‘We're all star stuff': Dance legend Ramli Ibrahim and Malaysia's first astrophysicist unfold the cosmos in ‘Meniti Cakerawala'
Stars feature everywhere in human life — right from nursery rhymes, to lovelorn songs and even corny rom-coms.
Dance legend Datuk Ramli Ibrahim says the fascination isn't surprising at all since humans and stars are made up of the same thing.
This is the story behind Meniti Cakerawala — a multi-media dance-music-theatre production by Ramli's Sutra Foundation and led by Malaysia's first astrophysicist Tan Sri Mazlan Othman.
'There's great romance about the creation of the universe, including the fact that you and I are made of the star-stuff, as Carl Sagan would say,' Ramli told Malay Mail when met recently.
Sagan, an American astronomer, wrote in 1973 that humans are 'made of star-stuff' because the elements in our bodies trace their origins to ancient stars.
Dance maestro Datuk Ramli Ibrahim said unfolding the story of cosmos through dance was apt since the central theme of creation revolves around 'marriage of the opposites'. — Picture courtesy of Sutra Foundation
Mazlan echoes Sagan's theory in her book, Cosmic Connections (2023), which compiles images of celestial objects taken from the Langkawi National Observatory (LNO).
In the book, Mazlan describes the birth of stars and how their death gives birth to the cosmos and Malaysia's encounters with celestial objects, including a meteorite strike that had shaped the legendary Mahsuri Rings in Langkawi.
'We are materially connected to space, as Sagan pointed out.
'Imagine this: We are made from the same atoms that make the stars. The atoms are inanimate. So, isn't it a miracle that humans, made from the same inanimate atoms as stars, can consciously think and wonder?' she said.
The book also incorporated poems from National Laureate Dr Muhammad Haji Salleh and artworks from award-winning artist Jalaini Abu Hassan.
Why dance?
Since Mazlan regarded the book as a 'labour of love' of both science and the arts, she wanted to perform the content as part of the book launch.
After consulting her friend Tan Sri Johan Jaaffar, Mazlan roped in Ramli to dramatise the content with dance and music.
'I knew I couldn't fail because Ramli was dancing. There was no room for failure,' Mazlan said.
'Meniti Cakerawala' premiered for a week at the Auditorium Bandaraya in Kuala Lumpur in December 2024. — Picture courtesy of Sutra Foundation
The first show took place beneath the star-studded sky at Ambong-Ambong Resort in Langkawi, close to the Tepor Island where the Mahsuri Rings formed after a meteorite strike.
Seeing that the performance had a greater potential, Ramli and Johan convinced Mazlan to turn it into a full-fledged stage production, leading to Meniti Cakerawala.
This time, however, Ramli wanted to 'look at the cosmos from Mazlan's window' by intertwining her journey into astrophysics with the creation of the cosmos.
'Marrying the opposites'
Ramli said unfolding the story of cosmos through dance was apt since the central theme of creation revolves around 'marriage of the opposites'.
'I really feel that the mystics have always realised that something manifests from the un-manifested only when there is a pull of opposites, like positive and negative, purusha and prakriti (in Vedic philosophy) as well as yin and yang (in Chinese philosophy).
'So, I used a lot of metaphors to illustrate this,' he said.
The 90-minute production consists of four phases and 12 dancers.
Mazlan, as the storyteller, weaves the story of cosmos together with her discovery of astrophysics.
The second season will kick off on July 18 in Melaka and will premiere in a total of eight states, including Sabah and Sarawak. — Picture courtesy of Sutra Foundation
In the first phase, Mazlan narrates her childhood favourite poem — He Wishes for the Cloths of Heaven by William Butler Yeats — as dancers re-enact the early days of her fascination for astronomy.
The second phase is focused on narrating the origin of the universe while the third phase explores civilisational and cultural beliefs related to astronomy.
The show concludes with Mazlan leading the audience to ponder on the larger meaning of life in the universe.
Meniti Cakerawala premiered for a week at the Auditorium Bandaraya in Kuala Lumpur in December 2024.
The second season will kick off on July 18 in Melaka and will premiere in a total of eight states, including Sabah and Sarawak.
Ramli said discussions for a world tour are also underway, with plans to stage the production in India this November.
Other countries that could be part of the world tour include Thailand and Singapore.
The dance maestro hopes that Meniti Cakerawala will inspire students to pursue STEM-related careers, and dispel the notion that science and arts operate in silos.
'STEM does not necessarily have to be cut-and-dry. As an engineering graduate, I think there is a creative process in the discoveries and innovations that occur in science,' he said.
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