A dance treat in Surakarta

JAKARTA (JP): After the holiday break, dance lovers can again enjoy a treat from noted dancer and choreographer Wied Sendjayani, who will stage her new contemporary piece on Friday and Saturday nights at the Surakarta Cultural Park in Central Java.

In Selamat Pagi Bu Sendja (Good Morning Bu Sendja), Wied was inspired by routine matters which are close to her own life but are often considered unimportant or overlooked by others.

Wied, who is also a dance teacher, set up the Maniratari dance group in 1985 upon her return from studying dance in Europe.

In this dance group, she mainly targets young people who have a strong interest in dance while at the same time, channeling her concern toward their problems.

Wied, who first started at the Yogyakarta-based Indonesia Fine Art Institute but then realized she could not resist her desire to learn more about dance, joined Slasuka dance group and trained at WS Rendra's theater group, Bengkel Teater.

She left for Madrid, Spain in 1976 to study modern jazz dance, basic classical ballet and contemporary dance before going to Germany and Austria in 1979 to learn more from dance troupes in the two countries. She came back to Indonesia in 1984 and decided to teach dance at the Maniratari dance workshop in 1985.

Her forthcoming show will feature five of her students. One of them is 16-year-old Siko Setyanto, a young choreographer who took part in the Indonesian Dance Festival in 1999. (Retno Pujiastuti)