Pat Ibrahim’s vision of the traditional art of bangsawan
ALTHOUGH his name is now synonymous with successful Malaysian musicals like Puteri Gunung Ledang, P. Ramlee and Mud: Our Story Of Kuala Lumpur, choreographer Pat Ibrahim revealed that he had a rough start.
“I was the black sheep of the lot,” he said of his time studying dance at Akademi Seni Kebangsaan (now known as Aswara) back in 1994.
“Everyone spoke in Malay and was doing tarian tradisional (traditional dance), while I was an English-speaking weirdo obsessed with the moves of Michael Jackson and Paula Abdul,” recalled the bespectacled 51-yearold with a laugh.
The Johor Baru-born talent, who was already savvy to the ways of local dance staples such as zapin, joget and inai when growing up, gained a deeper understanding of traditional dance at the institution.
“I was initially only aware of the look, forms and style. As I learnt more over the years, I got to know the philosophies, stories and meaning behind the dances, which opened my eyes to the beauty and greatness of our local tarian ,” he said at Malaysia Tourism Centre (MaTic) in Kuala Lumpur recently.
He credits his involvement with Puteri Gunung Ledang: The Musical in 2006 as a major point in his journey to rediscover his Malay roots.
Pat has formed his own company, Pat Ibrahim Project Entertainment (PIPE), and will be taking on the traditional Malay theatre art form of bangsawan as its first production.
Titled Bangsawan Dendam Laksamana, it is based on the classic story Sultan Mahmud Mangkat Dijulang.
“This represents the beginning of berkarya (artistic creation) for me,” said Pat, who will be both choreographing and directing his first bangsawan.
With a script by Siti
Jasmina Ibrahim and silat choreography by Zulkifli Zainal Abidin, the show will star Hamzah Tahir, Dr Norzizi Zulkifli, Megat Sharizal, Anwar Rusdini, Nadia Aqilah, Pekin Ibrahim and Shahrul Mizad.
Pat said that he intends to incorporate the essence and aesthetics of bangsawan into a production that boasts a contemporary mentality and style in order to appeal to today’s people.
“It will have all the Malay attributes and values, which are universal with a very human story,” he said of Bangsawan Dendam Laksamana, which is set to be staged from Nov 10 to 12 at Auditorium DBKL.
“Bangsawan is your typical musical. It’s got everything: music, singing, dancing, theatrics, costumes, comedy, drama, you name it.
“It’s popular theatre, which has evolved over the years. We have many classic stories that should be restaged,” he said.
Pat said that there would a series of workshops, entitled Pekan Bangsawan Warisan Budaya, that would run at MaTic from November 6 to 9.
“This is to give arts practitioners and lovers a window into how the entire production is created and staged,” said Pat, who hoped to inspire, raise awareness and transfer knowledge to those interested in the art. By Aref Omar