A star turn lifts Eko out of obscurity

Hera Diani, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

There is much more to Eko Supriyanto than the dancer who accompanied Madonna on her Drowned World tour crisscrossing Europe and the United States last year, although that is the first thing that has drawn public attention to him in his homeland.

Eko acknowledges the tour with Madonna was one of the most rewarding experiences of his life.

"I learned a lot, especially about discipline," he told reporters recently, in his thick Javanese accent.

He continued with a story about being kissed once by the pop diva on her birthday, how they liked to discussed Balinese dance, how the material mom pays considerable attention to her crew and how emotional and sensitive she is.

"I bumped into a concrete pole once and fainted. She was so worried that she called me every three hours," said Eko.

There were no juicy bedtime stories, however, despite the reporters' inquiries.

Eko is, or was, pretty unknown on the dance scene here, with its top dancers/choreographers Sardono W. Kusumo and Boi G. Sakti.

His recent performance here, Soul of Step In, at the studio of Eksotika Karmawibangga Indonesia (EKI) Dance Company, might not say a lot about him and his work, either.

Only the versatility and agility of his maneuvers indicated his long years of experience and practice in a creation marrying Javanese dance and ballet.

He has a long and impressive list of career credits.

Born in Magelang, Central Java, Eko studied Javanese court dance and traditional martial arts from age seven.

He then attended the Indonesian Institute of Arts (STSI) in Surakarta, Central Java, where he now also teaches.

During that time, he also worked in various cities across Indonesia and Asia.

In 1997, Eko was invited to join the International Choreographers-In-Residency Program (ICR) at the American Dance Festival in New York and Durham, North Carolina.

"My English was very bad at that time," he laughed.

In the same year, he was also a guest artist for Sutra Dance Theater in Kuala Lumpur. Still in 1997, and then in 1999, he participated in the University of California in Los Angeles (UCLA) Center for Intercultural Performances, in a program called Asia Pacific Performance Exchange Program (APPEX).

During the time at APPEX, he collaborated with artists from Korea and Tibet, which resulted in a dance number called Exile.

In 1998, Eko established Solo Dance Studio which is based in Surakarta, and has toured extensively throughout this country.

In the same year, he performed in Peter Sellars' opera production of Gyorgy Ligety's Le Grand Macabre at Chatelet Theatre du Paris in France. He worked again with Sellars the next year, in the same production as part of the opening of the Royal Opera House in Covent Garden, London.

In the summers of 1997 to 2000, he invited dancers from Korea, the United States and Indonesia to participate in his self- produced Second Journey, a concert and workshop tour throughout this country.

Eko also produced an evening-length concert at Highways Performance Space in Los Angeles during the summer of 2000, titled Continental Shift.

From 1999 to 2001, he studied performing arts in UCLA which earned him a Master's of Fine Arts (MFA).

It was in early 2001 that he auditioned for Madonna.

"At that time, I just finished my final test. And then I heard about the audition and thought, well, why not?" said Eko.

He competed with 5,000 others from Los Angeles, and another 6,000 people from New York.

His martial arts basis was useful as it was one of the test materials. It was apparently Eko's idea to mix the traditional martial art pencak silat with dance moves that impressed Madonna.

Although Eko passed the audition along with nine other dancers, he had several other options and almost decided to say no to the world's most famous entertainer.

"I got another audition to teach at Dennison University in Ohio. Also, I had already paid for a solo dance performance at Getty Museum, Los Angeles," he said.

But his professor told him to go with Madonna, for whom he worked as dancer and choreographer from April to September 2001.

Now that the job is over, Eko was offered the chance to work with Michael Jackson.

"But the contract lasts for two years so I turned it down," he said.

"It's just that I have another commitment, that is teaching. But most of all, I really miss my parents. I miss home badly."

His longing for home, the loss of his mother and a sense of loneliness is reflected in his performance at EKI.

"This number is the reflection of my search for self. It's about the journey of life and our attitude toward life. The background of this number is losing my mother recently and my childhood memories. That's why there was Javanese chanting. That's a song that my mother used to sing," he said.

Eko is on the move again, going back to the States again next week to work as a dance consultant for Disney's production of Julie Taymor's Lion King in New York and Germany.

But his obsession is actually to study more about Javanese dance and other traditional dances.

"My Javanese dance experience is very limited as I'm doing more contemporary numbers. I want to know more about this country's dance which is hardly being explored. I also want my group to be more solid," he said.

"Because, after all, this is my home."