A star turn lifts Eko out of obscurity<\/p>\n
Hera Diani, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta<\/p>\n
There is much more to Eko Supriyanto than the dancer who
\naccompanied Madonna on her Drowned World tour crisscrossing
\nEurope and the United States last year, although that is the
\nfirst thing that has drawn public attention to him in his
\nhomeland.<\/p>\n
Eko acknowledges the tour with Madonna was one of the most
\nrewarding experiences of his life.<\/p>\n
\"I learned a lot, especially about discipline,\" he told
\nreporters recently, in his thick Javanese accent.<\/p>\n
He continued with a story about being kissed once by the pop
\ndiva on her birthday, how they liked to discussed Balinese dance,
\nhow the material mom pays considerable attention to her crew and
\nhow emotional and sensitive she is.<\/p>\n
\"I bumped into a concrete pole once and fainted. She was so
\nworried that she called me every three hours,\" said Eko.<\/p>\n
There were no juicy bedtime stories, however, despite the
\nreporters' inquiries.<\/p>\n
Eko is, or was, pretty unknown on the dance scene here, with
\nits top dancers\/choreographers Sardono W. Kusumo and Boi G.
\nSakti.<\/p>\n
His recent performance here, Soul of Step In, at the studio of
\nEksotika Karmawibangga Indonesia (EKI) Dance Company, might not
\nsay a lot about him and his work, either.<\/p>\n
Only the versatility and agility of his maneuvers indicated
\nhis long years of experience and practice in a creation marrying
\nJavanese dance and ballet.<\/p>\n
He has a long and impressive list of career credits.<\/p>\n
Born in Magelang, Central Java, Eko studied Javanese court
\ndance and traditional martial arts from age seven.<\/p>\n
He then attended the Indonesian Institute of Arts (STSI) in
\nSurakarta, Central Java, where he now also teaches.<\/p>\n
During that time, he also worked in various cities across
\nIndonesia and Asia.<\/p>\n
In 1997, Eko was invited to join the International
\nChoreographers-In-Residency Program (ICR) at the American Dance
\nFestival in New York and Durham, North Carolina.<\/p>\n
\"My English was very bad at that time,\" he laughed.<\/p>\n
In the same year, he was also a guest artist for Sutra Dance
\nTheater in Kuala Lumpur. Still in 1997, and then in 1999, he
\nparticipated in the University of California in Los Angeles
\n(UCLA) Center for Intercultural Performances, in a program called
\nAsia Pacific Performance Exchange Program (APPEX).<\/p>\n
During the time at APPEX, he collaborated with artists from
\nKorea and Tibet, which resulted in a dance number called Exile.<\/p>\n
In 1998, Eko established Solo Dance Studio which is based in
\nSurakarta, and has toured extensively throughout this country.<\/p>\n
In the same year, he performed in Peter Sellars' opera
\nproduction of Gyorgy Ligety's Le Grand Macabre at Chatelet
\nTheatre du Paris in France. He worked again with Sellars the next
\nyear, in the same production as part of the opening of the Royal
\nOpera House in Covent Garden, London.<\/p>\n
In the summers of 1997 to 2000, he invited dancers from Korea,
\nthe United States and Indonesia to participate in his self-
\nproduced Second Journey, a concert and workshop tour throughout
\nthis country.<\/p>\n
Eko also produced an evening-length concert at Highways
\nPerformance Space in Los Angeles during the summer of 2000,
\ntitled Continental Shift.<\/p>\n
From 1999 to 2001, he studied performing arts in UCLA which
\nearned him a Master's of Fine Arts (MFA).<\/p>\n
It was in early 2001 that he auditioned for Madonna.<\/p>\n
\"At that time, I just finished my final test. And then I heard
\nabout the audition and thought, well, why not?\" said Eko.<\/p>\n
He competed with 5,000 others from Los Angeles, and another
\n6,000 people from New York.<\/p>\n
His martial arts basis was useful as it was one of the test
\nmaterials. It was apparently Eko's idea to mix the traditional
\nmartial art pencak silat with dance moves that impressed Madonna.<\/p>\n
Although Eko passed the audition along with nine other
\ndancers, he had several other options and almost decided to say
\nno to the world's most famous entertainer.<\/p>\n
\"I got another audition to teach at Dennison University in
\nOhio. Also, I had already paid for a solo dance performance at
\nGetty Museum, Los Angeles,\" he said.<\/p>\n
But his professor told him to go with Madonna, for whom he
\nworked as dancer and choreographer from April to September 2001.<\/p>\n
Now that the job is over, Eko was offered the chance to work
\nwith Michael Jackson.<\/p>\n
\"But the contract lasts for two years so I turned it down,\" he
\nsaid.<\/p>\n
\"It's just that I have another commitment, that is teaching.
\nBut most of all, I really miss my parents. I miss home badly.\"<\/p>\n
His longing for home, the loss of his mother and a sense of
\nloneliness is reflected in his performance at EKI.<\/p>\n
\"This number is the reflection of my search for self. It's
\nabout the journey of life and our attitude toward life. The
\nbackground of this number is losing my mother recently and my
\nchildhood memories. That's why there was Javanese chanting.
\nThat's a song that my mother used to sing,\" he said.<\/p>\n
Eko is on the move again, going back to the States again next
\nweek to work as a dance consultant for Disney's production of
\nJulie Taymor's Lion King in New York and Germany.<\/p>\n
But his obsession is actually to study more about Javanese
\ndance and other traditional dances.<\/p>\n
\"My Javanese dance experience is very limited as I'm doing
\nmore contemporary numbers. I want to know more about this
\ncountry's dance which is hardly being explored. I also want my
\ngroup to be more solid,\" he said.<\/p>\n
\"Because, after all, this is my home.\"<\/p>", "url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/a-star-turn-lifts-eko-out-of-obscurity-1447893297", "image": "" }, "sponsor": "Okusi Associates", "sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com" }