January Low

🪔 About

January Low Wye San is a Malaysian Indian Classical dancer of Chinese Indian descent, born in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Exposed to various artistic influences from a young age, she began classical ballet at four before transitioning to Indian classical dance at eight, initially studying Bharatanatyam and gradually focusing on Odissi. She trained extensively for nearly two decades under the renowned Guru Ramli Ibrahim at Sutra Dance Theatre in Malaysia, joining the institution in 1993 and becoming a part of its main ensemble, touring internationally by the age of 15. Low made her solo debut at 13 in the "Alarippu To Moksha" series in 1998 and performed her arangetram, a solo graduation dance, at 18. Her talent was recognized with the Kakiseni Award for Best Solo Performer in 2003. She played a lead role in Sutra's 2001 production, "The Garden of Earthly Desires," and toured globally with the company, performing in cities like Sydney, New York, Paris, and various locations across India. In May 2009, Low embarked on an independent career, leaving Sutra Dance Theatre to self-produce and direct her own work. Her independent ventures include premiering "Kuruyadunandan" at the International Odissi Festival in Orissa in 2014 and performing at the Georgetown Festival in 2015. She presented the duet "bloom" in 2016 with Rathimalar Govindarajoo, notably performing while seven months pregnant. In 2017, she self-produced her first independent solo, "dedicated." Low was also involved in "MI(X)G" in 2018, directed by Pichet Klunchun, where she choreographed and performed for Festival Tokyo. She developed "reclaim" in 2019, which premiered at KOTAK, Five Arts Centre. More recently, she performed "Pending" (originally "A Listening Body") in Bengaluru in 2025 and is scheduled to perform "Sembah" in Delhi in July 2025. Since 2021, Low has been under the mentorship of Odissi exponent Bijayini Satpathy, engaging in online training and annual 10-day in-person intensives in India. While she relocated to Indonesia in 2016, she maintains a strong connection to Malaysia, aspiring to keep the tradition of Malaysian Odissi alive. Awards & Honours: Kakiseni Award for Best Solo Performer (2003).