Dansa, currently showing on NTV7, is hosted and produced by Sasha Bashir. A trained dancer, Sasha Bashir will be travelling across Malaysia and the region to learn traditional dances for three days before performing them before a live audience. Meant as a platform to highlight traditional dances and cultures, Sasha will also share the different dance moves, costumes, music and accessories as well as explain the meaning behind them.

What kind of formal training have you had?
I started doing ballet at about 4, then I became interested in other dance styles, including jazz and tap. Then I graduated from the West Australian Academy of Performing Arts with a Bachelor of Arts (Honours) in Performing Arts where I studied ballet and contemporary dance.

What was the most memorable moment you had while filming the show?
I have many memorable moments. One was performing the Sumayau in Sabah for a wedding. Everyone was so excited and happy. There was lots of dancing that night with the guests dancing to live music played by local musicians until the early morning.

Did you know the dances before the show or did you learn from scratch?
I learnt everything from scratch. Some of the dances I may have been familiar with because I had seen them performed before, but none of them I have had the privilege of performing before. Some of the dances, such as Randai, Dabus, Pelanduk and Saba, I had never even heard of before this show.

Were the dances more difficult than you thought?
I knew it would be challenging to learn new dances, but I also had unexpected challenges, things I didn't think of. For example the kimono I wore to learn the geisha fan dance, ougi odori, changed everything about me, the way I walked, sat and moved. And it is so true that the more you learn, the more you realise you don't know.

What did you learn from the whole experience?
That it takes a teacher willing to teach, dancers willing to learn and audiences willing to watch to keep a dance form alive.

What is the situation in Malaysia for local traditional dances?
If not kept alive by the people in some of the rural places I visited, these dances would be forgotten.

Why do you think traditional Malaysian dancers are losing popularity?
I don't think that they are losing popularity, more that there are many choices and distractions now, there are so many different art forms to learn too. I know I will never live long enough to be able to learn everything I want to.

For more about Sasha Bahir, please visit her blog.