Young choreographers bring dance into the spotlight<\/p>\n
Kartika Bagus C., The Jakarta Post, Surakarta<\/p>\n
A dancer uttered some Javanese sentences in high pitch.<\/p>\n
\"Urip iku bisane aweh pepadhang, marang sopo wae sing lagi
\nnandhang pepeteng, dadi manawa urip ora bisa aweh pepadhang iku
\nateges wis mati....\" (One is alive to give enlightenment to
\nanyone who is in trouble; but if one lives and gives nothing to
\nsomeone else, this is the same as death...).<\/p>\n
The dance performance, taking Kecicir (scattered) as its
\ntheme, was created of 26-year-old choreographer Anggono Kusumo
\nW., and was staged in late February in Teater Arena, Surakarta
\nCultural Park, Surakarta.<\/p>\n
The dance piece was one of a number created by six young
\nchoreographers presented as the event \"Two Nights with Six Young
\nChoreographers\". The choreographers were Kandhi Wirastuti, with
\nher piece titled Ruang (Space), Fitri Setyaningsih, with Kali
\n(River), Putu Deasy Ariastuti, with Nyak (Mother), Ni Kadek Yulia
\nPuspasari, with Sanghara (a name of a storm) and Bejo Tri Kumara
\nwith Senandung (A Song).<\/p>\n
Kecicir dwells on the life of a person losing his self-
\nidentity. He becomes confused amid the egotism of the human
\ncharacter controlling him. In confusion, he has to face the fact
\nthat he cannot live without other people.<\/p>\n
Kecicir was a meaningful creation, receiving rapturous
\napplause from the audience and was presented artistically. A
\npiece of cloth was stretched in the middle of the room to
\naccentuate the red lighting.<\/p>\n
Another interesting performance was Ruang, the work of Kandhi
\nWirastuti, dance student of Surakarta's Indonesian Arts Institute
\n(STSI). The piece is about a marginalized world, an alien space
\nwhich emerged as a result of a stronger group's or individual's
\ndomination.<\/p>\n
Nyak, the creation of a 23-year-old Putu Deasy Ariastuti, was
\nabout a Betawi (indigenous Jakartan) mother figure who is not
\nonly talkative, apprehensive, tearful and weak but also tender,
\npatient, sincere, compassionate and understanding.<\/p>\n
Through their work, the six choreographers tried to interact
\nwith their audience during the two-day show. The choreographers,
\nwho mostly were dancers, showed their enthusiasm through their
\nwork.<\/p>\n
STSI's head of dance department, Hari Mulyatno, praised the
\nchoreographers' positive enthusiasm.<\/p>\n
\"Both the audience and the dancers are enthusiastic in terms
\nof artistic creation. That's a very good thing. I feel happy
\nlearning that young people are productive and creative in
\nproducing their work,\" Hari said.<\/p>\n
He also saw that the dance performances opened up a new
\nattraction for the cultural city, which is better known for
\ntraditional performing arts such as wayang (shadow puppet show)
\nand Javanese drama, ketoprak, which now have reducing audiences.<\/p>\n
\"But most important of all is the totality in expression, the
\ncontinuity in process and also the choreographers' seriousness in
\ncultivating the art and performing the dance. These are really
\ngreat assets,\" said Hari, who is still actively dancing himself.<\/p>\n
The event's coordinator, Djarot B. Darsono, said the event was
\naimed at giving young choreographers the opportunity to perform
\ntogether, as so far, many of them were paid scant attention.<\/p>\n
\"They (the choreographers) really possess great potential
\nbecause on the one hand they are choreographers, but on the
\nother, they are also dancers. It's interesting,\" he said.<\/p>\n
Both Hari and Djarot hoped these choreographers would continue
\nwith their work.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/young-choreographers-bring-dance-into-the-spotlight-1447893297",
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
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