Roundtable Panelists

Roundtable discussion 1:

“Present-day Teaching, Practice and Performance of Bharatanatyam”

Moderator: Dr. Caren Carino (Head of Dance, Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts, Singapore)

 

Panelists:

Ajith Bhaskaran

(Performer/Choreographer/Artistic Director – Suvarna Fine Arts, JB, Malaysia)

 

 

 

Apsara Ram Gopal

Born in 1966 to dancers Kusum and (the late) Guru Gopalakrishnan, Apsara is a graduate and post graduate with first class at both levels from the world renowned Kalakshetra in Chennai, India. She also holds graduate and post graduate degrees in World History from the Madras University.

Since 1992, Apsara has made Malaysia her home. She has created a niche for herself as a performing artist as well as a dance teacher. Apart from the traditional repertoire, she has choreographed many works both for solo and group presentations. Her works are innovative within traditional boundaries. Apsara runs a dance school called KSHETRA ACADEMY that now has about 60 students comprising mostly of primary and secondary school going children.

 

Bhanumathi Krishnan

Choreographer/Teacher , JB, Malaysia)

 

Durga Mani Maran

A disciple of Viswakala Bharathi, Mrs Neila Sathyalingam, Durga holds a Bachelor of Contemporary Arts with a Dance major from Deakin University Australia and a Specialist Diploma In Arts Education from the National Institute of Education (NIE) a pioneer initiative by the National Arts Council and NIEI. She recently completed the Certificate course in Working and Facilitating the Learning of Children with special needs In the Arts by SSTI -NCSS and the National Arts Council. Durga served as the resident dance teacher at SYAMA for the past 4 years teaching Bharathanatyam to students who were examined annually. She recently founded Tripataka, a company that aims at keeping traditional and contemporary dance genres alive and relevant to the learner and practitioner of today. She currently runs her own studio practice at Tripataka and serves as a CCA instructor for dance at mainstream schools and MINDS.

 

Meenakshy Bhaskar

(Performer/Choreographer – Nrityalaya Aesthetics Society, Singapore & Bhaskar’s Arts Academy, California)

 

 

 

 

 

 

Dr. Siri Rama

Dr. Siri Rama is a Bharata Natyam and Kuchipudi dancer, teacher and choreographer based in Singapore. She is also the founder-director of the dance institution in Mumbai, the Kanaka Sabha Performing Arts Centre. She holds a PhD in the Fine Arts from the University of Hong Kong and has performed to critical acclaim, presented group performances, and lectured, in many different cities of India and in many parts of the world including the USA, Germany, the Middle East, Hong Kong, Malaysia, Taiwan, Singapore and Thailand. She is currently serving her second term as the president of the Singapore chapter of World Dance Alliance Asia Pacific .

 

 

Yam Boon Fong

Ms Yam Boon Fong is a Senior Specialist (Dance) of the Student Development Curriculum Division, Ministry of Education.  Her interest in dance has led her to develop her knowledge and skills in various genres including Bharatanatyam, and stage a Bharatanatyam solo performance entitled ‘Maragm’ in 2011.  Before working at the Ministry of Education as a dance education officer, she taught dance in a secondary school for more than 14 years. Boon Fong has a Masters of Education from the University of Adelaide and a Bachelor of Science (Mathematics) from the National University of Singapore. She has led research projects on the assessment of dance, dance learning outcomes and safe dance practice.  She also adjudicated the Malaysia National Chinese Dance Competition in 2008, 2013 and 2014.

 

 

Roundtable discussion 2:

“Bharatanatyam and the Negotiation of Geographies and Visiblity”

Moderator: Dr. Stephanie Burridge (Dance Writer/Critic/Lecturer, LASALLE College of the Arts, Singapore)

 

 

Kelvin Ang

Mr Kelvin Ang has over a decade of experience in both architecture and conservation planning relating to built heritage. He obtained his Graduate Diploma in the Built Environment (Architecture), and subsequently a MSc. in Sustainable Heritage, both at the Bartlett School, University College London (UCL), UK. Kelvin is also a community leader in the 1930s Tiong Bahru Conservation Area, and is personally involved in the promotion of intangible heritage.

 

Kiran Kumar

Kiran Kumar (b.1983, Bangalore) is an artist, researcher and writer whose work deals decisively with the act of perceiving movement. Not primarily concerned with historical, cultural, identarian, political or social aspects of movement, his works seek the ontological, a nature of movement. His works range from performance, video, installation and exhibition, to writing and archiving. He holds an MA in Solo Dance Authorship from the University of Arts Berlin and an MFA in New Media Art from the City. University of Hong Kong. Currently he is based between Singapore and Berlin.

 

Prof. Mohd Anis Md Nor

Mohd Anis Md Nor is Professor of Ethnochoreology and Ethnomusicology at the Cultural Centre (School of Performing Arts), University of Malaya in Kuala Lumpur and is an Adjunct Professor at the Faculty of Music and Performing Arts, Sultan Idris Education University in Tanjung Malim, Perak. He has published widely on the topic of Malay and Southeast Asian Islamic performing arts, and hold renowned positions in international organizations. He was the William Allan Neilson Distinguish Professor at Smith College, Massachusetts, in 2007-2008; visiting professor at the University of Michigan in 2011; and was the European Union Erasmus Mundus Professor in Norway in 2012-2013.

Pooja Makhijani

Pooja Makhijani is the editor of Under Her Skin: How Girls Experience Race in America, an essay collection, and the author or Mama’s Saris, a picture book. Her arts reportage and criticism has appeared in The New York Times, The Village Voice, The Indian Express, Time Out New York, Time Out New York Kids, and India Today among others. Her very popular Singapore blog, notabilia.wordpress.com, covers art and culture in Singapore.

 

Sabanitha Shanmugasundram

(Dancer/Media Professional, Singapore)

 

Shobha Vadrevu

Shobha Vadrevu is a research scholar at the department of Communications and New Media, National University of Singapore (NUS). She has a Bachelor of Arts (Honours) degree in English from NUS, and a Masters degree in Educational and Social Research from the Institute of Education, University of London. Her work has been presented and published in the fields of social media and political communication, youth and new media, and ICTs and pedagogy. She has been a practitioner of Indian classical dance and has performed extensively as a dancer and dramatic narrator. She has also written scripts for dance dramas and conducted writing workshops. Shobha blogs at http://mrsv.wordpress.com.

 

Roundtable discussion 3:

“Re-envisioning Indian Dance in the 21st century in Singapore & Malaysia”

Moderators:

Prof. Hari Krishnan (Department of Dance, Wesleyan University, USA)

& Nirmala Seshadri (Artistic Director, N Dance & Yoga, Singapore)

 

Panelists:

Santha Bhaskar

Cultural Medallion recipient (1990) for dance in Singapore, known for her distinctive choreographic style. Artistic Director of Bhaskar’s Arts Academy and chief choreographer at the Centre for the Arts, National University of Singapore, where she has taught for over 20 years. A versatile choreographer, she has staged numerous productions from dance dramas to contemporary works in classical Indian dance as well as cross-cultural and experimental forms reflecting the unique Singapore identity. Over the years she has imbibed various influences such as Chinese, Malay, Thai and western dance styles in her choreography.

 

Shantha Ratii

Shantha Ratii is a multi-faceted personality – a dancer, teacher, choreographer, promoter of Indian Art, and a film-maker. Trained in 3 styles of classical Indian dance and martial arts, she is highly acclaimed for the gentle persuasive power of her artistry, bolstered by her knowledge and ability to articulate her creative thoughts, winning audiences the world over. As a film-maker she has scripted and directed several documentaries that have been selected for the International Documentary Festivals. Her eclectic approach to life coupled with her avant-garde vision is evident in her traditional and innovative works; rooted in tradition but refracted through the prism of a contemporary sensibility. Her latest works have moved into philosophical and concept based expressions. Shantha Ratii has been awarded the title “Kalashiromani” for her contribution to the world of art.

 

Kavitha Krishnan

Kavitha started learning dance at the age of three and completed her arangetram under the tutelage of Mrs Neila Sathyalingam at the age of nine. She represented Singapore in an ASEAN Flagship Production, Realizing Rama, directed by award winning choreographer Denisa Reyes (Phillipines) and toured from 2002 to 2006. As the artistic director of Maya Dance Theatre, Kavitha has choreographed and directed numerous dance productions. Her new piece, GRAVITATE, was performed at the World Dance Alliance Global Summit 2014 (Angers, France). Trained as an Occupational Therapist as well, Kavitha uses dance as a medium for expression and therapy and co-leads the dance movement therapyprogramme at Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts (NAFA). She is also the creative director of Apsara Asia Pte Ltd.; an arts management and performances company that specializes in arts education programmes.

 

Dr. Joseph Gonzales

Dean of Faculty of Dance at ASWARA, has performed and choreographed in multiple genres of dance and theatre. PhD in Dance Studies and Bachelor of Science in Mathematics from University of Malaya, Masters of Arts (Choreography) from Middlesex University, Diplomas in Ballet and Performing Arts from Bush Davies School, Royal Academy of Dance, Imperial Society of Teachers of Dance, and London Studio Centre. Co-Chairman of the Asian Dance Committee, South Korea, Vice-President Southeast Asia World Dance Alliance, Founder/Artistic Director of ASWARA Dance Company and has a career in radio and television working on sports broadcasts and reality dance programs.

 

Dr. Yoshiaki Takemura

Yoshiaki TAKEMURA is a Research Fellow at the Center for Contemporary India Area Studies, National Museum of Ethnology, Japan. He obtained a Ph.D. in 2011 from Osaka University, with a dissertation, entitled “Living as a god: Ethnographic study on the Teyyam practitioners, Kerala, South India.” His primary interest has been the interaction between transformations of bodily movement and dynamics of social, economic and political sphere. Currently, he works on the dynamics of Indian performing arts and its politics in Singapore and the impact of new media technologies on Indian performing arts in India. He also teaches Sivananda Yoga at some universities in Japan.