'Gandrung' dance retains popularity<\/p>\n
By Ahmad Solikhan and Ali Budiman<\/p>\n
BANYUWANGI, East Java (JP): Copper-red rays from lanterns
\nflooded the stage. The fragrance of scattered jasmine and kenanga
\nflowers induced a heightened romantic ambience. The audience
\naround the stage had been waiting since early evening and could
\nhardly contain their impatience at the emergence of the beautiful
\ndancers.<\/p>\n
And then, accompanied by the sounds of gamelan in the East
\nJava style, two gorgeous girls wearing hair buns and dressed in
\nkebaya, traditional women's clothing, swayed onto the stage
\nmoving their sashes with curved fingers. They cast glances at the
\naudience while undulating their bodies.<\/p>\n
The applause of the crowd added to the feverish atmosphere of
\nthe show when the gandrung (dance girls) sang a love song in the
\nUsing vernacular of Banyuwangi, translated as: \"I am an example
\nof someone lulled by sweet lips, I have lost my virginity, and I
\ndeeply deplore life.\" The Using vernacular is a mixture of East
\nJavanese, Madurese and Balinese.<\/p>\n
The two gandrung slowly descended from the stage, dancing all
\nthe way while approaching the audience members. They took off
\nsampur, sashes of various colors from their throats and wound
\nthem one by one around audience members' necks. A little later, a
\nman with a sash around his neck nimbly tailed the two dancers
\nonto the stage to dance together.<\/p>\n
The men given the opportunity to dance with the gandrung are
\ncalled paju. They are usually charmed by the dancers' beauty,
\nchallenging looks and alluring bodies. They slip banknotes into
\nthe dancers' cleavage.<\/p>\n
It is not surprising that many paju are tempted to pass the
\nnight with the gandrung, showering hundreds of thousands of
\nrupiah on them. The sampur entitles the paju to 10 to 15 minutes
\nfor which the paju parts with at least Rp 10,000. It is very rare
\nthat men refuse the opportunity to get a sampur. They even vie
\nwith each other, and if necessary, show off a wad of money to get
\nit. The purpose is to spend the whole night with on of the prima
\ndonnas.<\/p>\n
\"There is nothing new to the behavior of most gandrung,\" said
\nM. Sakur, an audience member from Jember.<\/p>\n
The gandrung is a traditional part of Banyuwangi culture,
\nknown for many generations until today. Gandrung performances are
\ngiven on national holidays, at weddings and at other parties. In
\ngeneral they take place from 9 p.m. to 5 a.m. on open stages, in
\nyards and buildings. The audience members are mostly adult males
\nfrom Banyuwangi, Jember, Bali and surrounding areas.<\/p>\n
According to Asmawati, 35, a gandrung girl living in Pancoran,
\nBanyuwangi, a dancer must go on a \"white\" diet for three days,
\neating only one fistful of rice each day, prior to a performance
\nin order to lure spectators. She should also read certain mantras
\nobtained from a kiai (leader) with magical powers, as a decoy and
\nfor precautions. These efforts would make the dancer look
\nbeautiful, radiant and give excellent performance the whole
\nnight.<\/p>\n
A gandrung group usually involves at least five people. The
\ngamelan players are not required to be members but are expected
\nto be available when needed. The fee for a group's performance is
\nbetween Rp 300,000 and Rp 400,000. It may also depend on the
\nhost. It does not include the tips lavished by the paju on the
\ngandrung for dancing and \"dating\".<\/p>\n
\"The group I lead performs three times a month. In times of
\ncelebrations the number can increase to 10 to 15 appearances,\"
\nsaid Asmawati.<\/p>\n
Sometimes one of the more successful gandrung goes out on her
\nown or starts her own group. Prima donnas earn more on their own
\nthan the usual fee of Rp 50,000 for one performance.<\/p>\n
Asmawati, who became a prima donna in 1992 before setting up
\nher own group, is still active as a prima donna. For her group,
\nshe employs four young and beautiful gandrung dancers.<\/p>\n
But there is no studio for training the gandrung, mostly high
\nschool graduates. The dance itself requires no specific theory.
\nTo be a prima donna, a dancer needs only flexibility in her body
\nmovements, deftness in wooing people and daring to appear
\ndifferent.<\/p>\n
Once a woman is involved in the art of gandrung, it is hard
\nfor her to give it up, as she indirectly fosters her own
\nspiritual world -- an illusionary world full of glamor that
\nbecomes a source of her creativity on stage. One month with a
\ngandrung group guarantees that a dancer will have the courage to
\nappear on stage.<\/p>\n
In reality, gandrung life in the community is not as rosy as
\nimagined in the dancer's thoughts. It is no wonder that many of
\nthem resign and complain about one-night stands with the paju,
\nwhich later affect the credibility of the gandrung in the
\ncommunity.<\/p>\n
Most gandrung who try to raise families either fail or their
\nmarriages end in divorce, just as experienced by former prima
\ndonna Rodianah, 39, who retired five years ago. This divorcee
\nwith one child is now a teak wood supplier to Bali.<\/p>\n
When she was a dancer, Rodianah tried hard to have a family,
\nbut during her marriage her dream of a glamorous life kept
\nhaunting her, making her husband abandon her.<\/p>\n
\"It never stops to amaze me why every former gandrung always
\nfails to raise a family,\" Rodianah complained. She is from
\nGambiran, Banyuwangi.<\/p>\n
The gandrung life is riskier compared to Reog Ponorogo,
\nanother popular traditional performance native to Ponorogo, East
\nJava. The two performances are popular within the community, but
\nthere is a tendency to make gandrung the objects of sexual
\nharassment while Reog Ponorogo's warok, a martial arts expert
\nendowed with spiritual powers and the leader of the dance group,
\nis known for keeping gemblak, young men who are usually the
\nperformers of the special jatil, or horse dance.<\/p>\n
These two traditional cultural art forms should be maintained
\nand developed professionally with the support of the community,
\nwithout labeling them as lacking in morals. Besides, it is hoped
\nthat local cultural art institutes can participate in organizing
\nand training them, helping gandrung to become professional
\ndancers without having to face harassment.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/gandrung-dance-retains-popularity-1447893297",
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