A feast of national dances ready to be served up

A feast of national dances ready to be served up

By Helly Minarti

JAKARTA (JP): The national crisis and turmoil have pushed art
events to the periphery. An example is the biannual Indonesian
Dance Festival, which has experienced disruptions in recent
years.

The last festival, the fourth, in 1996 was interrupted by the
infamous July 27 violence at the headquarters of the Indonesian
Democratic Party in Jakarta.

Performances were canceled after streets to the venues were
blocked by the police. The economic crisis forced the 1998 event
to be put on hold.

Dance lovers will be relieved to know that the show will go on
this year. The dance festival started on Aug. 18 in Surakarta and
will end on Sept. 21.

The festival is a series of performances, choreography
workshops, artist-in-residence programs and a showcase of young
talent. The first part takes place in the Indonesian Academy of
Arts (STSI) in Surakarta from Aug. 18 to Sept. 10 when young
choreographers -- students, dancers and non-formal choreographer
wannabes, both local and international -- have their chance to
work on their pieces and show them to the audience on the last
day.

"We had to cut down the number of participants in this forum
from 21 in 1996 to only 14 due to financial problems," said Sal
Murgiyanto, chairman of the festival organizing committee and
dean of the dance school at the Jakarta Institute of the Arts
(IKJ).

From Sept. 12 to Sept. 21, the event will continue in Jakarta
with more dance workshops of professionals, discussions and,
finally, the performances. Prior to the festival, Sal has
arranged for some of the international dancer-choreographers to
be part of residence programs.

"For example, I sent Seongjoo Joh of South Korea to STSI
Denpasar to learn the Balinese style from I Wayan Dibya and then
to the Sono Sini Studio of Sardono for the same purpose."

A major aspect is the collaboration between Indonesian and
guests choreographers. Seongjoo Joh will collaborate with dancers
from Kreativitaet Dance Indonesia in Jakarta, led by Farida
Oetojo, on a piece titled Second Name of That Woman. Wen Hui of
China will do the same thing with dancers of STSI Surakarta for
her work Dining with 1999. Kota Yamazaki of Japan will get
together with dancers of IKJ to prepare Garden while Howard W.
Lark will choreograph Summit with the help from dancers of
Kreativitaet Dance Company. The only foreign participant working
independently is Sen Hea Ha from Korea.

"Some of them have already met before, some never, which makes
us curious to see how they work," said Sal.

Kota Yamazaki is not a new face. "We are familiar with
Yamazaki's style since he gave workshops on his previous visits,"
said Jeffry Andri, one of the young participating choreographers
who is an IKJ dropout and now part of the Gumarang Sakti Dance
Company.

"But Wen Hui never met anyone from STSI with whom she is now
set to collaborate. I have always wanted to invite someone from
China, but the paperwork is complicated. I saw her work once and
since she migrated to the United States, it is easier to arrange
her visit," Sal said.

Predictably, the collaboration will be the focus of the
festival. Artistic results will finally be shown on stage -- to
be judged under the spotlight -- but beyond this creative agenda
lies the issue of multiculturalism.

"That is what this festival is basically all about," commented
Sal. "I find it ironic that as Indonesians with rich cultural
origins, we are not so smooth in handling our cultural divides.
Strange as it may seem, I observe that we do that better with
foreigners. So I hope that through cooperation with others (the
international choreographers) we will learn how to communicate
among ourselves better."

Indonesia is represented by young names like Yudhistira Sjuman
and Chendra Effendy, both from Kreativitaet, and senior Sulistyo
Tirtokusumo who will feature a classic Javanese piece, Bedoyo
Sumirat and his contemporary dance, Krisis (Crisis). A discussion
of choreography will also be held. There are five venues -- Graha
Bhakti Budaya of Taman Ismail Marzuki, Gedung Kesenian Jakarta
and Teater Luwes at IKJ, all in Central Jakarta, and the STSI
campus and Taman Budaya Surakarta in Surakarta. Sept. 12 to Sept.
14 will be dedicated to showcasing the finals of the GKJ Awards
II 1999 choreography competition.

The Indonesia Dance Festival was first launched in 1992 as a
national forum. The following year it allowed international
participants. From 1992 to 1994, it was designed as an annual
program before being extended to a biannual forum. This year's
festival is funded by several sources: the Jakarta Arts
Foundation, UNESCO/Ford Foundation and Asian Cultural Council in
New York.

"In the future we would love to have more individual funders
who will finance small single works like those young
choreographers' forum in Surakarta," said Sal.

His other future agenda is to have another side forum in the
festival featuring works from children and for them.

The festival is indeed an extended version of the previous
forum, Young Choreographers Festival -- a regular program of the
Jakarta Arts Council from 1978 through the mid-1980s. It was the
start for such prominent names in national dance like Gusmiati
Suid and Tom Ibnur. Indonesia Dance Festival alumni have also
made a name internationally, including Kurniawan (Jecko) Siompo
and Eko Supriyanto. This year's group may also yield some future
stars.

For a detailed program brochure and ticket information,
contact (021) 315 9105 starting Monday, Sept. 6.