Cover An award-winning dancer, a renowned astrophysicist, and one spellbinding ArtScience odyssey this year in Malaysia (Photo: Sutra Foundation)
An award-winning dancer, a renowned astrophysicist, and one spellbinding ArtScience odyssey this year in Malaysia (Photo: Sutra Foundation)
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An award-winning dancer, a renowned astrophysicist, and one spellbinding ArtScience odyssey this year in Malaysia
From the swirling galaxies in deep space to the graceful spirals of a dancer’s limbs, few collaborations fuse the abstract with the visceral as powerfully as Meniti Cakerawala.
Now in its second iteration, this acclaimed multi-sensory performance returns to Malaysia, a rare meeting of minds between Malaysia’s foremost astrophysicist and Tropical Science Foundation executive director Tan Sri Mazlan Othman and the celebrated dancer-choreographer Datuk Ramli Ibrahim.
Staged across eight cities from July to September 2025, the production is a poetic and intellectual response to Tan Sri Mazlan’s book Cosmic Connections, first launched at the ethereal Ambong-Ambong resort in Langkawi.
Set against the teeming silence of space and the music of the spheres, it invites audiences to contemplate cosmic truths—where star death births life, and humans are quite literally made of stardust.
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Above ‘Meniti Cakerawala’ features Tan Sri Mazlan Othman as a story-teller on astrophysics on the big stage
‘Meniti Cakerawala’ features Tan Sri Mazlan Othman as a story-teller on astrophysics on the big stage
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For Tan Sri Mazlan, this isn’t merely performance—it’s pedagogy, imagination, and cultural diplomacy entwined. “We are at the stage where theories are barely keeping up with observations,” she muses. “The convergence between cosmology and philosophy is what I find terribly invigorating.”
In Ramli’s hands, these ideas find movement. “Dance is metaphor,” he says. “There’s no concept in the universe that cannot be expressed through it.”
In a world jaded by information overload, Meniti Cakerawala 2.0 brings awe back to the everyday. What follows is an intimate glimpse into the minds behind this cosmic spectacle. We sat down with the true stars of the show, Mazlan and Ramli, for a chat on the bridge between art and science and the ever-evolving role of the arts in expanding our imagination for outer space.
Above This production is an insightful, colourful probe on how stars were born and eventually die for us to exist
This production is an insightful, colourful probe on how stars were born and eventually die for us to exist
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What drew you to Tan Sri Mazlan Othman’s story? How did you approach choreographing something so inherently rooted in astrophysics?
RI (Ramli Ibrahim): I see Tan Sri Mazlan as having an inherent ‘star’ quality which I thought I could exploit on stage. She is a rock-star. And I was right. When Mazlan invited me to dance for the launch of the book Cosmic Connections, I also sensed the potential of the launch’s and book’s content to be dramatised and danced on stage.
Prior to the launch of the book, both of us presented at Ambong Ambong (Langkawi Resort) an interesting talk to an intimate audience, on the subject of the ‘creation of the universe’. Mazlan spoke from the scientific point of view, and I, from a mythic one.
The mythic angle looked at creation from a ‘metaphoric’ perspective. Dance is ‘metaphor’ and I believe there is no concept, no axiom in the universe that cannot be expressed in Dance. So the explanation of the ‘science and romance’ of creation can actually be explained best through dance. Dance is even better than words to communicate this message. Words can be limited and inadequate; so the multi-media combination of dance and storytelling, together with music and film, was very effective.
What is it about Malaysia’s field of science and space research that you find most compelling and unique?
MO (Mazlan Othman): Of course, I find astronomy and astrophysics the most compelling. We are at the stage of scientific and technological advancement that theories are barely keeping up with observations. Astronomy/astrophysics will change physics in school textbooks of the future. The convergence between the two is what I find terribly invigorating.
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Above Datuk Ramli Ibrahim and Tan Sri Mazlan Othman unite for a second time to stage Meniti Cakerawala 2.0 this year (Photo: Fady Younis)
Datuk Ramli Ibrahim and Tan Sri Mazlan Othman unite for a second time to stage Meniti Cakerawala 2.0 this year (Photo: Fady Younis)
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What do you hope this production will achieve in bridging that divide between science and the arts—especially for young Malaysians?
MO: I hope that Meniti Cakerawala will demonstrate that art and science should not be detached. There are many ways the arts can make scientific theory more accessible to the public and this will soften people’s stance towards science subjects. Young Malaysians should especially be drawn to the multidisciplinary approach.
As someone who has always celebrated the soul and the body through dance, how has this production challenged or expanded your own artistic boundaries?
RI: This is the first time I was able to explore ‘scientific’ subject matter as a full night’s programme. The success of the first season of Meniti Cakerawala has been most encouraging. Some viewers have even come forward to say that it may be one of our most successful productions!
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Above Ramli and Mazlan hope ‘Meniti Cakerawala 2.0’ will demonstrate that art and science should not be detached (Photo: Fady Younis)
Ramli and Mazlan hope ‘Meniti Cakerawala 2.0’ will demonstrate that art and science should not be detached (Photo: Fady Younis)
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At this juncture of toxic world politics, this message can’t be more clear. Why are we bent on destroying ourselves? There may be life on other galaxies but we may be the only miracle of Life as we know it, in this galaxy.
Meniti Cakerawala will tour eight cities—what impact are you hoping to leave behind, especially among young audiences who may be discovering science or the arts for the first time?
RI: I do feel that a night of Meniti Cakerawala is even more effective than the hours spent burying oneself through a book on Astrophysics, especially for a layperson.
The storytelling through our multi-media approach; the dramatic combination of authentic videos meticulously chosen from the James Webb and Hubble Telescope, dance and poetry, together with the atmospheric music of Dr Valerie Ross and storytelling of Tan Sri Mazlan Othman, costume design of Leslie Variante and lighting of Sivarajah Natarajan and dance by Sutra dancers, will combine to stir the curiosity of the audience and young people to know more about our Universe.
By touring the eight cities, we would be reaching out to so many people, hopefully, to young impressionable youths to look at the firmaments with that much more wonder and inquiring minds.
Above The production was inspired by the 2023 launch of Mazlan’s book ‘Cosmic Connections’ in Langkawi
The production was inspired by the 2023 launch of Mazlan’s book ‘Cosmic Connections’ in Langkawi
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You’ve described Meniti Cakerawala as a “nation-building narrative.” In what ways do you think dance and performance can help Malaysians connect with science and national identity on a deeper level?
RI: When we are more than halfway through the year where Malaysia assumes chairmanship of ASEAN; where we discuss all aspects of governance impacting our future, you can’t have soft cultural diplomacy better than Meniti Cakerawala to represent Malaysia’s future investment and image. Meniti Cakerawala takes the viewer into another level—not just mere entertainment but to a more profound realm of the science, poetry and metaphysics of astrophysics.
Students with inclination to STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) will find this production piquing their interest and intriguing their mind even more.
Read more: This scientist warns that civilisation could collapse—unless we change how we train AI
Above Meniti Cakerawala is a multi-media dance-music-theatre production linking Mazlan Othman’s journey and work on Astrophysics and the Langkawi National Observatory
Meniti Cakerawala is a multi-media dance-music-theatre production linking Mazlan Othman’s journey and work on Astrophysics and the Langkawi National Observatory
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Between championing the ArtScience movement and managing your other projects, how do you streamline your focus so that your attention and energy on each project isn’t compromised?
MO: Managing my time between projects is difficult given that I have a hobby that sometimes takes me away for days or weeks. My children and grandchildren are all overseas and the visits could be days, weeks or even months. All my life I have been multitasking and I suspect that if I were not multitasking I would be bored.
That said, creating an ArtScience movement will continue as an ambition of mine. Fortunately I have many people both in the arts and sciences who see that in the future the convergence of the arts and sciences will be an imperative in everything we do.
Above The production, which will tour eight cities, is presented in four thematic ‘Phases’
The production, which will tour eight cities, is presented in four thematic ‘Phases’
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What message would you share to the public about the importance of cross-disciplinary collaboration, especially with projects like Meniti Cakerawala 2.0?
One of the most potent messages of Meniti Cakerawala is that ‘we are made of star-stuff’. A star has to die and blast off its guts for us to exist. We are all ‘cosmically’ connected.
At this juncture of toxic world politics, this message can’t be more relevant and clear. Not only are we, ‘not even a blink of an eye where the History of the Universe is concerned, but we are all ‘connected’! Why are we bent on destroying ourselves? There may be life on other galaxies but we may be the only miracle of Life as we know it, in this galaxy. This should contribute to respect and the ‘meaning’ of our Life on this tiny planet called Earth.
Credits
Images: Fady Younis and Sutra Foundation
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Previously contributing to Esquire Malaysia, Expat Lifestyle and Newsweek, Tania oversees digital stories across Tatler’s key content pillars, also leading the Front & Female platform exploring issues and topics affecting women today.
