Bright future for local choreography

By Mariam K. Sutalaksana

JAKARTA (JP): Vibrant and entertaining is the best phrase to describe last Thursday's dance performance. The creativity of Indonesian choreographers is on an upward momentum.

The Performance of Selected Choreography Winners of the Gedung Kesenian Jakarta Awards '97 confirmed this. These winners displayed their finesse in the first event of the International Festival of the Performing Arts. This is the first of a series of events being held until Oct. 11, celebrating the center's 10th anniversary.

The night featured the first, second and third place winners of the Choreography Award, a competition which was held from Aug. 1 to Aug. 5. Interestingly enough, despite the participation of several senior choreographers, the awards were won by a younger group of artists. One might call them the "next generation" of Indonesian choreographers.

This added to the excitement of their works which were full of energy and innovation. From the categories of Traditional, Modern and Entertainment, nine participants won the honor to show off their works to the audience at the center that night.

Sakerah, by Nanang Ruswandi, from the traditional category, was the appetizer of the night's performances, which were rooted mostly in traditional Indonesian dances and/or culture. Seven out of nine dances either used the theme, music or costumes of Indonesian traditional culture, while the other two, both from the Modern category, Goda by Jecko Kurniawan and Hitam Putih by Maria Bernadeth, did not.

Goda, the winner of the Modern category, was performed by Kurniawan himself and his girlfriend, Ratna Ully. This piece was a very personal one being the story of their romance. When asked, Kurniawan explained: "I wanted to express my romance utilizing choreographic techniques."

He also used diagonal, vertical and horizontal space in his creation. The music was futuristic with pauses of silence, and while slightly choppy, served its purpose. Using T-shirts as props added more interest to their performance. The dance ends with the woman grabbing the man's white T-shirt as he walks like a dog off the stage towards the audience.

Though this couple won first place in the Modern category, and was the winner of the special award, their performance was overshadowed by at least two of the other dances; Tuduang by Deslenda from Olah Tari Galang Group, Padang, and Indang Saliguri by Faisal Amri from IKIP, Padang.

Tuduang was also performed by a couple wearing white T-shirts and black trousers.

However, the performance by Saadiah and David Sae was definitely something to remember. Their clean movements did not distract the audience. The mantra-like music was enchanting, like a Buddhist prayer. The bobbing of the tuduang (cone-shaped hat) throughout the dance was hypnotizing. Sal Murgiyanto, one of the judges, said during the last day of the competition, "A modern dance should leave an impression in one's heart long after the show has ended." Tuduang has done exactly that.

In contrast, Indang Saliguri, from the entertainment category was something to be enjoyed. The bright red and white costumes of the seven dancers were a delight to the eyes. The music was rhythmic, using clapping and the sound of the indang, a hand held percussion instrument from West Sumatra. The choreographer developed this dance by using the indang, as it is in traditional Pariaman culture. It portrays the liveliness of youth.

From the traditional category, Para-empuan by Lalu Suryadi Mulawarman won first place. This dance is a more solemn piece, rooted deep in Lombok's culture. The four women, who wore black sarongs with black embroidered tops and had their hair up in small buns, spent most of their time on stage crouching.

They walked with their legs bent close to the earth, and singing in a language used only in Lombok, placed the audience in a setting that was truly traditional. The darkened stage was lit with dim lights and a lantern held by one dancer. The lighting and the burning incense gave the performance a mystical feel. Mulawarman is searching for the Para-empuan, the essence of women in this creation.

The one common thread in the choreographies was the music. Although the choices were diverse and each one unique, many chose to use Indonesia's rich traditional music. Others concocted a mixture of pop, Michael Jackson-like music, such as in Ferarai by Rifa Susilawati, Kurniawan and Indra Zubir, or used an eclectic futuristic modern style as in Goda and Hitam Putih.

Bernadeth, the choreographer of Hitam Putih chose to create a promising piece using silence and eclectic modern music. The use of rings on their wrists, which gave out tinkling sounds, added to the modern sense of the piece.

Other dances shown were Hep-ta-hu by Amri and Dantiang- Dantiang by Benny Andria. Dantiang-Dantiang caught the interest of the audience for its comic appeal. It was a parody of the traditional West Sumatran dance Tari Piring, where male dancers wore female costumes and make-up.

Originality was evident in all the pieces performed in the show. This came from the way in which each choreographer blended the ingredients, namely traditional, modern and pop movements. Looking back on this experience, it would not be exaggerating to say the future of Indonesian choreography is bright. Indonesians should and will be experiencing greater exposure to this field of the performing arts.