Randai is originally a West Sumatran’s Minangkabau folk theater that incorporates singing, dancing, acting, and silek (traditional martial art) in a story telling format. It is usually performed as a part of ceremonies or festivities and can span over several nights. Randai is usually performed in a circular boundary created by the performers where distance between the audience and performers are not too far, maintaining the level of intimacy between audience and performers.
As part of Nusantara’s cultural promotion, KAUM COLLLECTIVE in collaboration with two established Singaporean artists and teachers, Dr Amin Farid (Soultari) and Norisham Osman are forming up the first group of Randai enthusiasts to perform at Singapore HeritageFest which will take place in May 2022 organized by Malay Heritage Centre.
KAUM collective is cofounded by Ade Rangkoto, Efydayana Aditijawarman, Hasbullah Kamaruizaman formally Exco members of Singapore Minangkabau Association. They share passion in promoting Nusantara’s culture, arts and tradition and decided to form the partnership to reach out to a larger audience for more collaboration. As the first step they are forming a collaboration with Amin Farid and Norisham Osman to create the first Randai group in Singapore. Other future projects they are currently working on would be film and music productions.
About the Dance Choreographers
Dr Amin Farid (Soultari)
Better known by his stage name, Soultari Amin Farid, Dr Noramin Farid was trained in Malay dance with Perkumpulan Seni. He is a choreographer, arts educator and researcher and was the Joint-Artistic Director of Bhumi Collective, a multidisciplinary performing art and producing company.
Amin is a recipient of the ASEAN-India Youth Award (2018), Singapore Youth Award (2017), National Arts Council Scholarship (2017) and Goh Chok Tong Mendaki Youth Promise Award (2016). He holds a PhD in Theatre, Drama and Dance Studies from Royal Holloway, University of London, UK.
As an arts practitioner-researcher, his works interrogate the normative notions of class, ethnicity, identity and gender. He believes that young practitioners must become leaders in creating artistic works that are innovative, critical and relevant to their evolving landscape.
Norisham Osman
Norisham Osman is a NAFA Diploma in Arts Management and Bachelor of Arts (Hons) Creative Industry Management graduate. He is the Founder and Artistic Director of Kaizen M.D., a performing arts collective that gathers young artists from various art disciplines to create multidisciplinary works.
His involvement in Singapore’s arts industry as an accomplished actor, choreographer, teacher and production team member has led to notable achievements. His current research pursuit includes seeking ‘new’ movements and languages as well as choreographic structures and devices whilst maintaining the traditional values and practices of the Malay dance.
