Ballet students to perform 'Kebon' at TIM

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