Choreographers find commond ground

Choreographers find commond ground

By Helly Minarti

DEPOK, West Java (JP): When two eloquent choreographers from
different continents come together in a workshop, they cross all
cultural divides.

Indonesian Gusmiati Suid and German Jochim Scholmer conversed
on the core aspects that fuel creations on stage.

The exchange, which began in Depok Tuesday and ends today, was
arranged by the Goethe Institute.

The meeting ground was a pendopo Javanese-style open pavillion
owned by Maria D. Hoetomo-Saptodewo, a choreographer and
Gusmiati's neighbor.

The results will be shown to the public at 10 a.m. today at
the Gumarang Sakti studio, Jl. Persahabatan 1, on the grounds of
the open studio of TVRI.

Scholmer, 35, said the workshop was "the first time I taught
and learnt something again after eight years of choreographing".

He founded a dance company in Weimar in 1994, and was
appointed director of Tanztheater Basel, Switzerland, last March.

He has choreographed for the White Oak Dance Project led by
the renowned Mikhail Baryshnikov, and at the Jakarta Arts Summit
in 1995.

Gumarang, 55, is know for her modern interpretations of the
West Sumatran, or Minang, traditions imbued by the traditional
martial art of pencak silat.

In Germany in 1994, she shared the stage with major names in
international modern dance, including Pina Bausch of Germany and
Isadora Duncan of United States, in a festival celebrating the
centenary of modern dance in Leverkussen.

Minang dance was previously defined by the soft-supple
movements of the Malay dance genre, but Gusmiati has returned it
to its roots: the dynamic pencak silat and the Minang oral
tradition bakaba, heavily influenced by Islamic teachings.

In a housing complex in a secluded area of Depok, where four
of Indonesia's top choreographers have built their dance studios,
training centers and villas, Scholmer spent five days in
intensive sharing of ideas with dancers of Gumarang Sakti.

It was give and take, as both Suid and Scholmer tried to
understand each other's style and philosophy.

Essence

The result was an enriching dialog for both sides.

"Scholmer's approach to movement is more inward from the
inside to the outside -- while here we express it the opposite
way," Gusmiati said.

The essence of the martial art, she continued, lay in the
principle of constant "alertness" to the meanings of the outside
world.

It consists of awareness of the eyes (to "see" every
activity), the erect position, the kudo-kudo, or ready stance,
techniques of gele (parring an attack), gonyek(commencing the
attack), dancing steps, kicking and falling.

Boi G. Sakti, Gusmiati's eldest son and also a noted
choreographer, showed all the pencak silat movements to Scholmer,
complete with each meaning and symbol.

"It's very hard to follow, and truly something new for me,"
admitted Scholmer.

"They are very bound to nature while mine is more space-
conscious and bound to humans," said the graduate of
Folkswanghochschule in Essen, one of Germany's major modern dance
centers.

"All movements are ruled by the catui langkah (the chess
step)," explained Gusmiati.

"Every one of them has to open some possibilities to start the
next movement (jurus), otherwise we don't use it if it's not a
good one."

In addition to its use for self-defense, pencak silat, she
said, is part of life. "It is how we interact with others --
things, nature and people."

In turn, Scholmer revealed the energy sources of every
movement from inside the body.

"It's quite an input for us -- it's not necessarily the
movement but how it is produced by the body," said Gusmiati.

"We tend to take for granted the movements we perform. Now we
have become more aware (of them).

Scholmer then guided the six dancers, including Boi, in
exploring several basic movements based on his approach.

There were a series of diagonal movements with each particular
step, and others using hands, torso and feet which denoted
fluttering, gliding, shivering and circling in space.

"When I say 'space', it doesn't go far to cosmic ideas. Just
the (imaginary) cube as Leonardo da Vinci once pointed out. The
space that surrounds me," Scholmer said.

Reflection

In between sessions, the dancers reflected on their art.

For Gusmiati, her body of work, spanning over two decades, is
a journey to closer understanding of her Minang heritage.

"The Minang philosophy lies in the principle of baguru ka alam
takambang, she said. "It means every human being, or generation,
in his/her own life has to interact with the present."

There are no restrictions as "everyone is free to give his or
her interpretation", she said.

Gusmiati's latest creation, based on the Minang oral
traditions and martial arts, was last month's Kabar Burung
(Rumors), adopted from a folktale.

As for Scholmer, he uses the multifaceted elements of humans
as the soul of his choreography, what he calls "the
vulnerability, the fullness and the emptiness of human beings."

Unlike pencak silat, which sees the relationship to other
people and nature more as a balance between defense-offense
mechanisms, he said he saw it more as a space to express thoughts
which will set him free in creation.

"It's a rare occasion for us to make direct contact with the
nature. For example, we usually rehearse in a cellar, in four-
walled space lit by artificial lighting, not in an open space
like this (pendopo), where nature is right before your eyes and
you can see the natural lighting."

That is why, he said, he tended to reach into his inner self
in relation to space.

In choreographing, Scholmer treads an interesting path.

"I confuse myself to set my mind free. For me dance can be so
minimal or maximal. What really counts is the idea behind all
movement."

This is clearly stated in one of his pieces, Hochland (The
Highland), performed at the Jakarta Arts Summit in 1995.

The choreography may have disappointed spectators expecting
harmonious movements of mainstream modern dance.

Telling of the extremes of life -- bright and dark -- in its
depiction of the Scottish highlands, Hochland was marked by
flickering movements, many of them resembling the trivialities of
daily life.

Scholmer is now preparing his next piece, called the Lisbon-
Project, his impression of the city and the people, based on his
exploration with two other members his dance company. He said it
may be performed sometime next year in Jakarta.