BH Achiever Of Year

Madam Som giving pointers to her dance troupe, Sri Warison Som. ST PHOTO: BRYAN VAN DER BEEK

Singapore - Ask Malay dancer and choreographer Som Said what adjectives she hopes people will remember her by, and the 58-year-old laughs and says: “People always associate me with `traditional`, so let it be that.” Then she adds, firmly: “But not conventional.”

The founder and artistic director of Malay arts company Sri Warisan Som Said Performing Arts made her name developing and promoting a traditional Malay art form. But it is her entrepreneurial spirit and ability to make the arts relevant to today`s youth that won her this year`s Berita Harian Achiever Of The Year award.

She is the 11th person and only the second woman to receive the annual award, given to Malay-Muslim individuals for outstanding achievements in their chosen field. Previous recipients include assistant secretary-general of NTUC Halimah Yacob, master potter Iskandar Jalil, composer Iskandar Ismail and fashion designer Ashley Isham.

The Malay dance icon received the pewter trophy, designed by master potter Iskandar, last night in a ceremony at the Shangri-La Hotel, presented by Minister for National Development Mah Bow Tan.

She was picked for the award by a panel of seven judges headed by Mr Wan Hussin Wan Zoohri, president of the Prophet Muhammad Birthday Memorial Scholarship Fund Board and the Singapore Malay Badminton Association.

At a press conference on Wednesday, Berita Harian editor Guntor Sadali credited Madam Som for almost single-handedly keeping the art of Malay dance alive here, via performances and her company`s education and outreach programmes.

“What sets her apart from other choreographers is her ability to blend various ethnic dances to come up with one with a Singapore multicultural flavour,” he said. “It is not an exaggeration to say that one of the reasons why Malay dance continues to exist and grow in Singapore is because of one person - Madam Som Said.”

He added that Madam Som, who received the Cultural Medallion in 1987 and the Pingat Bakti Masyarakat (Public Service Medal) in 1992, has been bringing Malay dance to an international audience since the 1970s, having danced or choreographed dances at festivals in countries like Greece, Egypt, Germany, New Zealand, South Korea, Australia and China.

A teary Madam Som said modestly in her acceptance speech: “I am a normal person. I am an ordinary person.”

Despite all her achievements, Madam Som is determined to continue learning. She completed a Bachelor of Fine Arts in dance last year at Institut Kesenian Jakarta in Indonesia, and has also completed the coursework for her master`s. “It is not easy, but there is no shortcut to success,” she says of her university studies. Stephanie Yap

Source: http://www.straitstimes.com

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