The last performance at the Singapore Indian Fine Arts Society’s (Sifas) auditorium on Starlight Road, before the institution moves to Middle Road next month, was a bharatanatyam recital by Shreya Murthy.
The 21-year-old Singaporean, who is studying medicine at the University of Western Australia in Perth, captivated a packed hall during the special occasion on Saturday.
“Sifas is like a second home to me,” she said. “My grandmother and mother grew up learning and performing there. It is a nostalgic and sentimental place to perform in. For every student who has studied at Sifas, it is close to the heart.”
Her performance was preceded by a violin solo by former Sifas student Sreeranjani Muthu Subramanian.
Shreya began studying bharatnatyam at Sifas at age six. She later completed her eight-year diploma course in the dance form and earned the Natya Visharad (top student) title in 2019.
She did her arangetram (debut performance) at Sifas in February 2020, and went to Chennai in October that year to continue her learning with noted bharatanatyam exponent Priyadarshini Govind.
Now she trains in Perth every day and performs in Chennai and the United States during her school holidays.
Shreya’s 105-minute performance on Saturday – which helped raise about $4,000 for Sifas – was appreciated by the audience.
“Shreya exhibited precision, lightness and effortlessness in her movements, which belied the challenging physicality inherent in the choreography of her guru,” said senior dancer Lalitha Subramony. “The abhinaya pieces reflected the sheer hard work she has put in, beautifully capturing the subtle nuances and holding the audience’s attention with effective storytelling.”
Sifas will gradually move to its new campus from next month. It is expected to be fully operational from June.
On March 8, it will organise a gala dinner at the Global Indian International School campus in Punggol as part of its fund-raising activities.
Established in 1949, Sifas, a non-profit organisation, has been a cornerstone of Indian cultural heritage in Singapore, fostering art and cultural appreciation through its diverse disciplines.
It is Singapore’s pioneer academy in imparting knowledge of Indian classical music, dance and visual arts. More than 60,000 students have graduated from it over the years.
The graduates and students trained at SIFAS provide principal support to other Indian cultural groups and contribute to the development of the arts in Singapore and the region.
The Society began with only 12 members. Today, it has more than 2,000 members and 1,800 students, and 30 teachers, with a pan-Indian curriculum of 18 disciplines that reflects the cultural diversity of a vast country with an ancient heritage.
