Born and raised in Perlis, Zulkarnain even made the big move to Kuala Lumpur in 2012 so he could immerse himself fully in all things dance related at the Akademi Seni Budaya dan Warisan Kebangsaan (Aswara).
In fact, his passion for dance, mainly traditional Malay dance, began when he was only 14 years old, when he took part in all manner of competitions and performances while still in secondary school.
It has now been almost 15 years that this ambitious and talented 28-year-old man has been dabbling in different dance genres.
“Through dance, I am able to express myself in a way that is rather difficult to communicate in words,” Zulkarnain tells FMT, as he explains how each set of choreography has a deeper meaning behind it and isn’t a mere form of entertainment or meaningless movement set to the rhythm of music.
“One example is Selumbar, a contemporary dance project I produced in 2017. Through it, I unfolded the story of someone suffering from bulimia. Each dance move in Selumbar was meticulously thought through to accurately depict how this individual went through life on a daily basis,” he says.
While at Aswara, he was exposed to different dance forms, including Indian, Chinese, ballet and contemporary dance. He found one particular dance form, Bharatanatyam, most intriguing, learning its origins and history as well.
“Through this, I was able to understand Indian culture more intimately,” shares Zulkarnain.
He also tells FMT about his experience learning the various dances of Sabah and Sarawak, and says, “Most Bornean dances depict the people’s daily activities such as hunting, rice harvesting and also the rituals they partake in to cure sickness.”
Another aspect of dance that has served Zulkarnain well is the networking he does with other dancers from around the world.
To date, he has worked with Japanese choreographer, Un Yamada, choreographer of ‘People Without Seasons’ and a collaborative production of ‘Earth Song’ choreographed by Pei Ern from Malaysia, Acho Ridwan of Indonesia and Atsushi Heki from Japan.
He also attended a ‘Cross Cultural Creative’ exchange programme by Australian choreographer Annalouise Paul and The Roots of Dance by Jacek Luminki of the Academy of Music, Dance Division in Katowice, Poland.
The objectives of both programmes were to explore contemporary dance using traditional dance movements.
Zulkarnain also had the pleasure of attending a festival in Hawaii in 2019 with the ASK Dance Company, where he is working. There, he shared both Malay and Indian classical dance traditions while also learning the traditional Hawaiian dance called Hula.
These international dance collaborations have however come to an abrupt end, no thanks to the Covid-19 pandemic. But Zulkarnain continues to keep in touch with many of his dance peers from across the globe, as he hopes that this will lead to future projects down the road.
Indeed, the pandemic has greatly affected all artistic activities, including Zulkarnain’s work at the academy.
“Now, I teach from home but it’s less conducive because my job is dancing and it requires a decent amount of space,” he shares, when asked about his current work predicament during the lockdown.
While all dance workshops have moved online, Zulkarnain says that this has proved rather challenging as he is not physically able to correct his students’ movements and poses. This is especially important when imparting the techniques and styles of a dance to his students.
Despite the many challenges however, he continues to work hard for both himself and his students.
Taking advantage of the growing popularity of TikTok, Zulkarnain has posted many of his dance videos on the social media app, instead of relying only on Instagram and Facebook to share his passion for dancing.
In using TikTok, he has discovered many fresh dancing videos and styles from dancers all over the world, something he aims to build upon and share with dance lovers young and old.
Thinking of picking up a few dance moves? Head over to Zulkarnain’s Instagram, TikTok and YouTube channel to give his amazing and creative videos a look.