TFA Inner Space Dance

ctions of practicing, learning, creative choreography and performing. The disciplined practice of the art, enables a quest toward perfection, the exploration of new ideas and new disciplines, hence creating new works, items and repertoires with fundamental qualities. At the very heart, or inner space, of every artist, is the desire to use their deepest emotions, and nothing else, as the only language to express themselves. It is when the artist gets this freedom to break away from the confines and boundaries that surround any established art form, that music and dance are lifted into dimensions yet unexplored. Volumes can be said about the dance that we at IDC will perform, but finally, the test of the pudding is in the tasting. It is ultimately a group of performers who want to work and create inspiring and moving works of art together from the innermost centres of their beings and hopefully touch the inner space of their audience. A young and rare breed of dancers steeped in the classical arts and philosophy of Indian culture, and a firm understanding of contemporary forms, passionate about sharing the deep and unique joy of their art and making it relevant to the contemporary society. IDC - a team who has developed a feel of dance that is deeply rooted in classicism but contemporary in its feel. It is the desire and passion to present works with unique identity and infinite possibility. OUR AIMS

• Provide an environment, which supports performing artistes on a full-time salaried basis enabling them to be wholly available for the creation of innovative forms of artistic expression;

• Push at the boundaries of traditional norms of dance creation and presentation without losing sight of the unending source of inspiration that Indian culture holds; and thus, to not just create new works but to explore and innovate on well-loved themes and ideas in a totally original and contemporary manner that spills beyond traditional boundaries, breaking down habituated perceptions and notions of what dance is so as to capture the attention and abiding interest of art lovers of all races for our unique genre of dance;

• Emphasise the process of making a choice in movement, from the intellect to the physical, the emotional to the spiritual thus being transparent. It does not explore how dancers move, but what moves them;

• Increase the quality and standards of performance and technique and produce creative works that is par excellence;

• Inspire young artistes and to create an awareness that consistent, dedicated practice is the primary cog in the artistic lifecycle;

• Develop and nurture the dance vocabulary that is currently unique to TFA and play a role in making this "vocabulary" accessible and understandable to Malaysian and International audiences;

• Engage with the community at a grassroots level to reach the widest possible audience by becoming cultural ambassadors nationally and internationally;

• Respect, maintain and nourish artistic and cultural links with Indian Ideology;

• Collaborate with diverse artistes and arts forms (e.g. dance choreographers, musicians, visual artistes, writers, photographers and computer graphic artists). OUR STRATEGY

• Invite on board like-minded corporate bodies and commercial organisations that have an active interest in promoting the arts for the sake of the country’s growth and development to participate in this movement towards recognising the great artistic value of being Asian in creativity enhanced by world-class quality and performance.

• Perform in unconventional venues. Though our work has a classical foundation, our contemporary, non-conforming and sometimes funky approach requires informal settings. This said, there must always be elegance in the final takeout; classy without being stiff, relaxed without being frivolous.

• Engage the support and encouragement of people in the arts and communication industries; presenting a totally Malaysian effort that is cosmopolitan in outlook, and national in experience. The artistic director of IDC, Umesh Shetty, (also one of the directors of TFA) an award winning and dancer of extraordinary calibre himself, has been directly involved in creating these high performing artistes. Full-time company dancers include Dhanya Thurairajah, Ng Xinying, Mohammad Khairi Mokhtar, Hemavathi Sivanesan and Shonabushani Velusamy with Nadina Krishnan and Rohini Shetty on a part-time basis.