Conclusion

I consider myself as a lucky person to have learnt a few Malay Folklore dances. It taught me a lot on how to organize myself as well as managing my organisation. It had opened my eyes to see things differently, as in creative management, it is neither outside nor inside, it is all about thinking at the edge of the box. 

As creative management is very essential nowadays, the need of generating new ideas is very vital and I strongly believe that creative parts in Malay Folklore and Traditional Dance does exist as it requires a 360-degrees view, and one need to place himself as a dancer, as an audience, and as a choreographer to ensure that the main objective is achieved. 

"Rome wasn't built in a day' - though it seems difficult to inculcate the creative part in management, but in management, it is all about evolution, and things need to be expanded and changed from one phase to another. From my personal experience as a dancer (my last performance as a dancer was in the year 2005), I see things differently beyond the horizon. It stimulated my mind, and I worked my brain actively as I have to ensure that I am performing the best to the audiences. 

To conclude, I would like to highlight that in this globalization era, being creative can actually lead us to a new paradigm and it doesn't cost us much as we only need to change the usual mindset! 

"The dance is over, the applause subsided but the joy and feeling will stay with you forever"

W.M. Tory

Bibliography:-

1. Henry, J (1991) Creative Management London : Sage

2. Little, S, Ray, T  (2002) Managing Knowledge - An essential reader London : Sage

3. Hesmondhalgh D, Baker, S (2011) Creative Labour - Media work in three cultural industries London : Routledge

4. Hamera, J (2011) Dancing Communities - Performance, Difference and Connection in the Global City Basingstoke : Palgrave Maxmillan

5. Ashley, L (2008) Essential Guide to Dance Abingdon : Hooder Education

6. Nasuruddin, M.G (1994) Seni Tari Melayu Kuala Lumpur : Dewan Bahasa dan Pustaka

7. Md Nor, M.A Zapin Melayu di Nusantara  Johor Bahru : Yayasan Warisan Johor

7. Strategy behind Dance

"Learn by Practice"

Martha Graham

To create a good choreography, a choreographer needs to plan properly, and dancers need to really coordinate themselves with the movements created by choreographers. During the earlier part, sense of respect is needed where dancers really have to respect the choreographers. On the other hand, choreographers need to gather information on every single dance, and dancers are required to understand what the choreographer tries to project in his dance.

The main mission, is to entertain the audiences, as well as showcasing the authenticity of unique Malay Culture through dance. Though the planning and training parts may take days or even months, it will only performed within 5 to 6 minutes on stage. So, choreographers need to see the troupe as a whole, and the dancers as their subordinates in the organisation. Choreographers must equipped themselves with strategies to conquer the stage and to fulfill the main objective, that is entertaining the audience. So, a choreographer will ensure that his dancers have the 'soul' in every sessions which includes training sessions. 

Training sessions allow choreographers and dancers to coordinate their movements properly and usually during these sessions, postures are corrected, feelings are fostered, and movements are synchronized by the choreographers in ensuring that each and every performances are at the acceptable level. 

However, choreographers must know their dancers abilities as well as the weaknesses. True indeed, choreography is all about choreographers' creative ideas, nonetheless, dancers are the one responsible to execute the dance piece hence the planning part needs to be very precise. 

After training, and practicing, there comes rehearsal session, where this session is actually to familiarize dancers with the stage, and it is time for choreographers to correct and restrategize the movements. In management, we can actually see this through auditing processes, where critics will actually give their opinions on that particular piece. Choreographers and dancers must accept the critic professionally in ensuring their main objectives are achieves. As I mentioned earlier, Malay Traditional Dances are mainly targeted to entertain the audiences, as well as showcasing the authenticity of the Malay Culture. 

Finally, it is time for the actual performance. In this actual performance, any techniques learnt during training session and critiques during rehearsals are taken into account, and any mistakes done during this performance will actually show the weaknesses and the seriousness of the troupe as a whole. The show will be considered as a spectacular performance if the main objectives are achieved.

Postmortem will be executed after the performance to evaluate the outcome of the show. This is not the 'put the blame on somebody' session, but if is focused on how to avoid the same mistake in future. After all, it is an entertainment business, and as long as people are entertained, the main objectives are actually achieved. 

"All time management begins with planning" 

Tom Greening

6. Respect and Cooperate

"A group becomes a team when each member is sure enough of himself and his contribution to praise the skills of the others"

Norman Shidle

In a healthy organisation, each member will contribute towards achieving the objectives, hence teamwork is needed to ensure that the hope and aspiration is fulfilled. Malay Traditional dance requires every dancers to work as a team to entertain the viewers. As a start, dancers need to respect each other on stage.

Besides the dancer himself, a choreographer actually plays an important role in setting up the goal of the dance troupe. A choreographer is a leader in the organization. As a leader, he or she needs to set the objectives, mission, and vision as well as the strategy in the troupe.

In my personal opinion, I have met with many type of choreographer. TheOutLoud, The OKWhateverItIs, The IAmYourBossYouMustFollowMe, and many more. In dance organization, TheOutLoud, or the Transactional leadership style is the most suitable one as it ensures everyone follows the right pace. Every dancers must compliment each other by ensuring that there are no mistakes done during performance. TheOutLoud Choreographer will basically yelled at his or her dancer during practice, but they will open the floor for brilliant ideas among the dancers.

However, it is not totally 100% depending on the choreographer, dancers must respect each other and cooperate among team members as the end product, or the outcome of the dance is actually based on audience satisfaction, or jurors marks. For example, this classical Gamelan Dance piece requires dancers to actually feel the soul and the authenticity of classical Malay Court Dance. I found that these dancers performed very well, right movements, right posture, and with the right cooperation on stage. In an organisation, though the leader has set the target, the execution part depends on subordinates.

Nevertheless, an open minded leader is needed to lead a healthy dance organanization. The WhateverItIs type of choreographer will actually ruined the stage with his lousy piece. A choreographer needs to create dance routines and movements sequences among performers. So, choreographer himself needs to understand his dancers characters in gaining respects from the dancers but there are some boundary that actually separate relationship among the members of the troupe and the choreographer.

As a dancer, though the choreographer is not as good as expected, one needs to acknowledge the leader by following orders and instructions. We need to actually understand, leaders are not made in one day, so respect and cooperate, give ideas and try to ensure that the esprit d'corps is nurtured among team members. Good leader can be found when the followers believe in what the leader do. We must help the leader to establish himself, not putting him down when he is trying to do some changes in the organisation. In the end, it is the audience who will enjoy the show, and the dancers are the one who let the audience to feel it!


"Dancers are instruments, like a piano choreographer plays"

George Balanchine

5. Creative Movements

"Dancing is a silent poetry"

Simonides

The original traditional Malay dance are performed with very basic movements which derived from the movements of human, animal or even the plants. 

For example, movements of Zapin Ros Kalas above resembles the movements of boat rowing. The steps are very delicate, and it shows how close we are with the nature. Traditional music will accompany the performing group with some classical tunes. Younger generations will definitely find it rather uninteresting to be watched and tuned into more contemporary and globalized dance such as hip hop, breakdance etc. 

In preserving the 'treasure' of the country, creative form of dance has been created. 'J-Robik' is among the downstream product produced based on traditional dance steps. However, to make it more interesting, it is coordinated with aerobic exercise to make it more enjoyable. 

J-Robik has been creatively choreographed based on Zapin movements from the state of Johor in Malaysia.  The State Government feels it is vital to ensure younger generations know the root of their culture, so some creative idea has been thrown by Yayasan Warisan Johor to attract participation and to create sense of appreciating the culture among this group. Today, J-Robik becomes part of school curricular activities where there are competitions among schools, just like cheerleading competition in the states. 

Besides J-Robik, choreographers are encouraged to come with creative form of choreography to make it more interesting.

In creative management, it is about the ability to think neither out or inside the box. In my personal point of view, it is about going radical, and move against the traditional way in line with the globalization era. Nevertheless, traditional methods are not left behind, in fact it is being used as a fundamental in creative management. 

In my humble opinion, creative management seems to be very important in today's scenario as we are chasing the fast movement of the world. To think normally is actually very abnormal in creative management world. As the world today is very challenging and requires everybody to move around the clock efficiently, we need to manipulate things to allow us to see the world differently. 

Just like the creative choreography, creative management will definitely become an interesting way to enjoy the spirit of 'management'. However, choreographers need to foresee and understand dancers' ability or otherwise, the organisation will be doomed. Needless to say, to enjoy the feel of creative management, one need to do one, and sometimes mistakes done is actually an opportunity to a better future. 

"You don't enter a dance studio and say "I can't do that". If you do, then why are you in the studio in the first place"

Judith Jamison, Dancing Spirit:  An Autobiography

4. Space & Improvisation

"Even the ears must dance"

Natalia Makarova

In dance, dancers have to be alert with their surroundings, especially when they are doing performance in group. This is important as the performance requires uniformity, synchronization, and understanding among dancers. Otherwise, it will be a catastrophic disaster on stage. 

Good eyes, ears and body coordination are needed. Dancers are required to understand the floor patterns correctly, and besides memorizing their movements, they need to know their space, and how to position themselves correctly among other dancers. The real challenge happens when a large group of dancers dance on a small stage, and vice-versa. 

A dancer needs to be versatile, and able to adapt changes instantly. It happened to me once, where the stage was too small, and there were ten of us performing a dance which requires us to move aggressively. So, we have to limit our movements on stage, and at the same time, the aggressiveness must be shown in our movements. This is where creative minds are needed. 

An exemplary manager on the other hand needs to understand the climate of the organisation. Good management derives from a good interpretation of the organisation's structure, which requires a person to interact with everyone in the organisation. There are days when we will be facing difficulties in performing our tasks, however with some enhancement to the management technique, perhaps the process will be performed easily. 

To understand that deeper, one must not afraid of doing mistake (refer to 0:17, where a dancer is having some wardrobe malfunction, and she manages to return back on stage moments later, 1:15), in fact it must be followed with improvisation through creative processes.  

However, interaction and mutual understanding from other dancers are needed to ensure that the empty space is covered perfectly. I remember during my training sessions, I need to know how other dancer move and how to improvise if something like the above video happens during the show. The most essential part is actually the ability to continue though it involves some difficult circumstances. 

Besides improvisation, dancers in group also need to have the esprit de corps attitude, as the uniformity and synchronization of the dance will be depending on how dancers coordinate themselves on stage. Same things goes with management, as one can never work alone in an organisation. It needs a group of people to manage, just like any jazz jamming session, where everyone is complementing each other to produce the best piece of music. 

Nevertheless, as the esprit de corps counts, every single dancer needs to have the best competencies themselves. In performing arts, people will find your mistakes easily, hence having adequate skills is a must to make the audience understand what we are trying to perform.

"I do not try to dance better than anyone else. I only try to dance better than myself"

Mikhail Baryshnikov

3. Posture & Anatomy

"The curve is more dangerous than the sword"

Mae West

Besides basic movements in dance, I still remember in my first few dancing lesson, I need to bend my knee a little bit, chest up, and bum 'out'. Senior dancers will raised their voice loudly in the dance studio if they found  any of junior dancers failed to 'bend' to the right posture. 

In Malay Culture, to bend is about showing respect to others. Just like Japanese bow their head when they meet each other. 

However, there are some limitations to the bending rule or else, one might be considered as exploiting their curvy lines and obviously they will look 'cheap' just like any other pole dancer. 

Before we start to dance, we need to know our body parts. There are parts that can be shown, there are part that need to be covered, and there are parts that can attract the audience. Good posture will guarantee good movements by dancers. As the curve is concerned, good dancer is about having the right cutting to attract audiences. And in management, it means that we must be perfectly figured to look good to others. Right posture, means we are moving the organisation correctly, and steadily towards achieving its' mission. No harm moving with poor posture, but we may end it by having pain in our muscles. 

Though the right posture looks very good, we might find some difficulties in doing it at first. Of course we have to bear with the painful moment at first, but in the end, the audience will enjoy our performance as they understand what we are trying to show them.

When learning management, the tendency to skip the fundamental part among the non-management practitioner is very high. Just like my reaction when listening to the theoretical part in the classroom recently. I was hoping that the class will end very soon, as it really tortured my mind.

Besides learning the basic anatomy part, a dancer needs to know his or her figure during the early class. There are some movements that look good on slender dancer, there are some movements suitable for lean dancers and the list goes on. I myself on the fleshy type and I don't look good when I dance to modern beat, or the contemporary one. Curves on my body part are suitable for slow beat movements hence the reason behind becoming traditional Malay dancer. But the bigger I turn into, the more energy needed to do the dance, and the fatter someone is, the horror the movements will look. So, to be a traditional Malay dancer, size matters when it comes to attracting audiences.

As there are so many theories evolved in Management, not everyone suits with every theory. One must identify the best theory, at the same time, try to mix a little bit of everything to ensure the best quality in the Management style but as the curviness counts in every performance, a dancer must prepare to look good on stage by learning techniques and the art behind it!

"In life, as in art, the beautiful moves in curves"

Bulwer Lytton

2. Know the Difference

"When the music change, so does the dance"

African proverb

While Sun Tzu is considered as among the earliest management guru in the world through his "The Art of War" book, there are a few more key person who are notable in classical management principles. 

Each and every single person are known with their own unique theory. Adam Smith, Karl Marx, Emile Dunkheim, Max Weber, Frederick Taylor, Mary Follet, Henri Fayol and Chester Barnard are among the most influential individual in management field. They can be easily identified by their approach and method to manage.

I consider Sun Tzu as the basic foundation in management, just like Silat and Court dance such as Tari Asyik and Tari Gamelan in Traditional Malay Dance.

These ancient basic theory shapes today's management, and it is a stepping stone in classical management which have been used by many management scholars like I mentioned earlier. The foundation looks very rather bland, and some may find it very yawnful. However, to study management, we must start right from the beginning of the evolution. 

There are 5 classical tunes in Malay Dance, "Asli", "Zapin", "Inang", "Joget" and "Masri/Samrah". Each tunes comes with their own identity and can be easily identified by the drumbeat. Some sounds easy to follow, while some may be hard to be followed. 

Management theories on the other hand comes with different set of practice. There are radical moves, such as Marxists, and there are some 'mellowed' version i.e. Barnard's. Though there are differences, nevertheless, the goal remains the same, which refers to the organisation management. 

Besides these 5 classical compulsory tunes, there are a few tunes which can be considered as tunes from the region. Malaysia consists of 14 states, and each states has its' own music. In management, apart from these popular gurus, the existence of other popular theorists cannot be denied, as they are part of the management world. 

Among 'big' name in Malaysia's management includes Tun Ahmad Sarji, former Chief Secretary to the Government. Though the name is not as big as the classical management names taught in schools, his contribution towards Malaysia's development is very important.

Management evolution blooms together with the time. New version of theories may be found anywhere at anytime. In dance, contemporary choreography uplifts the image of classical dances. Movements of these dance composed from the basic traditional steps and this is actually an exploration to the treasure which has been preserved in Malay culture.

Though some may find it CREATIVE, perhaps there are some elements that needed to be looked at. It cannot be seen as a new thing as a whole, but it is all about having a new form of thought, which derived from the old one. 

"Our admiration of the antique is not admiration of the old, but of the natural"

Ralph Waldo Emerson

1: Dance Basics

"If ballet was easy then everyone would be doing it"

anonymous

To learn ballet, a dancer need to know the basic movements such as 'bend, stretch & raise-up', 'glide & turn' and a few other movements before he or she moves to the more advanced movements. Reasons why these basic movements become essential because it is a 'pillar' that needed to be piled into a dancer's mind. 

Same thing goes with the Malay Dance, there are basic movements that needed to be learnt to avoid confusions during the real performance. Male dancers should act like one, while female dancers must have the 'being a lady' soul. Male movements represent the act of warriors, which resembles masculinity and power. Nevertheless, behind these strong and dashing personality, there lies some hidden gracefulness.

Synthesis of the management field started with the classical theories in early 20th century. Theories from these period of time are considered as classical, yet very important. Contemporary management thoughts will not exist today if there are no classical theories to be referred to. 

Male dancers open their arms widely, while ladies need to do the opposite. To pile the basic fundamental in male dancers' mind, basic Silat movements is necessary. Silat is a form of indigenous martial arts in the Malay Archipelago. It is believed that these movements are used by defense forces to protect their homeland from the enemy. On the other hand, court dance namely Tari Asyik or Tari Gamelan are suitable for novice female dancers. It is not compulsory to master Silat to be a dancer, but at least, it helps a dancer to move with ease.

Conception of Classical Management refers to Finding "One Best Way". In dance, the "One Best Way" can be seen when a dancer stands with correct posture hence the importance of Silat movements. Silat contains basic dance methodology. To get the feel of dance 'management', perhaps some classical theories needs to be applied before moving to the more advanced level.

Anyone can be a dancer, but without basic fundamentals, the movement will turn into a lousy one! To manage an organisation, it is very important to know the basics as it determines the objectives achievement.

A good organisation management comes from a good conception and a high quality performance is actually derived from the best, most rational and efficient way of organizing. To attract attention from audiences, the dance needs to be the best, and of course a very strong foundation is needed to ensure a high quality performance at the end.  


"When you're taking dancing lessons, you learn steps and you learn steps and you learn steps. It can go on for a long time. And one day, you just learn to dance, and it is so different"

Bill Austin 

Prologue

"Nobody cares if you can't dance well. Just get up and dance. Great dancers are great because of their passion"

Martha Graham

Makyong, a classical Malay dance movement. Listed as one of the intangible heritage by UNESCO (2008)

Upon entering my freshies year at the university, we were encouraged to participate in extra curricular students activities. Reasons behind it was to build our soft skills and to prepare ourselves to enter the job market. 

When I was 17

I myself was a dork, with thick spectacles, hair combed neatly to the side, just like Clark Kent in Superman. As a pure science student, I may end my life in lab coat, spending time experimenting new theories, playing with chemicals just like any other scientists do. Little did I know that I will become a manager doing administrative work at last.

One day, while walking at the Students' Activity Centre, I found myself reading advertisement about opportunities to go overseas FOR FREE by joining the Cultural Dance Troupe. 

I quietly said to myself, "I MUST GO ABROAD, NO MATTER HOW HARD IT WILL COST ME"

Post show, first performance, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (circa 1999-2000)

Coming from middle income family, there were other things to be prioritized in the family rather than spending money unnecessarily travelling overseas. With ZERO experience, ZERO knowledge in performing arts, ZERO basics in dancing, I challenged myself to join the dance troupe for the sake of going overseas for free!

Finale act; Beijing Foreign Studies University, China (2000)

Time flies, so did my undergraduate years. I graduated with my bachelor degree, majoring in Chemical Technology. Nevertheless, I managed to go overseas with the university's Cultural Dance Troupe, and I learnt something from my dance activities. Our troupe performed in China, Turkey, Indonesia and a few other countries.  Performing arts taught me on the importance of having PASSION on things we do daily. Besides, it also taught me on how to be a person with full of CONFIDENCE.  

Same thing goes with MANAGEMENT, you don't really need to have talent, or born as a leader to become a leader but the word PASSION and CONFIDENCE are among the most important keywords. When I first joined the Federal Government as a junior officer, it was actually not my thing at all. 

Peter Drucker

X-theory, Y-theory, Peter Drucker were unusual things for me at first but;

"Nobody can be successful unless he loves his work"

David Sarnoff

CEO , Radio Corporate of America

Post-show, Universitas Udayana, Bali, Indonesia (2001)

I manipulated my experience as a dancer to see things differently, and understand management by using Malay Folklore Dance as a metaphor. From my personal point of view, it worked very well! Appreciating fundamentals of dance helped me in managing my subordinates in the office as well as my bosses. So here I am now, from a dorky pure science student, I transformed myself to be a manager in my organisation with the help of PASSION and CONFIDENCE that I had learnt from my dance experience.