REMEMBER/REBEL

To look forward or back? To break from the discipline or sink into nostalgia? To remember? Or rebel?

Balletbase presents two new works from emerging contemporary choreographers.

Rebel without a Cause?, choreographed by Sutra Dance Theatre star Rathimalar Govindarajoo, is a duet in which the desire to break away and create something new struggles with the forces of confinement and discipline. This lush and emotionally powerful new work also stars Suhaili Ahmad Kamil, finalist of the first season of 8TV’s ‘So You Think You Can Dance?’

River of Memory is a lyrical work by Balletbase director Bilqis Hijjas. Six Balletbase dancers explore the ups and downs of remembrance, from pleasant nostalgia to the bitterness of regret, to a soundtrack of songs from the past heard anew.

Check out images from the last Balletbase performance, now available online, of the works 'River of Memory' and 'Rebel Without a Cause?'

8.30pm 11 July, Friday SOLD OUT!
8.30pm 12 July, Saturday
3pm 13 July, Sunday
Fonteyn Studio Theatre, Level 5, Wisma FAB, 1-3 Jalan 14/22, 46200 Petaling Jaya. Click here for a map to the venue.

Tickets RM 20 general, RM 15 student, disabled, seniors
Tickets can be bought at the venue on Friday & Saturday from 8pm, and on Sunday from 2.30pm
To reserve tickets or for more information, contact Bilqis 017 310 3769, email bhijjas@gmail.com.

Rebel Without a Cause?

When the monotonous routine of an existing condition keeps repeating itself, one wearies of its unvarying repetitive pattern and breaks away from the discipline. Something new and radical evolves. There is no escape from confinement, but now the rebel has a cause.

Lighting and video projection: Michelle Juen Chang & Raja Vikraman Maniar.
Music by Mukul - originally made for a work by Russel Malliphant called Choice, performed in London, UK.
Dancers: Suhaili Ahmad Kamil & Rathimalar Govindarajoo
Choreographer: Rathimalar Govindarajoo

Malaysian born Rathimalar Govindarajoo (Rathi) specialises in Indian Classical Odissi, Bharata Natyam & contemporary dance. One of the lead dancers of Ramli Ibrahim’s Sutra Dance Theatre who partnered Ramli himself from 1990 – 2002, Rathi has been under the wings of Sutra for more than a decade, performing in the Philippines, France, Italy, Japan, Indonesia, India and Australia.

In 1998, Rathi completed the Six Week School of the American Dance Festival (ADF) at Duke University, North Carolina, USA. After obtaining her local Mass Communication (PR) qualifications in Olympia College, PJ, Rathi became one of the pioneer full-time contemporary dancers of the renowned South Asian British-funded dance company, Shobana Jeyasingh Dance Company (SJDC) in London, UK. For five years, Rathi toured extensively with SJDC in Britain and Europe, contextualizing performances with educational and outreach work. While in the UK, Rathi also revisited Malay traditional dance and music with an upcoming Malaysian choreographer and artistic director, Maziah Omar of Nusantara in Nottingham. Rathi returns home hoping to contribute her dance experience to the flourishing performing arts scene in Malaysia and to venture into new choreographic works. Her first attempt at choreography was Star Struck, created for Sutra dancers in 2006.

River of Memory

Drink of Mnemosyne, river of memory, and recall all your life: its halcyon days, the nostalgia of triumph, and the bitterness of regret. Drink of Lethe, river of forgetting, and sink into the relief of oblivion.

Choreographer: Bilqis Hijjas
Dancers: Regina Toyad, Denise Tan, Tara Thean, Yuka Tanaka, Janice Yong, Bilqis Hijjas.

Last updated 27 June 2008.
Copyright Balletbase 2006.