City captured world of four ages in 'Catur Yuga'

JAKARTA (JP): The circle of time versus the linear lines of it.

With this as its concept, the Swiss Embassy, The Goethe Institute in Jakarta and the Jakarta Playhouse are presenting an arts exhibition and a contemporary music and dance performance called Catur Yuga.

The dance and musical performance is scheduled for July 22 at the playhouse in Central Jakarta at 8 p.m., while the nine-day arts exhibition will open on the same day at the Regent Hotel in South Jakarta.

The Hindu concept of the cyclical emergence, destruction, reemergence of life and the cosmos, as opposed to the Western "linear" understanding of the cosmic process -- with a beginning and an end -- forms the primary background for the Catur Yuga project.

Catur Yuga is Sanskrit for the four world ages -- Kreta Yuga (golden age of holy times), Treta Yuga (a time for sacrifice to make up for the quarterly decline in truth and righteousness), Dvaparaya Yuga (the Age of Realism without Contemplation) and Kali Yuga (the current "World Age" characterized by low morality, materialism, individualism and war). The Catur Yuga performance here will portray the infusion of "linear" influences into cyclical times.

The musical program consists of three interesting compositions. While I Ketut Cater of Bali rewrote his composition Kreta Masa, Thomas Kessler of Switzerland and Dieter Mack of Germany will make use of 24-member gamelan orchestra Anggur Jaya as a means to express their individual Western compositions with Parabel (Kessler) and Catur (Mack).

Having learned the gamelan for 20 years, Mack said the performance would be more of a "confrontation" than a compromise between two factors: traditional and contemporary music.

"You will not see a compromise; that would mean getting a mesh of a half of something and another half of something," Mack said.

"What we have here is a question-and-answer thing going on between traditional and contemporary music, it's like a healthy debate."

Swiss choreographer Esther Sutter spoke of her choreography, A Break in Time, which is one of two choreographies to be presented tonight. Her choreography will be performed by the Sonia Carioni/Daniel Almada Ensemble for Dance and Electronic Music.

"A Break In Time is about nature's four elements, namely air, fire, earth and water (representing cyclical times; Catur Yuga) moving in time to gamelan music. All of this represents traditionalism," Esther said about her four-dancer choreography.

"The break-in comes with electronic music, composed by Balinese musician I Nyoman Windha, and theatrics to enforce its significance comes with shadow play of wayang kulit (shadow leather puppets).

"I use the shadow play to portray fear; to make changes seem bigger-than-life; like danger breaking in."

She said she saw the "break-in" as a representation of the lifestyle of today as well.

"Now, there is just too much traffic and pollution, not like in the old days."

The art exhibition comprises original works by Balinese artist Made Wianta and Swiss artist Andreas Straub. It shows an installation of different artistic media, including drawings in black and white. The Swiss artist recorded them in Bali while the Balinese recorded his in Switzerland.

In conjunction with the concept of Catur Yuga, a composers and musicians' workshop organized in collaboration with the Association of Indonesian Composers (AKI), will be held at The Goethe Institute Jakarta, Jl. Matraman Raya 23, East Jakarta, July 23, at 7 p.m.

The Swiss Embassy is celebrating 150 years of the modern Swiss state this year. (ylt)