features

Unveiling the ancient art of Mak Yong

BY YAP PIK KUAN
November 29, 2015

Rosnan Abdul Rahman in full costume does the Mak Yong, traditionally performed by women. – Pic supplied, November 29, 2015.In a traditional dance routine usually performed by women, Rosnan Abdul Rahman, the country's sole performer in the Mak Yong dance art, hopes to proudly carry this ancient dance form as a symbol of Malay heritage to the world.

“Mak Yong has a very unique style, technique and movement," said Rosnan.

"It's something that I cannot explain,” he said, attributing his love for the art to an "indefinable je ne sais quoi feeling".

Rosnan believes the Mak Yong is an authentic representation of Malay performing arts, dating back at least 800 years.

A dance routine that was popular in the northern states, particularly Kelantan and Terengganu, the Mak Yong used to be performed for the Malay royal households.

In 2005, Mak Yong was recognised by Unesco as a “Masterpiece of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity”, a recognition that Rosnan says is long overdue and one which he hopes will encourage others to pick up the dance form.

Rosnan, an architecture graduate, had always had an interest in dancing, but it was not until he was offered the position of assistant production director at Istana Budaya that he pursued his passion seriously in 2003.

He went under the tutelage of dance icons like Mak Su Yam, Che Mat Jusoh, Jumilah Tahir and Fatimah Abdullah, and has never looked back.

Apart from performing several sold-out shows in Istana Budaya, Rosnan has even performed the Mak Yong for the Malaysia Week Festival in New York in 2007 and at the Unesco headquarters in Paris in 2008.

Last year, he performed for President Barack Obama during his visit to Malaysia where Rosnan combined his Mak Yong dance with Syafinaz Selamat's classic opera in an East meets West show called “Nuance of Rebab Fantasy”.

“My grandmother was also involved in Mak Yong, so maybe it's in the blood,” Rosnan told The Malaysian Insider recently.

“Sometimes it's a gift. Not everyone can know how to sing and dance the Mak Yong.”

Rosnan's main challenge these days is finding someone to mentor, so that the skills and stories he had learnt can be passed on.

“I need someone from the younger generation to continue the Mak Yong tradition, to replace me and get ilmu (knowledge) from me,” he said.

Next year, Rosnan plans to bring his own dance group from Istana Budaya to the United Kingdom to perform at one of the universities there.

Following that, he will go on leave to pursue his masters in Mak Yong in Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM).

“When we talk about kimono or kabuki, it's set in your mind that it's from Japan. When we talk about Chinese opera, they know it's from China,” Rosnan said.

“But when we talk about Mak Yong, I want everyone around the world to know that it's from Malaysia,” he said, adding that Malaysian heritage and culture are on par with other countries. – November 29, 2015.