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.