Dancer Linda Hoemar reaches her star<\/p>\n
By Dini S. Djalal<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): The New Yorker, not a magazine given to
\nindiscriminate praise, raved about her.<\/p>\n
Following a performance, audiences have been known to pass a
\nhalf hour hollering for an encore. For Linda Hoemar, perhaps
\nIndonesia's most famous dancer overseas, standing ovations are
\nalmost second nature.<\/p>\n
Second only to dance, her first love. "It was just a dream
\nI've had since I was little," the 29 year-old sighs when
\nexplaining why she pursued a career in dance.<\/p>\n
Linda's dream has certainly come true. At 21 years old, after
\ntwo years studying at New York's world-famous Alvin Ailey Dance
\nCompany, Linda became the youngest member of Elisa Monte Dance
\ncompany. After only five months with the international troupe,
\nshe danced a solo at Cannes -- at the behest of Elisa Monte
\nherself. For the next six years, Linda's life would revolve
\naround playing the lead in performances around the world.<\/p>\n
And though a normal day consisted of up to 12 hours of
\ntraining and rehearsals, and eating occasionally became a luxury,
\nLinda never felt she missed out on a normal life.<\/p>\n
"It was so exciting at the time, I felt like I was living up
\nto (TV show) Fame! To be a dancer in New York was all I ever
\nwanted," said Linda.<\/p>\n
The work she loved took her restless feet to places much more
\nthrilling than a singles bar. "Imagine, I was in Warsaw when they
\nhad their first elections. I was in East Berlin just three days
\nafter reunification!," Linda gushed.<\/p>\n
Resting feet<\/p>\n
But after a quarter century of dancing -- she began ballet
\nlessons in Germany at three years old and continued dancing into
\nher teens under Farida Oetojo at her Sumber Cipta dance school --
\nLinda's restless feet are resting.<\/p>\n
Two years ago, she quit Elisa Monte Dance Company to finish
\nher master's in arts administration from Columbia University.
\nAside from performing last year at Jakarta's International Dance
\nFestival before an awestruck audience, Linda no longer dances.<\/p>\n
"I still do my exercises, but just for conditioning, for
\nmyself," she said. The lack of good dance schools and stages in
\nIndonesia, said Linda, would frustrate any continuation of a
\nprofessional dance career here.<\/p>\n
Doesn't she miss that which she loved for so long? Not really,
\nshe said, especially not the strain of dieting and training.<\/p>\n
"I miss the traveling, but do I miss the physical hard work?
\nNo! Looking back, I think how did I do that?," she laughed,
\nremembering the Sundays spent eating only popcorn in dread of
\nMonday morning weigh-ins.<\/p>\n
Her two years studying at Alvin Ailey on a scholarship from
\nthe Asian Cultural Council, said Linda, were particularly
\ngrueling, although it taught her the challenge of competition.<\/p>\n
"I had to be at class by 8 a.m. and dance until 10 p.m. It was
\nso competitive, everybody was so driven. There were 70 students
\nin my year, and by the end there were only six," she said.<\/p>\n
The competitiveness followed her at Elisa Monte, who went
\nagainst her own custom by not only hiring the young Linda but
\ngiving her leading roles. Ever modest, Linda explains her fortune
\nas beginners' luck.<\/p>\n
"She never said why (she trusted me with major roles), she
\njust liked my dancing," said Linda.<\/p>\n
Less magnanimous were her envious colleagues. Yet Linda,
\nexercising a surface calm seldom seen in someone so young, faced
\nthe peer rivalry with typical grace and unwielding determination.
\n"(The competitiveness) did make me a better dancer, but sometimes
\nthe others' jealousy made me feel uneasy too. It was a small
\ncompany, you know, only nine dancers."<\/p>\n
Laurels falling upon a striking young woman so generous with
\nher smile should surprise few -- except maybe Linda, who
\neventually came to value her work beyond her own pleasure. She
\nbegan to feel her dancing also raised Indonesia's name.<\/p>\n
"In the beginning it was a personal mission. But when I
\nstarted touring the world, I started to feel like an ambassador
\nof Indonesia because people would always ask me about Indonesia,"
\nshe said.<\/p>\n
Linda heard Indonesia calling in other ways, too. "I always
\nknew I would come back here."<\/p>\n
Outreach<\/p>\n
It is this certainty that has led Linda back to Jakarta, where
\nshe is working as an arts administrator for the Triangle Art
\nProgram, a cross-cultural exchange scheme run by the Rockefeller
\nFoundation. Currently, Linda is organizing six artists from three
\ncountries -- Indonesia, Japan, and the U.S. -- for a roundtable
\ndiscussion on arts and tourism management.<\/p>\n
The result of the exchange? Insight rather than exhibition,
\nsays Linda. "We're not aiming for an end product. It's a
\nprocess."<\/p>\n
Comprehending each other's as well as one's own culture, and
\npromoting it all the while, seems to be Linda's new passion.<\/p>\n
"I want to be a bridge between the artists, the audience, the
\ngovernment, and the corporations," she said.<\/p>\n
Although there have been positive developments in recent
\nyears, Linda added, Indonesia's arts scene needs a good boost.
\nAnd the boost doesn't just mean making better art.<\/p>\n
"You can blame packaging and production, but you also need to
\nnurture the audience. The way you market the arts here, it's too
\nproduct-oriented instead of market-oriented," she said.<\/p>\n
What Linda wants is for the arts to reach people outside of
\nthe cultural elite. Building an audience for the future can start
\nwith Outreach programs, bringing kids to theaters for matinee
\ndances and lectures, "so they can develop their appreciation,"
\nsaid Linda. "It would be too brief for the kids to be influenced
\nby just one experience but it's a start".<\/p>\n
If she doesn't drag the country's youngsters to the theater,
\nshe said, they will just watch TV or go to the malls. "Malls are
\nfree, cheap entertainment, and often the art activities offered
\nhere are too heavy," she said. "If the artists want to compete
\nwith the MTV bombardment, they have to package the art smarter
\nwithout lessening the quality."<\/p>\n
Yet Linda also acknowledges the discrepancies between Western
\nconcepts of art and performance, and local traditions which still
\ndo not separate performance from ritual. "Yes, maybe going to
\nTaman Ismail Marzuki is part of Western culture. Maybe it's more
\nnatural for people to listen to artists at home, in familiar
\nsettings. Maybe we can't charge people for shows."<\/p>\n
This means, however, that the arts need even more funding,
\nsomething she can help to lobby for. She knows it will not be
\neasy, especially compared to her experiences in the U.S.<\/p>\n
"I studied non-profit management, and there tax breaks give
\npeople incentives to give money to arts foundations," she
\nexplained.<\/p>\n
Those rules do not apply to Indonesia. "Here, what's in it for
\nthem? Why should they give money?," asked Linda.<\/p>\n
Linda is determined to try, however, even if it involves going
\nthrough the telephone book to get people to see performances. "I
\nhaven't tried it, but it's worth a try," she said with a glint in
\nher eye. It is probably the same glint that sparkled audiences
\naround the world, and judging by the steel will which it
\naccompanies, it will likely take her to whatever she sets out to
\nachieve.<\/p>",
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