Kuala Lumpur - WHY are Malaysians often drawn to movies directed by or starring the late Tan Sri P. Ramlee? Could it be because we can`t get enough of his inimitable acting skills or is it due to his exceptional directional prowess?
Either way, it‘s no surprise that the Petronas Performing Arts Group (PPAG) has chosen to restage dance drama Semerah Padi, based on P. Ramlee‘s third directorial movie of the same title.
The classic love triangle revolves around warrior Aduka‘s forbidden love for Dara, daughter of the village chief. The problem is, Dara is already engaged to Teruna, Aduka‘s best friend. Things turn awry when Aduka and Dara indulge in pre-marital sex and when news breaks out, the couple is punished with 100 strokes of the cane.
However, while the 1956 film concluded with Aduka and Dara tying the knot, PPAG‘s 45-minute dance drama ends with the couple being penalised for their shocking act.
“Responsibility and faithfulness are some of the underlying messages of the dance drama. It also highlights that for every wrongdoing; one must pay for their mistakes. Despite having the script ‘tweaked‘, we are confident that audiences won‘t be disappointed, as the storyline is still similar to the movie and will feature some of PPAG‘s talented dancers and actors,” said director Roslee Mansor, 41, during a press conference in Kuala Lumpur last week.
The dance drama is the first segment of PPAG‘s cultural offering called Titian Zaman, happening today and tomorrow (8.30pm) at the Dewan Filharmonik Pertonas in Kuala Lumpur.
Roslee added that Semerah Padi was selected as it was one of the more popular Malay films from the 1950s. “The movie is set in a village and features the lifestyle of traditional Malay folk. This is in line with PPAG‘s objective in preserving Malaysia‘s cultural and traditional heritage,” explained Roslee, whose credentials include having directed PPAG‘s previous productions Malim Bongsu, Payung Mahkota and Mek Mulung.
The second segment of Titian Zaman will see the presentation of eight dances – Tari Puteri Asyik, Tari Seri Inai, Tari Lilin Ceracap, Zapin Tangkas Beralun, Tari Seri Damak, Silat Tari Piring, Sowodatip and Sakti. All dances incorporate traditional and contemporary elements with new music compositions.
While the others are classified as Malay dances (with influences from neighbouring Indonesia), Sakti is the only bharatanatyam (classical Indian dance) performance. Interestingly, six Malay dancers will perform the dance.
Sakti choreographer Alia Nadira Ahmad Zubir, 23, decided to compose the traditional Indian dance as she felt it would be a refreshing change compared to the other dance presentations. Alia learnt bharatanatyam while studying at Akademi Seni Kebangsaan (ASK) and fell in love with the dance form.
“I fell in love with bharatanatyam as it is a beautiful art form that combines abhinaya (expression), raga (melody) and tala (rhythm),” said the talented Alia, who also represented ASK at the Second National Chinese Cultural Dance Open Competition in 2006. Sakti will feature the alarippu, a traditional full dance piece that most bharatanatyam dancers learn to symbolize the awakening of a dancer. For the five-minute robust performance, Alia and her team of five dancers will be clad in traditional bharatanatyam costumes with the backing of classical Indian instruments of tabla, sitar and mridangam.
Source: www.star-ecentral.com – Shella Chandran (13 Mei 2008)
