DELAY is a journey of self-assessment. It takes the form of Tumpang Lalu(Excuse me), the shrinking of the body that Malay folks execute to walk in front of someone. It is also about un-bodying the self, an apologetic self-consciousness of the space one takes up in the world.

 

Tumpang lalu is a prominent gesture that guides Malay dancers across the performance space as they encounter one another, inscribing Malay dance as a codified system of social protocols. As a model for the community, the Malay dancer is conditioned by the value of Budi which is central to Malay culture and philosophy. Budi refers to rationality, intelligence and courtesy.

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DELAY was conceived in Asia Discovers Asia Meeting 2nd & 3rd edition (Taipei). It was further developed through Dance Nucleus Scope#6 and presented in it's first VECTOR programme(Singapore) in 2021. Norhaizad has performed Delay at Venice International Performance Arts Week in 2020 and it has a collective version titled ‘Mass Delay’ that was performed in Singapore Night Festival 2022