Choreographer imitates wooden puppet dance

By Danarto

JAKARTA (JP): Eyes meet and unite. Heartbeats flutter. Passionate time drags on. Love in a flame of corporeal passion. Kelaswara writhes. Jayengrana is stuck. Cupid's arrows fly, paralyzing both in ecstasy. The battlefield is instantaneously pulverized. A rhapsody of amorous ecstasy wafts high into the sky.

King Jayengrana has safely passed through one battle after another. King Jayengrana, or Amir Ambyah, of Koparman Kingdom has defeated 50 kings in a great war. When attacking Kelan Kingdom, Jayengrana comes face to face with Senapati Kelaswara, the crown princess of King Kelanjari. Beautiful, graceful and intelligent Kelaswara is charmed by the handsome, charismatic and powerful Jayengrana the inight. Both succumb to the mighty force called love. The war stops and reconciliation starts.

The love that has put an end to the fight between Kelaswara and Jayengrana has turned the political course 180 degrees. The countries have agreed upon a truce not because of their politics of love but rather owing to their genuine love for each other. Love eventually becomes a guideline for life, politics, social affairs and work.

Meanwhile, Adaninggar, the Chinese princess who falls in love with Jayengrana and follows him to every battlefield, cannot accept the ties between the new lovers. Though superior in power to Kelaswara, Adaninggar loses her life in a fight with Kelaswara, who stole Jayengrana's weapon and used it to kill her foe.

S. Kardjono, a veteran dancer and choreographer of Senapati Kelaswara, based his work -- which was recently staged at Taman Ismail Marzuki arts center in Central Jakarta -- on a story derived from Javanese Serat Menak. The dance piece was a beautiful performance along with Asa di Ujung Tanduk by Gusmiati Suid and Pakarena by Wiwiek Sipala. In terms of movement, the Kelaswara dance imitates a Central Javanese wooden puppet dance created by Sri Sultan Hamengkubuwono IX in 1941. When he visited Padang, West Sumatra, in 1943, he added West Sumatra's martial arts movement of silat to the dance.

This four-act show was arranged in sequence, featuring scenes in the audience hall of Koparman Kingdom, Mariboyo royal resthouse, Harga Sindula palace and Kelan Kingdom. Jayengrana's greatness is seen in every battle he fights. He is always escorted by his two wives, Sudarawerti and Sirtupelaheli. Princess Adaninggar, meanwhile, has come specially from China only to admire and love him. The three ladies are excellent combatants, leading every attack and protecting Jayengrana against their enemies' threats.

The melodious names of the cast -- Mardawa, Mardawi, Marwati, Marsini, Umarmaya, Umarmadi, Yusupadi, Maktal, Lamdahur, Jiweng, Toples, Thersianah, Yoloanifah, Diasira, Siandinah, Rismanah, Pinurtiafah, Dewanifah, Ambarwati, Ambarsari, Ambarsirat, Ambarrini, Ambarrukmi, Ambaratri, Gajahiber and Gajahbahur -- enlivened the production. Despite the fairly big size of the cast, the director arranged the scenes and the costumes well, so that there was enough focus on Jayengrana and Kelaswara.

With 32 dancers and a full gamelan orchestra of about 25 musicians, including a few trumpeters, the dance piece was smoothly performed. However, the number of fighting scenes could have been reduced to avoid repetition. The colors of the costumes, characteristically those used for the costumes of dolls, combined with staccato movements were fresh to the eyes of the audience.

Senapati Kelaswara is a Javanese operatic performance in which all dancers, from the largest down to the smallest roles, are required to dance and sing. In this performance, there were at least three outstanding dancers. The director, Kardjono, playing the role of King Jamun (Jayengrana's foe), is a veteran dancer who has toured much of the world to display his tenor voice in Javanese operatic performances. Miroto, assuming the role of Jayengrana, has also often toured the world. He is a great dancer who prides himself on his outstanding leg movement. There was also Dewi Sulastri Suryandara, a beautiful dancer playing the role of Kelaswara. Thanks to her excellent dancing and her beautiful, clear and loud voice, she is destined to be a great dancer some day.

The most important thing in a Menak Wooden Puppet dance performance is how a dancer imitates to the best of his/her ability the staccato movement of a wooden puppet. Therefore, a Menak Wooden Puppet dance will never entail dramatization. Unfortunately, a dramatic situation will always crop up. Perhaps the dancers have forgotten the guidelines and perhaps they think that a dramatic situation is too good to ignore. A case in point is the situation that pertains after Adaninggar loses her life in a duel against Kelaswara. On Jayengrana's lap, she reveals to the great knight her deep love for him: "Tiyang Agung, though I fail, To be wed to thee, My love for you, I bring to the life beyond".

It was a heart-rending scene not only for the cast but also for some members of the audience. During the two days of this dance performance, the two singers could not help crying until it affected their singing.

On the one hand, the performance was considered inappropriate because it turned dramatic. On the other, it was considered successful because it left the audience in tears; another reason was the beautiful dancing.