Collaborative show celebrates simplicity

Collaborative show celebrates simplicity

Murdani Usman, Contributor, Denpasar

Hilarious and refreshing for the mind. Those words perfectly
describe the atmosphere during the collaboration show presented
by local and international artists celebrating the Denpasar-based
Indonesia Arts Institute's 35th anniversary.

During the show, the artists combined music, theater and dance
into fresh and communicative entertainment, easily enjoyed by the
audience.

The show was performed by Les Fire Warriors group with
Indonesian dancer Didik Ninik Towok alongside French and
Mongolian artists Caroline Obin, Bulko and Baska Jargal last
week.

Based on body language and sound to convey the story to the
audience, the show was easily grasped by those who were familiar
with local theater groups like Srimulat or Ketoprak Humor despite
the absence of formal dialog.

The artists, however, did not make dumb movements just to
incite laughs. Instead, each of them responded to music dominated
by drums, percussions and other musical instruments while
continuing to perform their roles in the show, which was prepared
in a relatively short time.

The supple and humorous Didik Ninik Towok stood out throughout
the performance, often creating ripples of laughter and applause
from the audience. The French artist portraying a clown also
deserves credit for his method of communicating hunger, shouting
in his French accent, "Nasi Goreng (Fried Rice)" and "Babi Guling
(Grilled Pork)".

The show also used simple things, like a plastic bag, which
was swept, blown about, kicked and even eaten, as if to convey
the message, "keep things clean", or "when hungry, I'll eat
everything".