and a supportive and resourceful team, I am looking forward to PPAG’s new season, and so should you.