Dancing in Place @ Klang River Festival: Resilience

Resilience is a compelling site-specific dance performance choreographed by renowned movement artist Rithaudin Abdul Kadir. Set along two distinct locations of the Klang River, this two-part work captures the river’s ongoing struggle through the heart of a rapidly expanding metropolis. Once pure and life-giving, the Klang now carries both the weight of the city's neglect and the force of its own resilience.

The first part unfolds at a narrow urban stretch of the river, where performers embody the polluted flows, chaotic tides, and the restless spirits of the river – angered, mourning, but unbroken. The second part transitions to a restored riverside, where movement becomes ritualistic and hopeful, symbolizing nature’s power to self-heal.

With a diverse cast of 10 performers from varied artistic backgrounds — including theatre, visual arts, and traditional forms — Resilience defies the idea that dance is only for dancers. Instead, it becomes a vessel for storytelling, activism, and spiritual expression.

Audiences are invited to witness and reflect, not from a fixed seat, but by moving between the two sites — tracing the river’s own journey. Resilience is a dance not only about survival, but about the quiet, enduring fight for renewal.