Ramli bin Ibrahim


Datuk Ramli bin Ibrahim is a Malaysian choreographer and classical bharathanatyam dancer. He founded the Sutra Dance Theater as well as the Sutra Foundation to encourage people to learn various traditional dances. In 2018, the Government of India awarded him the Padma Shri for his contribution to Odissi.

Early life and education

Ramli Ibrahim was born in Kajang, Selangor to Ibrahim bin Haji Mohmmad Amin, a school teacher, and Kamariah, a secretary of the United Malays National Organisation Women's Movement. He was raised in a liberal Muslim family. In an interview with The Hindu in 2016 he also claimed to be a singer.
Ramli studied mechanical engineering at the University of Western Australia. While he was there, he also joined and studied at the Australian Ballet School in Melbourne. At the same time, he met Chandrabhanu, another Malaysian Islamic classical dancer using the Hindu name of Chandrabhanu. He studied Bharatanatyam under Adyar Lakshman. Later, he moved to Chennai to study under Lakshman. He was taught alongside other famous dancers such as Radha Anjali and Swapna Sundari.
Ramli started learning Odissi in New Delhi under Deba Prasad Das.

Career

After returning to Malaysia in 1983, he established the Sutra Dance Theater in Kuala Lumpur. The theater focuses on the Malaysian art scene and strives to promote Malaysian art at the national and international level. It mainly associates itself with the Odissi dance which originated from the state of Odisha in India. In 2007, he established Yayasan Sutra in Malaysia.

Awards

Padma Shri

He was awarded with the Padma Shri, one of the highest public honors for artists and others by the Government of India in 2018 for his contribution to Odissi as well as Bharadhanatyam during his over 40 years of involvement. He received the honor at the Rashtrapati Bhavan from President Ram Nath Kovind while dressed in a black Baju Melayu and a songkok. In an interview with Bernama, he stated:

Other awards