Artists come together to share, learn

Artists come together to share, learn

By Asip A. Hasani

SURAKARTA, Central Java (JP): A long-haired old man moved to
the center of the arena, swaying to the rhythm of African and
Sundanese drums.

He moved freely, although he was clearly conscious of what he
was doing. His rhythm was staggered, alternately fast or slow.

Suddenly he stopped, taking a cross-legged position and
humming tunes seemingly from the Dayaks or tribes in Irian Jaya.
Then he switched to the Javanese songs usually sung with gamelan
performances.

Disjointed? Strange? Not at all. His transition was so fluid
that the audience was enthralled. A younger dancer also moved
around him, holding burning bamboo torches in each hand.

The older man was Suprapto Suryodarmo, a dancer from Surakarta
who is probably better known in Europe than in his own country.
Suprapto's dancing style is usually called "meditation movement",
a term which he himself does not find appropriate. The second
dancer was Daryono, a dancing teacher at the Surakarta Indonesian
Arts Higher Learning Institute (STSI). The accompanying music was
played by I Wayan Sadre, a contemporary musician, and his
colleagues.

The performance in early January was part of an international
series of events, Sharing Art and Shadow, held at the Lemah Putih
Dance rehearsal area and dormitory owned by Suprapto in
Plesungan, a village about seven kilometers north of Surakarta.

The opening ceremony was attended by a number of noted figures
in Indonesian arts, like famous poet WS Rendra and head of the
Surakarta Cultural Center (TBS) Murtidjono. Some 40 artists
participated in the events, including five foreigners: a
contemporary fine artist Jamie Jewett of the United States,
American dancer Diana Butler, German visual artist Kirsten Funke,
Canadian painter Deborah Nolan and German installation artist
Klaus.

Most participants were young artists, such as dancer-cum-
choreographer Jarot B. Darsono and poet Sosiawan Leak of
Surakarta, dancer Bimo Wiwohatmo and painter Samuel Indratma of
Yogyakarta, dancer Suryani Rasyid of Makassar. Others came from
Jakarta, Surabaya, Semarang and Klaten.

For five days at a stretch, there were at least 20 dancing,
theatrical and installation performances.

Suprapto said that these events were not the same as a
festival as in a festival it was demanded that each participant
should do their best. He said that these events would only serve
to bring together the participating artists so that they could
learn from one another and appreciate each other's works.

"We are organizing these events to allow anybody imbued with
enthusiasm and joy to create something and learn from one
another," he told The Jakarta Post.

"In a festival, an artist's spontaneous creativity usually
gets stuck because he or she finds himself or herself in a
competitive atmosphere or at least feels burdened with an
obligation to create the best work."

Art, he noted, must be placed in the perspective of the
relationship between man and God and nature so that it will also
have its ritual dimension and serve as a vehicle with which a
human development process will take place.

Audience numbers were small, but the shows went on, from
humorous renditions of shadow puppets to snake dancers.

"We, young artists, welcome events like these and will use our
fresh ideas in organizing similar programs in future," said one
of the participants, Titus, a member of Gidak Gidik Theater from
Surakarta.