RAMLI IBRAHIM'S "SPELLBOUND" DANCE PERFORMANCE AT THE UNESCO PARIS

PRESS RELEASE

16/06                                                                                        5 October 2006

Ramli Ibrahim?s ?Spellbound? dance performance at the UNESCO Paris

Malaysia?s prominent dancer and choreographer, Ramli Ibrahim together with his  Sutra Dance Troupe, performed to a full house at the UNESCO auditorium here last night, 4 October.

2. The 900 guests, which included French and other international citizens and Malaysians residing in France were literally spellbound by the brilliant performance of Ramli and his troupe.

3. The performance aptly entitled ?Spellbound? had the international audience highly delighted with a cultural performance of international standard and professionalism. 

4. For Ramli Ibrahim and his dance troupe, this is their first ever performance at the UNESCO. Their performance is part of the troupe?s ?Spellbound Odissi World Tour 2006? in Europe which covers Paris, France; York  and London, United Kingdom; Anwerp, Belgium and Zurich, Switzerland.

5. The Spellbound ? an extravaganza Odissi production under the artistic direction of Ramli Ibrahim was graced by H.E. Dato? S. Thanarajasingam, the Ambassador of Malaysia to France. In his opening address, the Malaysian Ambassador praised Ramli?s dedication as a dancer of world renown and his contribution towards the development of theatre and dance in Malaysia.

6. He pointed out that ?we have Malaysians of different faiths and races performing in Spellbound, underlining the famous slogan ?Malaysia Truly Asia??.. ?More importantly, this is a true testament to the fact that dance can transcend racial and cultural barriers, ?he explained.

7.  The guests were lavish in extolling the quality of the performance, with many looking forward to more presentations from Ramli and other artists from Malaysia. The foreign guests were visibly impressed with Malaysia?s cultural diversity while Malaysians who attended have never been so proud of a performance with such an international recognition.