Malay dance today is often performed at festive occasions, arts events, community gatherings as well as standalone productions. Malay dance serves as a testament to community identity as well as a continually evolving art form. Their dance depicts the people, their stories and their way of life.
“Malay dance has long showcased the hopes and aspirations of the people of this region while connecting communities and cultures across the world through its assimilation of diverse influences" (National Heritage Board, 2020).
“Groups including Sriwana and Perkumpulan Seni have provided new avenues for Malay dance forms to flourish, before Sri Warisan, Singapore’s first professional Malay Dance Company was formed in 1997” (National Heritage Board, 2020).
Today, Malay dance practices exist in both contemporary and traditional states.
Ain Balqis (2021), a choreographer at Sriwana believes that “we have to keep adapting to keep the art alive." The younger generation of today are no longer interested in the beauty and the art of traditional Malay, many dance companies such as Atrika Dance Academy and Era Dance Theatre have infused traditional Malay dance with something more upbeat.
As important as it is to keep up with the time, Ain Balqis (2021) also believes that “we should preserve and take care of our traditional Malay essence." If we do not preserve what we have in an ever-changing society, we will lose the true spirit of traditional Malay dance. However, it is important to note that Malay Dance as a whole has been on the right path of embracing and accepting adaptation.
“Practitioners point to the inherent ability of Malay dance to reimagine traditional forms and assimilate diverse influences. “Innovation is the DNA of Malay dance,”
said Muhammad Noramin Mohamed Farid, better known as Soultari Amin Farid and one of the founders of multi-disciplinary arts group Bhumi Collective" (National Heritage Board, 2020),
The best thing that we can do is to support as well as promote the companies and events that reinforce malay dance. We also need to constantly educate the public and the people around us in order to keep the conversation going.
In February of 2020 Sriwana organised an event titled “Mesra Berzapin” where they gather malay dance talents, groups and clubs to perform together on one big stage to promote Budaya Melayu.
The Muara Festival by Era Dance theatre is another example of a platform that showcases the beauty of malay dance. Muara Festival also has various programmes and activities that the public can partake in to learn more about the Malay Culture.
These events provide an avenue for larger scale promotion and exhibition of Malay Dance in Singapore. It is through platforms like these that we keep the art alive, we also enlighten and promote to the public what traditional malay dance is truly about.
It is also important to keep our youth in the loop, after all the youth of today will be the ones leading the future tomorrow. It is important to ensure that the current generation do not forget the essence of traditional cultures and dance in an ever technologically advanced society.
Sriwana has an annual AEP programme where they visit schools to educate the students on malay dance. Sri Warisan also has various educational programs as well as workshops to enhance learning for the various malay dance forms.
Ain Balqis (2021) mentioned that “With these efforts in constantly supporting and promoting Malay dance, we might have a chance to keep it alive and be better appreciated by the public."
As a community, we have to ask ourselves, what is malay dance? Is it just another type of ethnic dance, simply a part of our cultural heritage? Are we a community art form? Or can we be classified as a “professional” art form?
How do we describe ourselves to people who are completely new to Malay dance?
Who are we?
Where are we now?
What can we do to keep the art alive?
Where are we headed?
“The path of Malay dance in Singapore appears set for continuing evolution, remaining connected to its roots while also being attuned to contemporary society and resonating with practitioners, audiences and communities at large" (National Heritage Board, 2020). The arts have the potential to enable and empower communities. If we as a community, work together and connect people to the spirit of Malay dance, there is no doubt that we will be able to keep it alive for the generations after us.
After all, Bersatu kita teguh bercerai kita roboh , united we stand divided we fall.
