Dancer crawls out of the dump for art summit
Dancer crawls out of the dump for art summit
JAKARTA (JP): A lot of garbage will be presented at Art Summit
Indonesia 1998. However don't be mislead, in the capable hands of
choreographer Miroto, the garbage flowers and becomes an object
of beauty.
Miroto and his troupe will present Kembang Sampah (The Garbage
Flower), their latest choreography, at Gedung Kesenian Jakarta on
Tuesday and Wednesday.
"I have had a very personal experience with garbage," Miroto
once said.
His logic for making this enigmatic statement was that he was
born into a society that equates social status with material
achievement.
"Living in such a community was quite hard for me. I felt like
I had been abandoned and thrown away by the community, like a
piece of garbage," Miroto recalled.
Under these unfavorable conditions, Miroto's artistic
expression and energy blossomed. The Yogyakarta-based
choreographer, who started his dance career as a proficient
classical Javanese dancer, studied and collaborated with both
domestic and foreign artists to enrich his work.
His first dance with garbage as its central tenet, Sampah, was
created in 1985 and he has continued to explore the theme ever
since.
"I am so intrigued by 'garbage'," he said.
After studying his art in the United States, Miroto returned
in 1995 to the dustbin to create Sampah II (Garbage II).
This piece of choreography incorporates short dances of his
entitled Benang Merah 97 (Bottomline 97), Duo 97 and Enamy.
"When I was asked to perform at the Second Art Summit
Indonesia l998, I decided to return to my obsession with
garbage," Miroto added.
That was how Kembang Sampah came into being. The dance was
created through long and meticulous observation and study of
garbage.
Miroto and his dance colleagues used to frequent a dump in the
Piyungan area near Gunungkidul in Yogyakarta to learn about and
to understand rubbish, and to feel and to smell the heaving
cesspit into which it was tossed.
"We created the set, costumes and movements based on our
observations at the dump," he explained.
While working on Kembang Sampah, Miroto was shocked, along
with the rest of the country, by the events of May of this
year.
"I was horrified to see hundreds of charred bodies being
treated like garbage," he said.
Miroto's Kembang Sampah symbolizes the unfortunate and
abandoned people who can find no place of their own in society.
Nine other dancers are involved in the performance of Kembang
Sampah, including Mugiyono, Fajar Satriadi, Cahyaningtyas Dwi
Eka, Bambang Suryono and Heri from Surakarta in Central Java and
Besar Widodo, R.M. Krevianto, Sulistyo Rini and Budiawan from
Yogyakarta.
"They are all professional dancers who are capable of
interpreting ideas, concepts and choreography. They are given
freedom to become themselves, without sacrificing the content of
the work," Miroto said.
The choreographer went on to explain that he preferred to say
that his composition is a process of communicating and expressing
ideas to create the finest forms and gestures.
"I think this composition is like a dance theater in which
every dancer appears as an 'actor' who focuses on his or her
individuality when performing," said Miroto, who also studied
dance theater in Germany.
Miroto said this helped him to avoid becoming stuck in a rut
with only a single idea and a single style in the performance.
Instead, he creates a choreography which draws on the ability of
each individual and brings this together through solid teamwork.
The result is a dynamic and impressive performance.
In some parts of the composition, the choreographer maintains
unity by featuring series of uniform movements.
"In term of choreography, these movements are quite
significant and serve as a 'delicious flavor' to enliven the
dance," he said.
In Kembang Sampah, Miroto borrows the techniques of wayang
kulit (leather puppet) performances.
"When I was a child, I was mesmerized by wayang kulit shows. I
found that the performances possessed a strong dynamic energy,"
recalled Miroto.
He has adopted wayang kulit techniques to convey a story's
contents and actions in some of his previous works, including
Sampah in l985, Keringat (Sweat, l986) and Isih (l991).
Miroto's works most often begin with nonchalant situations
which lead up to conflicts and revelations, in the same way as in
the wayang kulit.
Miroto has brought in noted contemporary composer G. Djaduk
Ferianto to write the accompanying music for his latest
performance.
Miroto has also involved young fashion designer Samuel
Watimenna, who tailored the dancers' costumes. Two other artists,
Ong Hary Wahyu and Sony Sumarsono have been made responsible for
the stage set and the lighting.
"I have obtained valuable experience from collaborating with
these people," Miroto said. (raw)