Maruti dedicates life to Javanese dance<\/p>\n
By Yusuf Susilo<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): As the culture of materialism takes root here,
\nthere remains a truly dedicated artist who fiercely clings to
\nartistic values and humanity -- Theodora Retno Maruti.<\/p>\n
Maruti, 54, has devoted herself to classical Javanese dancing
\nsince she was 5. A dancer, a choreographer and a dance teacher,
\nshe is well-known at home and abroad.<\/p>\n
Apart from teaching dance at the Jakarta Institute of Arts,
\nfor years Maruti has given free dance lessons every Sunday at the
\nbuilding housing the Padneswara dance group, often buying the
\ndrinks for her students.<\/p>\n
In the jungle that is Jakarta, the generosity of Mbak Uti, as
\nshe is known, is something most people do not understand. This
\nis, after all, Jakarta, where you have to pay Rp 500 every time
\nyou use a public lavatory.<\/p>\n
It is \"strange\" that Maruti teaches something rare, the lofty
\nlegacy of our ancestors, for free while she could monetarily
\nenrich herself from her work.<\/p>\n
Many of her friends are baffled by this, including dancer and
\nfellow IKJ lecturer Nungki Kusumastuti, who for the past five
\nyears has helped manage Padneswara. She said she has tried to
\n\"enlighten\" Maruti, but invariably to no avail.<\/p>\n
Nungki, a TV\/movie\/commercial star, has tried to sway Maruti
\nbecause she does not want to see her always buying things for her
\nstudents, because she believes they will not grow into
\nresponsible adults if someone always takes care of them.<\/p>\n
And, she says, if Muruti collected some fees, Padneswara would
\nhave its own money. And in her opinion, if Padneswara is to
\ndevelop and be able to perform twice a year, it must be
\nfinancially healthy.<\/p>\n
Nungki may be right, but Maruti has her reasons. \"I appreciate
\nthe fraternity more than money. I will teach my students what I
\nlearned when I was young, also free of charge. I use this
\nrehearsal hall for free. It would not be fair, I think, if I
\ncollect money from them. My goal is to share with other people
\nwhat I know,\" Maruti reasoned, adding that she never placed her
\ninterest above the interests of others.<\/p>\n
Maruti learned dancing from many teachers, including the late
\nKRT Kusumo Kesowo (a great master at the Surakarta palace), the
\nlate R.Ay. Laksmintorukmi, the late R.Ay. Sukorini, S. Ngaliman,
\nthe late Basuki Kusworogo and Bagong Kussudihardjo. She also took
\ntraditional Javanese singing lessons from the late Bei Mardusari
\nand Sutarman.<\/p>\n
However, it was her father, R. Susiloatmodjo, who was a puppet
\nmaster, puppetmaker, painter, engraver and dancer, who exerted
\nthe greatest influence over her. Her father had a very clear
\nstance in his life and his art: he sided with humanity.<\/p>\n
Philosophy<\/p>\n
Sal Murgiyanto, an observer of the performing arts, has this
\nto say about Maruti's father. \"Just like KRT Kusumo Kesowo,
\nMaruti's father looked at arts as two disciplines -- the mind and
\nthe physique. They give divine inspiration to our spiritual
\nexistence, which is reflected in our daily behavior. In
\n(Susilotmodjo's) opinion, art was not to be used as a means to
\nearn money. This explains why his family business failed to
\nproduce a handsome profit. As a member of the Javanese nobility,
\nSusiloatmodjo's humanity exceeded his concern for money or
\nprofit. He paid his employees as if he were providing financial
\nhelp to his own relatives. That is why his family business could
\nnot make progress. He really applied the Javanese saying tuna
\nsathak bathi sanak (it is all right to lose money if you get more
\nfriends in return).\"<\/p>\n
Obviously, Maruti also adheres to this saying. She places
\nhumanity above money, which most people in Jakarta idolize.<\/p>\n
Sentot Sudiharto, Maruti's husband, understands his wife and
\nnever tries to influence her. It is this social communication, he
\nsays, that has made his wife continue her dancing career and run
\nPadneswara for a quarter of a century.<\/p>\n
He who sows will reap. Maruti gives free dancing lessons; in
\nreturn, many of her friends and colleagues volunteer to help her
\nin her performances.<\/p>\n
Sentot gave an example of this. In preparing for the
\nperformance to mark 25 years of Padneswara, many people have
\ngiven a helping hand. The performance, to be held at Taman Ismail
\nMarzuki on March 10 and March 11, is based on the story of
\nSurapati, a 17th century hero, and involves over 50 dancers and
\ntraditional Javanese singers.<\/p>\n
Also, he said, there have been unexpected donations:
\nloudspeakers for rehearsals and varying amounts of cash.<\/p>\n
The building housing Padneswara, with Maruti as the natural
\nmother (a term artist Danarto has introduced), looks like a
\ntraditional rehearsal site. It is this nature of Padneswara, said
\nSardono W. Kusumo, who came to see the rehearsal at IKJ last
\nFriday, that is the secret of Maruti's ability to help classical
\nJavanese dance survive in the city.<\/p>\n
***<\/p>\n
Maruti, nicknamed Limbuk, was born in Surakarta on March 8,
\n1947. She was raised in a family of artists in the compound of
\nBaluwerti palace in Surakarta. When she took part in the
\nIndonesian arts mission to Expo 1970 in Osaka, Japan, she became
\nacquainted with Sentot Sudiharto, a fellow artist. They have one
\nchild, Rury Nostalgia, who is preparing to one day take over for
\nher mother in preserving classical Javanese dance and running
\nPadneswara.<\/p>\n
According to Rury, her mother clings to the conventions of
\nclassical Javanese dance. She said her mother has been like this
\nsince Rury was a small girl. That is why Maruti has her own
\ncharacteristics and is incomparable in this respect. Though
\nfollowing in the footsteps of her mother, Rury says she wants to
\nbe herself, a hope she will have to work hard to realize.<\/p>\n
\"My future career will be inseparable from history and
\nlegends, but still I want to breathe my own breath into my future
\ncareer,\" she said on the sidelines of the rehearsal for Surapati.<\/p>\n
In looking back at her 25 years with Padneswara, Maruti
\nrealized that Padneswara is her, and she is Pandneswara. This is
\nboth an advantage and a shortcoming. Therefore, in the future,
\nshe said she would concentrate on the artistic side only and
\nleave the management to Rury and her colleagues.<\/p>\n
She said that at present she handled the management of
\nPadneswara along with Rury, Nungki and other artists such as
\nMenul, Yuni and Wati.<\/p>\n
\"Now and in the future will be the opportunity for my daughter
\nand all of you, younger sisters, to do something,\" said Maruti. A
\ngraduate of the Business Administration College in Surakarta,
\nMaruti made a name as a dancer in the Ramayana dance-drama before
\nshe set up Padneswara. She often performed at the presidential
\npalace when Sukarno, Indonesia's first president, was still in
\noffice, and went on months-long overseas tours as a member of
\nIndonesian art missions.<\/p>\n
Padneswara, which literally means \"queen\", was set up in 1976.
\nWhen she founded it, she had only her strong spirit and ambition
\nto preserve classical Javanese dance. Sardono and Maruti said
\nthis spirit and ambition have never waned, even though her
\nefforts to preserve classical Javanese dance in Jakarta could be
\nlikened to a kerosene lamp in a storm.<\/p>\n
She has to fight the capital-intensive pop art industry,
\nchanges in the community's tastes for everything global and a
\nview that traditional art is old-fashioned.<\/p>\n
Although Goenawan Mohamad, a veteran journalist and artist,
\nhas referred to Maruti's efforts as a \"project to preserve
\ntradition\", she continues to develop her career, slowly but
\nsurely, at her own rhythm and pace.<\/p>\n
Some of her choreographed works include Dawarwulan, Roro
\nMendut, Savitri, Abimanyu Gugur, Begawan Ciptoning, Kongsodewo,
\nSekar Pembayun, Palgunadi, Dewabrata and Surapati. Maruti hopes
\nher latest work will create a cool atmosphere, lead to
\nretrospection and arouse the enthusiasm (of the audience) to
\nunite as one nation.<\/p>\n
May this kerosene lamp continue to flicker despite the storms.<\/p>", "url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/maruti-dedicates-life-to-javanese-dance-1447893297", "image": "" }, "sponsor": "Okusi Associates", "sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com" }