Bimo to perform at Japan's Die Pratze Festival<\/p>\n
Slamet Susanto, The Jakarta Post\/Yogyakarta<\/p>\n
Fatamorgana (illusion), a dance exhibition choreographed by Bimo
\nWiwohatmo of Yogyakarta's Bimo Dance Theater is set for Aug. 7
\nand Aug. 8 during the Die Pratze VII Festival held in Tokyo,
\nJapan, which began on July 12 and runs through Aug. 25.<\/p>\n
With four dance repertoires -- entitled Mitos (Myths), Voice,
\nRadians, and Maya (Virtual), the performance represents Indonesia
\nduring the annual international festival and is scheduled to be
\nstaged four times.<\/p>\n
Mitos and Voice are to be performed during the morning
\nsessions, while Radians and Maya are during the evening sessions.<\/p>\n
"I myself was surprised to learn that I was being elected to
\nrepresent Indonesia during the festival," Bimo told The Jakarta
\nPost on Monday evening, during a dress rehearsal at Padepokan
\nBagong Kussudiardja here prior to the departure of his group to
\nJapan.<\/p>\n
With artists from all over the world including Korea, the
\nU.S., France, Laos and the host nation, according to Bimo, the
\nfestival does not have a particular selection system.
\nParticipants are appointed based on networks.<\/p>\n
"It happens to be me who was appointed to represent
\nIndonesia," said Bimo, adding that he had spent three months
\npreparing, which included nightly rehearsals on 10 consecutive
\nevenings with the finale held at Padepokan Bagong Kussudiardja.<\/p>\n
"I deliberately chose the padepokan (workshop) to do our final
\nrehearsal before leaving for Japan because this is the place
\nwhere I learned to dance. I dedicated this performance to Pak
\nBagong (dance maestro for the late Bagong Kussudiardja) who
\ntaught me to dance," Bimo explained.<\/p>\n
For the dance community in the ancient city, Bimo Wiwohatmo is
\nindeed not a strange name. Since 1991, his shows have been held
\nnot only in Yogyakarta, but also Singapore and Malaysia.<\/p>\n
The final rehearsal on Monday night was also meant as a
\ngoodbye performance before the Japan trip. Three local dancers --
\nnamely Artur Asmonotedjo, Besar Widodo and Eko Purnomo, along
\nwith Surabaya-based ballet dancer Aprilia Ekasari, will star in
\nthe performances.<\/p>\n
Fatamorgana, Bimo explained, would portray human life that
\nranges from myth to modern conditions as represented by the
\nemergence of countless shopping malls.<\/p>\n
In the dance repertoire of Mitos, Bimo wants to describe the
\nmythical life of the community including the myth about Nyi Roro
\nKidul, who many Javanese believe to be the ruler of the South
\nSeas.<\/p>\n
It opens with the emergence of a woman in white lying on the
\nstage, followed by the emergence of three male dancers from
\nbehind the curtain. Moving slowly, they elastically move their
\nbodies in a way that conjures up a worshiping ritual.<\/p>\n
They then move around the lying woman, as if they want to wake
\nher up. Indeed, the woman awakens and a minute late she is
\nengrossed in her elegant dance movements. Mitos is created in
\n2002.<\/p>\n
Voice, the second set, was created this year especially for
\nthe festival. Unlike Mitos, the music that accompanies Voice is
\nmore dynamic, and so are the dance movements of both the female
\nand male dancers. The voices of Buddhist monks reading out magic
\nwords is sometimes heard in between.<\/p>\n
This particular repertoire, according to Bimo, indeed
\ndescribes traditions in the community. Both Mitos and Voice last
\nfor about 30 minutes.<\/p>\n
The third dance, Radians, has no musical accompaniment. Only
\nthe sounds of particular gamelan instruments played
\nintermittently are heard. The repertoire is more dominated by
\ndance movements and a light display.<\/p>\n
Unfortunately, the last dance, Maya, could not be fully
\nperformed during Monday's finale, mostly due to the difficulties
\nof stage arrangement.<\/p>\n
"Maya requires a sophisticated stage arrangement that could
\nnot be accomplished here," said Bimo, explaining that this
\nparticular dance deals with the subject of dehumanism.<\/p>\n
It tells a story of how people do not see a need to interact
\nwith one another to live, how money controls everything, how
\npeople do not need to leave home to work and how price
\nnegotiation is not longer done in modern markets. What people
\nfell they now need to do to shop is just go to the shopping malls
\nand money will talk.<\/p>",
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