This month, we feature dancer and choreographer Kausalyaa Sugumarin ahead of George Town Festival’s bhumiMATA performance.
By Lim Wan Phing
Kausalyaa Sugumarin has been dancing since she was nine years old. But little did she know that her afternoons spent at the Temple of Fine Arts (TFA) in Penang would lead her to the stage at this year’s George Town Festival, in a dance performance known as bhumiMATA.
Speaking to Penang Art District, Kausalyaa got her start at the Indian cultural organisation that helps Malaysian youths rediscover the cultural, artistic, and spiritual wealths of their forefathers. (To many Penangites, TFA on Lebuhraya Babington is also known for its restaurant Annalakshmi, an “eat-as-you-like, pay-as-you-wish” eatery serving delicious Indian vegetarian food.)
Classical training at the Temple of Fine Arts
As a child, Kausalyaa’s parents sent her to TFA to learn Indian classical dance and music, such as Bharatanatyam, a traditional dance from Tamil Nadu performed as part of religious ceremonies, and Carnatic vocal, a system of music from South India evolved from ancient Hindu texts like the Samaveda, which emphasises vocal singing.
“It’s very usual in Indian households for families to send their children for music, dance, and vocal classes,” explains Kausalyaa of her early foundation in Bharatanatyam. “It was like an after-school programme on weekends and most of my friends attended too. TFA is an arts and dance school, but we were also exposed to performances because they had ongoing shows and we were called upon to perform.”
In 2019, Kausalyaa graduated from TFA majoring in Bharatanatyam and was ready to launch herself into the arts scene when the Covid pandemic hit, with shows and performances halted across the country and beyond. But all was not lost; the afternoons spent at TFA and the relationships forged there would soon come knocking for opportunities.
Fellow dancer Luvenia Kalia was one of them. “Luvenia and I used to dance at TFA about a decade ago, but we lost contact when she went abroad to study,” recounts Kausalyaa. “In 2022, she reached out and asked if I wanted to be involved in a community arts project called Gempak 100 for children living in the Jalan Sungai flats.”
Bringing her element to teach basic dance steps and a bit of Kolattam ‘stick’ dance, Kausalyaa enjoyed bringing cheer to the children and watching them engage in her workshops. From there, things took an upward turn as she was introduced to Aida Redza, artistic director of Euphoria Penang Modern Dance Ensemble.
Since then, Kausalyaa has been part of Euphoria’s dance team and is currently busy with Nafas Baru, a project collaboration with Majlis Kebudayaan Negara and TFA. The project aims to co-create a modern dance for Penang’s future, with a little bit of wushu, Kavadi folk dance, and Kuda Pasu thrown in, a true multicultural and multidisciplinary expression.
A promotional shot for the upcoming bhumiMATA performance, premiering on 28 and 29 July 2023. (Credit: George Town Festival)
Earth, clay, and mother nature
Kausalyaa’s highlight for the year, however, has got to be her role as choreographer and dancer for bhumiMATA at George Town Festival. Premiering for only two nights on 28 and 29 July 2023 at the Penang Institute, the outdoor performance promises to evoke, inspire, and challenge viewers with a tagline that says, “Redefining the feminine in mother earth’s embrace.”
“We have been practising hard for the show and it’s our love offering performance to mother nature,” says Kausalyaa, explaining that the show will incorporate classical, ritualistic, and contemporary dance forms. “It’s a group effort made up of professional and community dancers, and we all come together to explore our ancestral culture, discover our femininity and bring that connection back to nature.”
Perhaps the meaning becomes more apparent when the show’s title is taken apart—bhumi means earth and mata means mother in Sanskrit. The use of clay will also be central to the performance, as it symbolises earth and femininity. “Clay is the closest thing we can get from the ground,” explains Kausalyaa. “Once it’s moulded into a form, it has its own shape and is essentially able to contain water, food, and life. Shaped clay is a symbol of the womb.”
Kausalyaa promises that there would be a lot to digest from the performance, as it consists of themes like coming of age, sexual experience, the trauma of longing and self-doubt. “It’s up to the audience to interpret it and to visualise the whole experience,” she says. “Just come and watch it with an open mind!” And audiences can expect to see real clay pots being moulded during the outdoor performance, too.
Cross-pollination and a dance career
Kausalyaa has come far as a dancer, choreographer, visual artist, and drama educator. She also runs a photo studio called SMARIN, where she documents professional creative visuals using storytelling and composition. But she also says she has a lot to learn and is still catching up with pioneers in the scene.
Kausalyaa continues to perform in classical and contemporary dance, mastering the best of both worlds. (Credit: Kausalyaa Sugumarin)
“George Town Festival will be a huge platform for me personally,” says Kausalyaa, who is a big believer in cross-pollination, incorporating myriad dance forms, storytelling and expression into her art and visual artistry. Currently learning contemporary dance with Aida Redza, she wants to master the best of both worlds—classical and modern—in order to continuously improve her art form.
“It’s a whole new change for me and my body is learning to adapt. You see, I never thought I would make dance into my career. Our industry is tiny in Malaysia and you really need to have a strong mindset and a lot of passion if you want to be in it for the long-term,” says Kausalyaa. “But you have to plant the seeds everywhere.”
bhumiMATA premieres at George Town Festival on 28 and 29 July 2023 at the Penang Institute. Tickets are priced at RM30 or RM108 for groups of four. Buy tickets here.
Wan Phing is a Penang writer with a short story collection ‘Two Figures in a Car’ published by Penguin SEA.