A Journey Through Malaysian Dance

Established in 2001, MyDance Alliance is a non-profit volunteer organisation that brings together dance practitioners and enthusiasts to support and promote dance in Malaysia. We bridge boundaries between dance communities, bringing dancers together on stage to explore the depth of the Malaysian dance identity. Today’s performance is drawn from our long-running performance platform Dancebox, in partnership with The Actor’s Studio, from which we feature our frequent performers Laasya Arts Academy and Marrow Collective. We also highlight the work of our active 10-person volunteer committee, represented by multi-talented Vice President Rithaudin Abdul Kadir. And we celebrate our ongoing connection with local tertiary dance institutions, including Sultan Idris Education University, whose talented well-trained students often serve as our interns.

Laasya Arts Academy, based in Kuala Lumpur, promotes and preserves the ancient arts of India, primarily classical music and dance. The institution exposes students to the many faces of Bharatanatyam by taking an innovative approach, keeping the original techniques intact. Laasya Arts has carved a niche for itself with dance drama for children on mythological and historical themes, as well as working with Digi and ASTRO to broaden the awareness of South Indian dance and music. Founder Dr Guruvayur Usha Dorai tailors her curriculum to suit the needs of her students. She has conducted 51 arangetrams, and earned the title of Madura Natya Mamani in 1986, as well as an honorary doctorate from Kolkata University.

Marrow Collective, founded in 2018, aims to promote Chinese traditional art forms in Malaysia with a contemporary approach. They provide platforms for youths to experiment with and present new creations and ideas, encouraging multidisciplinary practices, and fostering cross-disciplinary collaborations to develop new artistic styles in the Malaysian Chinese dance community. Marrow Collective has performed in local art festivals, and in Hong Kong, Taiwan, China, Singapore, and Indonesia, including the Selangor State CNY Gala 2023, Short +Sweet Dance 2022, Bandung International Arts Festival 2021 and George Town Festival.

The Faculty of Music & Performing Arts, Sultan Idris Education University, offers dance qualifications at the diploma, degree, masters and doctorate level. The diploma in dance emphasises the integration of study in theory and philosophy, practice, research, management and production. Diploma students are required to undertake industrial training to provide practical experience, expose the students to real-world work environments, and improve communication skills and professional ethics.

With a Bachelor’s Degree in Performing Arts (Dance) from the University of Malaya, Rithaudin Abdul Kadir has a strong background in traditional dance, and explores conceptual and experimental works through site specific performance. He has travelled, performed and studied dance in Indonesia, Thailand and the Philippines, and has recently appeared in Huru-Hara Festival ASIATOPA in Melbourne, Bandung International Arts Festival, Melaka Art & Performance Festival, and Impulse Theatre Festival in Germany, as well as producing the site-specific platform Dancing in Place.