Front Row

Padma Shri Dr Ananda Shankar Jayant has been described as one who "inhabits the worlds of administration, academics, and arts; straddling them with equal ease." A Bharatanatyam and Kuchipudi dancer and guru, she was awarded the Padma Shri, India’s fourth highest civilian honour, for her contributions to the field of dance. She has performed across the world, and Dr Ananda is back in Malaysia for her first performance since the pandemic, sharing the stage with her disciple Neha Sathanapalli in a dance show titled, Thyagaraja Ramayanam. Presented by the Kalpana Dance Theatre, Dr Ananda joins us to discuss the upcoming performance, share stories from her illustrious career in dance, and also how she conquered cancer and continues to live her passions.

Based on the legendary story of the renowned Tang Dynasty monk Jian Zhen, the performance Voyage combines mindfulness-oriented performance with sound healing. Through a solemn and unpretentious performance, the audience is invited to temporarily set aside life's worries and gradually enter a state of inner calm while immersing themselves in the practice of meditation. We embark on a journey of inner peace with Lee Swee Keong, Artistic Director, choreographer and performer from Nyoba Kan who will share more about this mindfulness-oriented performance, which he developed through years of practice and research in dance, meditation, and sound therapy.

Image Credit: CloudJoi

Singer-songwriter and professional female sape’ player Alena Murang is set to perform in a solo concert called Sky Songs, titled after her second album, which was inspired by the elements of the sky, and contemplates how all of nature interacts. The Kuching native who was born to a Kelabit father and English-Italian mother, receives songs, music and stories from her Kelabit and Kenyah elders, and presents them in contemporary ways. The upcoming performance is described as a night of song, remembrance and homecoming, and we speak to Alena to find out more.

Image Credit: iserazakphotography

Padma Shri Dr Ananda Shankar Jayant has been described as one who "inhabits the worlds of administration, academics, and arts; straddling them with equal ease." A Bharatanatyam and Kuchipudi dancer and guru, she was awarded the Padma Shri, India’s fourth highest civilian honour, for her contributions to the field of dance. She has performed across the world, and Dr Ananda is back in Malaysia for her first performance since the pandemic, sharing the stage with her disciple Neha Sathanapalli in a dance show titled, Thyagaraja Ramayanam. Presented by the Kalpana Dance Theatre, Dr Ananda joins us to discuss the upcoming performance, share stories from her illustrious career in dance, and also how she conquered cancer and continues to live her passions.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Based on the legendary story of the renowned Tang Dynasty monk Jian Zhen, the performance Voyage combines mindfulness-oriented performance with sound healing. Through a solemn and unpretentious performance, the audience is invited to temporarily set aside life's worries and gradually enter a state of inner calm while immersing themselves in the practice of meditation. We embark on a journey of inner peace with Lee Swee Keong, Artistic Director, choreographer and performer from Nyoba Kan who will share more about this mindfulness-oriented performance, which he developed through years of practice and research in dance, meditation, and sound therapy.

Image Credit: CloudJoi

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Singer-songwriter and professional female sape’ player Alena Murang is set to perform in a solo concert called Sky Songs, titled after her second album, which was inspired by the elements of the sky, and contemplates how all of nature interacts. The Kuching native who was born to a Kelabit father and English-Italian mother, receives songs, music and stories from her Kelabit and Kenyah elders, and presents them in contemporary ways. The upcoming performance is described as a night of song, remembrance and homecoming, and we speak to Alena to find out more.

Image Credit: iserazakphotography

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Why Do We Dream What We Dream, When We Dream What We Dream? is described as a play which explores themes of life, human connection, breaking the cycles of self-sabotage and insecurities, the disjunction between hope and reality, and more. The play will be experimenting with physical movements and the use of technology for visual effects through projection mapping as a means to push the narrative of the play. Presented by EJKLS Seni, we discuss what's in store in this two-person play from writer and director Asyraf Syahir Mohd Najib, and performer Virtuoes Romana.

Image Credit: Peatix

A timeless tale of love and loss comes alive in the upcoming production of Dido and Aeneas, presented by VerSeS Music Ensembles. This modern interpretation of the 17th century opera by the English baroque composer Henry Purcell promises to take audiences on a journey of passion, betrayal and heartbreak. We speak to production's director Scott Woo, and soprano Sharlene Rani, to find out more.

Image Credit: CloudJoi

Why Do We Dream What We Dream, When We Dream What We Dream? is described as a play which explores themes of life, human connection, breaking the cycles of self-sabotage and insecurities, the disjunction between hope and reality, and more. The play will be experimenting with physical movements and the use of technology for visual effects through projection mapping as a means to push the narrative of the play. Presented by EJKLS Seni, we discuss what's in store in this two-person play from writer and director Asyraf Syahir Mohd Najib, and performer Virtuoes Romana.

Image Credit: Peatix

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A timeless tale of love and loss comes alive in the upcoming production of Dido and Aeneas, presented by VerSeS Music Ensembles. This modern interpretation of the 17th century opera by the English baroque composer Henry Purcell promises to take audiences on a journey of passion, betrayal and heartbreak. We speak to production's director Scott Woo, and soprano Sharlene Rani, to find out more.

Image Credit: CloudJoi

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.