Art the 'light' for disabled cultural troupe
Art the 'light' for disabled cultural troupe
By Hera Diani
JAKARTA (JP): The city we live in is uncomfortable enough for
people with all their faculties, let alone for the disabled.
Diana, who is in her 30s, knows it all too well.
Paralyzed and in a wheelchair since the age of four due to
polio, she overcame her disability a long time ago.
"I just wish I could go by myself more often. I want to go to
the malls," she told The Jakarta Post recently.
"But here, I find it difficult to go anywhere ..."
Most public buildings, Diana said, are not accessible for
wheelchairs and it is hard to even get onto a bus.
Nevertheless, she did not just stay home. she has a job in the
Indonesian Association for Disabled People (PPCI) and takes a bus
ride every day from her house in Bekasi. All by herself.
But most of the rest of her time was spent at home, which she
said was "boring". Then she heard from a friend about Al Hakim
Foundation who provide training for the disabled.
It was in 1995, and Diana has since learned how to dance
traditional dance, play some musical instruments and sing.
"It was difficult at first. But the teacher is great and I
gained many friends," she said.
Now, with 29 fellow disabled people from the foundation, she
has performed in many countries under the name of Indonesia
Disabled Art and Culture Troupe.
The group claims to be the only disabled art and culture
troupe in the world, and have already performed in China,
Australia, Japan and France.
They have also won many awards, including 1999's Wataboshi
Music Festival Awards in Nara, Japan. Last year, Princess Lala,
the sister of the King of Morocco, personally invited them to
perform in Rabat and Paris.
The troupe consists of people in wheelchair-bound people, like
Diana, the blind, deaf and also mute people.
They performed at the end of August at Gedung Kesenian
Jakarta, Central Jakarta. They danced several traditional dances
from nearly every island of the country, such as tari payung,
tari piring and lompat bambu (Bamboo Hop) dance from Maluku.
The latter actually takes high coordination, but the deaf
people and a man with one leg can do it well.
The blind showed their beautiful voices that night, singing a
range of songs, from dangdut music to ABBA hits.
The chairman of the Al Hakim Foundation, Datuk Hakim Thantawi,
said the performance was a try-out for the upcoming art mission
to Algeria, France, Italy, Netherlands, Spain, Switzerland and
Vatican.
"The mission was initiated by the Indonesian Embassy in those
countries," he told the Post.
Datuk, who is physically able, urged people to pay more
attention to disabled people.
"They have potential, but there are hardly any facilities for
them. Many of them often are shooed away because people think
they are street singers," said Datuk.
Right now, he said, there are around 60 to 80 disabled people
trained in the foundation, with ages ranging from a 14-year-old
to a 35 year old.
They are taught by eight teachers who are also disabled.
"It's difficult, though, to find teachers," Datuk said.
He added that performing dances or music on stage is a therapy
for the disabled people and also help boosts their self-
confidence, and will eventually lead to their professionalism.
It was clearly showed in the faces of those people, like Diana
who said, "I'm very happy".
Or as the banner on the stage put it, it is a "Challenge for a
better life, A light in the dark".