Bringing the spirit of Ramayana to the stage

JAYA Ram, Sutra Foundation’s biggest production this year debuted in Kuala Lumpur in September.

Choreographed by Ramli Ibrahim and with compositions from Gajendra Panda, the over three-hour dance drama features pivotal events and episodes from the Ramayana that will be immediately recognisable to audiences.

The production is set to tour Melaka on November 19 before taking it internationally where the dancers will perform at the sacred grounds of the Sun Temple, a world heritage site during the Konark Festival in Odisha.

The Vibes spoke in length with the two principal dancers of the production, Geethika Shree and Tan Mei Mei, on their years-long tutelage under Datuk Ramli Ibrahim, being groomed to be successors of his legacy, and keeping a beginner’s attitude.

The Vibes (TV): Your Guru, Ramli Ibrahim, seems to be grooming the two of you to be the future of the school, as you both take on the role of teachers and assistants to the artistic director of productions. What does it feel like to shoulder this responsibility? 

Assistants to Artistic Directors (AAD): We took on the roles of assistants to the artistic director for a couple of productions thus far. Though it should get easier with every production, we still feel the same amount of stress each time.

That is probably because we take the responsibility given to us seriously and understand that it is the brand – Sutra – that is and will always be the priority.

As grateful as we are for being given the opportunity to learn and grow with each production, we certainly still get nervous and pre-show jitters as the quality of the production depends on us to a certain extent.

TV: Having practiced Odissi since childhood, what were the discoveries you made about the art form during the process of Jaya Ram? 

AAD: For Jaya Ram, Sutra collaborated with Guruji Gajendra Panda, a disciple of Guru Deba Prasad Das. Despite having learnt Odissi for over 20 years, working with Guruji has always opened up a new dimension for us. He often teaches us repertoire that is highly influenced by the folk genres of Odisha.

Similarly, Jaya Ram had strong influences of the Ram Leela and Rama Natakam folk forms of South Odisha. That was a new chapter for us. Learning about the different versions of the Ramayana, watching the folk forms, and trying to adapt to its style was something challenging yet fulfilling.

TV: What was the preparation like? How long was the troupe in rehearsals? 

AAD: It all started in April when Datuk Ramli Ibrahim, Geethika and Guru Gajendra Panda went on a field trip to research the Rama Natakam and Ram Leela performances to get inspiration for Jaya Ram. 

Following their research, Guruji flew down twice in June and July to teach us the repertoire. However, as Sutra had back-to-back events, we only managed to teach our dancers the solo form and work on the group composition about a month before Jaya Ram.

It was definitely one of the tightest production timelines we have worked on, compared to those before. However, we were glad it all unfolded beautifully, and we managed to stage Jaya Ram successfully.

TV: I understand that the original dance compositions were from Guru Gajendra Kumar Panda, and the group choreography was by Master Ramli. But how much did either one of you influence the style of the repertoire? 

AAD: Both of us had learnt the items from scratch and understood the format well before we could transfer it to group composition. We then had several discussions with Master Ramli where he shared his ideas with us.

The both of us then implemented those ideas by forming the groups and characterisation, running them through his approval before we went on to the dancers.

Using Master's ideas and concept as the foundation, we were able to collectively work on the rearrangements. The senior dancers of Sutra – Harenthiran, Nishah, Vickneshwaran and others had also given their creative inputs that made a difference to the production.

We are grateful that Master Ramli trusted and gave us the freedom to explore our creativity.

TV: What has it been like to see the show come to life in front of audiences?

AAD: Definitely overwhelming. We had gone through an ocean of emotions throughout the process – dealing with stress, falls, injuries and so on. When we finally staged it, there was a sense of disbelief, relief, excitement all at the same time.

When we finally reached the final show on September 25, we were overwhelmed with the response from the audience and felt proud for making the impossible possible and most importantly we were satisfied and content for making this work as a team. – The Vibes, October 23, 2022