Ballet students to perform 'Kebon' at TIM

Leony Aurora, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Fifteen students from several ballet schools in Jakarta will dance a contemporary piece, Kebon, (Garden), to grace the closing of the Jakarta Culture Festival on Sept. 6.

Dutch choreographer Gerard Mosterd has been asked especially to create a piece for the show, set to take place at Taman Ismail Marzuki arts center, Cikini, Central Jakarta.

"I chose 'garden' because it is a subject that is open to the imagination," said Gerard at a press conference recently. "Everybody has their own idea of a garden: kindergarten, zoo garden, Bogor Botanical Garden, or whatever," he said.

For the 25-minutes of the premier performance, the audience, as well as dancers, will be invited to forget the reality of life and delve into a garden of lights, sounds and movement.

Like his other works, Kebon is a mixture of Western and Indonesian approaches to dancing. "Classical ballet is a scientific approach to analyze movements from the outside.

"Javanese court dance was derived from inside as a means to express philosophy or spirituality," said Gerard, who has Javanese blood in his veins from his mother's side of the family.

"This piece reflects my Indies culture."

The performance is the choreographer's first experience of working solely with amateur dancers. Gerard has toured in Indonesia in the last couple of years with professional dancers from Switzerland, the Netherlands and Malaysia.

"Working with professionals is easy. They always deliver a beautiful performance," he said. "The challenge is to mold amateur dancers to reach an acceptable level."

With only three weeks of rehearsals, Gerard faced not only technical challenges but also bad habits -- being late or failing to show up.

But he remains optimistic. "From what I see, I think they'll be OK," said Gerard.

Kebon is the second act of the performance, organized by the Association of Ballet Teachers and Trainers (IPPB). Ballet dancers from 10 schools, members of the association, will perform 10 short pieces -- each for three to six minutes -- in the first act, which will start at 7 p.m..

Children will twirl in their tutus in Sailor Dance, Spanish Girl, and Catching Butterfly. Contemporary dances include Colors of Life by Vidyarani Ballet Studio and Dreams by Cicilia Ballet while Namarina Dance Company will present Spanish Concerto at the end of the first act.

Free tickets can be obtained from one hour before the show at the venue.

Jakata Culture Festival, Taman Ismail Marzuki, Cikini, Central Jakarta