Bright future for local choreography

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.