Mavin Khoo (Mavin Khoo Bu-Aun) is a

Malaysia Malaysia is a country in Southeast Asia. Featuring the Tanjung Piai, southernmost point of continental Eurasia, it is a federation, federal constitutional monarchy consisting of States and federal territories of Malaysia, 13 states and thre ...

n dancer of the

Indian classical dance Indian classical dance, or ''Shastriya Nritya'', is an umbrella term for different regionally-specific Indian classical dance traditions, rooted in predominantly Hindu musical theatre performance,, Quote: All of the dances considered to be part ...

form,

Bharata Natyam ''Bharatanatyam'' is a Indian classical dance form that came from Tamil Nadu, India. It is a classical dance form recognized by the Sangeet Natak Akademi, and expresses South Indian religious themes and spiritual ideas of Hinduism and Jainism. ...

Early life and education

Born on 30 April 1976 born in

Kuala Lumpur Kuala Lumpur (KL), officially the Federal Territory of Kuala Lumpur, is the capital city and a Federal Territories of Malaysia, federal territory of Malaysia. It is the largest city in the country, covering an area of with a census population ...

, a youngest son to Tan Sri and Puan Sri Khoo Kay Kim. His father Tan Sri Khoo Kay Kim is a national leading historian. Mavin began his training in

under Vatsala Sivadas and Vasuki Sivanesan at the Temple of Fine Arts, Kuala Lumpur. He also studied

Odissi ''Odissi'' (''ଓଡ଼ିଶୀ'') also referred to as ''Orissi'' in old literature, oldest surviving classical dance of India, is a major ancient Indian classical dance that originated in the Hindu temple, temples of Odisha – an eastern ...

and Bharata Natyam under Ramli Ibrahim and Classical ballet with Lee Yu Pin. His main dance education was under the renowned dance maestro

Padma Shri The Padma Shri (IAST: ''padma śrī'', lit. 'Lotus Honour'), also spelled Padma Shree, is the fourth-highest Indian honours system, civilian award of the Republic of India, after the Bharat Ratna, the Padma Vibhushan and the Padma Bhushan. In ...

Adyar K. Lakshman in

Chennai Chennai, also known as Madras (List of renamed places in India#Tamil Nadu, its official name until 1996), is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Tamil Nadu by population, largest city of Tamil Nadu, the southernmost states and ...

, India. Khoo also trained at the Cunningham Studios in

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

in the Cunningham technique and furthered his ballet training with Michael Beare, Marian St. Claire, Nancy Kilgour and Ayumi Hikasa in London.

Career

He has collaborated and danced with some of the major choreographers of today including Akram Khan, Wayne McGregor and Christopher Bannerman. He has danced as guest artist with Shobana Jeyasingh Dance Company, Ballet de Zaragoza, Ballet Regensburgh and Sankalapam. He has been commissioned by the

Royal Opera House The Royal Opera House (ROH) is a theatre in Covent Garden, central London. The building is often referred to as simply Covent Garden, after a previous use of the site. The ROH is the main home of The Royal Opera, The Royal Ballet, and the Orch ...

(ROH2), Akademi, National Youth Dance Company, The Jazz Company, South Bank Centre in the UK to create work. He has also made commissioned work for the

Canada Dance Festival The Canadian Dance Festival is an annual Ottawa, Ontario event founded in 1987. Held in June, it sets the stage for Canada's most contemporary, innovative and leading edge dance choreographers and dance companies. The festival includes events at ...

. He stands today as one of the leading international male solo

performers dancing in

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

and throughout the world. He also creates new work that challenges notions of gender and ambiguity. He has been a British Council scholar having studied his postgraduate studies in choreography at

Middlesex University Middlesex University London (legally Middlesex University and abbreviated to MDX) is a public research university based in Hendon, northwest London, England. The university also has campuses in Dubai and Mauritius. The name of the university is ...

, London. He is one of few leading performers today that has developed academia alongside practice in performance.

External links

Official websiteAll the world's a stage - allmalaysia.info
1976 births Living people Entertainers from Kuala Lumpur Peranakan people in Malaysia Malaysian people of Hokkien descent Malaysian people of Chinese descent Malaysian people of Indian descent Malaysian male dancers Malaysian dancers Odissi exponents Bharatanatyam exponents Alumni of Middlesex University 21st-century Malaysian people {{Malaysia-bio-stub