The Legend, The Journey Begins...
1 and 2 August 2009
University Cultural Centre (UCC) Theatre

During the first weekend of August, the University Cultural Centre (UCC) Theatre was transformed into an arena where mystic and magic were revived. Maya Dance Theatre’s latest epic production directed by Maya Dance Theatre’s creative director Kavitha Krishnan, The Legend, The Journey Begins... debuted to an audience capacity of over 400 on 1 and 2 August. 

With extravagant costumes and multimedia projection to accompany the exquisite lighting and set design, The Legend was enjoyed by audience of all ages, ethnicities and nationalities. A cast of more than 20 dancers and performers captured their imagination and presented an interpretation of the classic Ramayana to life. The high-spirited dancers added dynamism to The Legend and brought a layer of vibrancy with their distinctive dance styles and expertise in the choreography. There was a fusion of contemporary dance with traditional forms (such as classical Indian, Balinese) with cohesively contemporized influences of Hip-hop, Kalari, Capoeira and Silat, in addition to elements to poetry, music and theatre.

Maya Dance Theatre embarked on this epical journey with several collaborators such as National Arts Culture and Heritage Academy (ASWARA, Malaysia), Bharatha Natyam and Odissi dance exponent, Ajith Baskaren Dass, (Malaysia), Balinese dance artist, I Nyoman Budi Artha (Indonesia) and Putu Arif Mahendra as well as lighting designer Naomi Shoko Matsumoto (Japan).

Guest of honour, RADM (NS) Sim Gim Guan, Chairman of ASEAN National COCI (Singapore) and Deputy Secretary (Information & Corporate Management) of Ministry of Information, Communications and the Arts (MICA) remarks, “I must say that we thoroughly enjoyed the performance. The fusion of the various dance movement was certainly innovative and entertaining. It was an excellent performance, particularly since it involved the collaboration of artistes from different countries.” RADM (NS) Sim adds that he was specially drawn to the light-hearted monkey scenes and the elaborate costumes portrayed by the characters.

Special guest Dr. M. Natarajan, the editor of Puthiya Parvai, from Tamil Nadu, India also graced the production and gave a  compelling speech on the opening night on 1 August, 2009.

The Legend, The Journey Begins... follows the success of Stories Come Alive – Ramayana as part of Esplanade’s Feed Your Imagination (FYI) series at the Esplanade Recital Studio on 29 and 30 July, 2009.