Dance company makes its way to the Netherlands<\/p>\n
Yusuf Susilo Hartono, Contributor, Jakarta<\/p>\n
When Deddy Luthan's Dance Company (DDC) left Jakarta for the
\nNetherlands on Thursday, Feb. 28, to perform a contemporary
\nJavanese dance piece titled Kunti Pinilih (Kunti, the Chosen One)
\nat the prestigious Het Muziektheater in Amsterdam on March 5 and
\nMarch 6, they left with an uneasy feeling.<\/p>\n
The troupe left at the invitation of Robert van den Bos
\n(Anmaro Asia Arts) and director of Het Muziektheater Pieter
\nHofman. \"Pray that nothing happens to us,\" Deddy Luthan, DDC's
\nartistic director, said through his cellphone, minutes before the
\n27-member troupe, comprising dancers, singers of traditional
\nJavanese songs and the crew, departed.<\/p>\n
The reason for their uneasiness was the absence of
\nclarification from the foreign ministry over the allegation made
\nby Indonesia's envoy in Holland that the group's show would be
\npart of the 400th anniversary celebrations of the establishment
\nof the Dutch East Indies Trading Company (VOC), once the strong
\narm of Dutch colonial rule in Indonesia.<\/p>\n
The troupe went to the Netherlands on the basis of faxed
\ncopies of a letter from Robert van den Bos addressed to State
\nMinister of Culture and Tourism I Gede Ardika and another from
\nPieter Hofman addressed to Indonesia's envoy in The Hague. Both
\nwere dated Feb. 20, confirming the show had nothing to do with
\nthe commemoration of the VOC.<\/p>\n
It was Robert van den Bos who asked the then chairperson of
\nthe Gedung Kesenian Jakarta (GKJ)'s board of management, Farida
\nOetoyo, late last year, about inviting a Javanese dance troupe to
\nperform in his country. After being given a list of names, DDC's
\nKunti Pinilih was chosen. The rehearsal for the show itself
\nstarted early in January this year.<\/p>\n
Kunti Pinilih is a new dance deliberately created for the show
\nin the Netherlands with a certain political message. It will be
\nthe company's sixth performance.<\/p>\n
Choreographed by Elly D. Luthan and B. Subono before the fall
\nof the New Order regime, it took two years to prepare, the dance
\nwas staged for the first time at GKJ in 1997 with Prof. Dr. Edi
\nSedyawati, then director general of culture, as the main dancer.
\nIn its next shows, Edi was replaced by Elly.<\/p>\n
The two-hour show was brought to the stage of the GKJ on Feb.
\n26, two days before leaving for Holland. It was preceded by
\nSrimpi Sangupati dance, the creation of Pakubuwono IV, which was
\nturned by Elly into a dance to welcome guests.<\/p>\n
The show at GKJ differed from its four earlier performances.
\nLeather puppets were added. This fresh touch did not only work as
\nan accessory, it refreshed the puppet master, B. Subono, enough
\nto suitably use the scene to depict the fight between punakawan
\n(the palace jokers) Petruk, Gareng and Bagong to humor the
\naudience.<\/p>\n
Elly also put her new interpretation of the ancient Mahabarata
\nepic into this creation. Art lover Iwan Tirta found the new
\ninterpretation suited the present situation as it shows how, in
\neducating children, parents (here represented by Kunti) often
\nhave to clash with the influence of society (represented by
\nKresna who rebukes Harjuna for his laziness to fight against
\nKarna, who is none other than his own brother).<\/p>\n
\"I agree with (dancer) Mas Sulistyo, the show does not tell
\nmuch about Kunti. I simply want to present Kunti embroiled in a
\nmental war of how to treat all her children. As a mother, she has
\nraised her children but, unfortunately, the environment is more
\ndominant,\" said Elly.<\/p>\n
By mastering various classical dances, from Java to Aceh,
\nElly, who has created many dance pieces by blending traditional
\nand contemporary approaches to create Kunti based on bedaya and
\nlangendriyan dances, and kanjet, a traditional dance element from
\nKalimantan.<\/p>\n
As many as 19 traditional Javanese songs composed by B. Subono
\naccompanied Kunti with the support of a traditional Javanese
\nmusic group from Surakarta's Indonesia Arts Institute.<\/p>\n
The dancers include well-known names such as Sulistiyo
\nTirtokusumo (who impressively assumes the role of Harjuna), Djoko
\nSS (who performs well as Kresna), Wasi Bantolo (performing nicely
\nas Karna) and Dewi Sulastri (performing well as the young Kunti).<\/p>\n
One thing that Deddy found it difficult to understand was why
\nKunti Pinilih, inspite of DDC's other productions like Abad
\n(Century), Perahu Yang Robek (Torn Boat), always lead to problems
\nboth on and off the stage.<\/p>\n
For Kunti's first show, he had to sell his favorite car
\nbecause the crisis had forced the sponsor to back down.<\/p>\n
And now, prior to their departure to the Netherlands, they had
\nnot received official clarification on whether they could peform.
\nWhat's more, when art groups used to be invited to perform
\nabroad, they were usually freed from paying departure tax. But
\nnow, they don't even enjoy this facility. Given all these
\nobstacles it was sheer determination and will power that got them
\nto the Netherlands anyway.<\/p>",
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