ABOUT
Videography by Catalin Munteanu.
Alisya is a dancer, choreographer and educator who graduated with a BFA in Dance from New York University, Tisch School of the Arts.
She was a faculty member at The Ailey School, Fordham University for contemporary dance and improvisation from 2021-2024. She has also taught at local and international institutions such as Aswara, Kuala Lumpur Performing Arts Center and LINES Ballet Summer Intensive. Her two works, A Magnificent Drift and Again,Together made their world-premiers on the Ailey Citigroup Theater. Her work Crossfade was presented at Center for Performance Research and Spoke the Hub in Brooklyn, NY. She was the co-founder of WHY NOT HERE?,a site-specific movement workshop hosted at Ilham Gallery, Kuala Lumpur. Her movement direction credits include Astro Shaw, Volvo and Tapir Studio.
Alisya has studied with renowned contemporary dance artists such as Sita Ostheimer, Bill.T Jones, Christina Robson, Lali Ayguade, Meg Stuart, KJ Holmes, Rashaun Mitchell, Akram Khan, T.H.E Company, Kim Jae Duk, GALLIM, Maxine Doyle, Pamela Pietro, Bobbi Jene Smith, Eri Nakamura, Hsin-Yi Hsiang, Alexandra Wells, Alex Ketley, Norbert Del La Cruz, Kidd Pivot and more. Her performance credits include works by UNA Productions, Dishman & Co. Choreography, Yang Sun & Poets, Rachael Lieblien-Jurabala, Helené Simoneau Danse, GALLIM, Sidra Bell New York, Cayleen Del Rosario, Buglisi Dance Theater and Lowercase Labs.
Alisya’s approach to dance is grounded in uncovering the body’s infinite ways of moving. Expanding beyond the traditional western-european aesthetic, she is inspired by behaviours, habits, trends, and how people relate to their surroundings. Taking her questions into the studio, her work unfolds from a mix of conversation, improvisation and curation. She loves watching the work make itself from the people she works with.
“My creative process involves getting to know a culture as much as possible by situating myself in different places, events, crowds that I’m not familiar with. I try my best to understand people who are different than me, how they think, what motivates them, their lifestyle, which becomes a source of inspiration for the work “ - Alisya in L’Officiel Hommes Malaysia
As a contributor to the Malaysian dance industry, she sees herself as an instigator for collaboration. She launched Open Rehearsal as a platform for artist to gather, create, receive feedback, discuss and inspire ideas for performance, multi-disciplinary collaboration, and community building. By democratizing the art making process, she hopes to empower artists to experiment and question freely.
Alisya was recently selected for Skin Flesh Bones Ideas: Movement Lab in Romania under PETEC Association and Echo Echo Dance Theater. She was also in residency at Sesi Tikar Mengkuang in Cherating with Hannah Moujing for their upcoming performance of “Ruby & Rose”, under group name ‘The R Project’.
Photography by Abdul Sami