Dancer Kompiang's great love is teaching

By Rita A. Widiadana

JAKARTA (JP): I Gusti Kompiang Raka is one of the country's foremost choreographers and musicians. But nothing makes him happier than passing on his skills to the next generation.

He loves teaching young people to master and appreciate traditional dances because "children play crucial roles in preserving our rich traditions. They are capable of naturally absorbing traditional values faster than older people."

Unfortunately, most Indonesian children, particularly those living in big cities, have been widely exposed to mass culture.

"Don't blame our young people if they adore Western super- heroes or glittering Hollywood stars. It is our own fault because we rarely introduce them to our rich heritage," he said.

Enticing urban youths to delve into the world of Indonesian traditions was really a difficult job for Kompiang.

Thirty years ago he established a dance group, Saraswati, named after the Hindu goddess of wisdom and knowledge, to attract Jakarta children to learn Balinese dancing.

"Only a few children came, but it did not discourage me at all. I felt so lucky to have any pupils in the capital," he said.

But his enthusiasm soon turned to anxiety. "How could I teach Balinese dances which are closely related to Hindu philosophy to children from different cultural and religious backgrounds?"

Kompiang's dilemma was that the Balinese regard music and dancing as divine creations. Many Balinese dances were originally composed for religious purposes. As time went on, however, more dances were performed outside temple rituals.

"Dances were eventually created just to entertain people and to display dancers' talents," Kompiang said.

Together with seven colleagues, Kompiang is now intensively training more than 200 students registered with the Saraswati dance group.

"I carefully selected dances outside compositions created for ritual needs," he said,

Like music, he added, dancing requires a certain standard of technical perfection. It needs years of special physical training and practice before a student becomes truly accomplished.

"In Balinese dances, music and body motions become one. An excellent performer does not depend only on his/her skill, but also personality, emotional intensity and the expressiveness of his features," he said.

In Bali, a regular dancer may develop into a takshu (master), when he/she reaches the highest level of emotional and religious vigor and personal radiance when performing a dance.

"Takshu dancers present their shows to their Creator rather than amusing the audience," Kompiang said,

In Jakarta, his main objective is to endow his students with technical skills which include sequences of each dance, basic steps and movements and the history and philosophy of each dance.

Skills

"Through arts, children can learn self-discipline, social skills, patience and endurance, all of which are important to their mental and physical development," he said.

Like other big cities, Jakarta offers no conducive atmosphere for artistic teaching, especially for school-age children.

"We face so many obstacles in attracting young people to learn dance, music, fine arts, and other forms of artistic activity," said Kompiang, a member of the management board of Gedung Kesenian Jakarta, the Jakarta Playhouse.

In the globalization era, children are now required to master science and technology. School curricula focus more on these subjects, while arts ware overlooked, Kompiang said.

"Most students have to stay at school longer than we used to. After school programs are mostly filled with additional classes aimed at sharpening their academic skills.

"With so much school and homework, our children have no time to participate in art and leisure activities," Kompiang said.

A study by American scholars, however, reveals that art activities can boost children's academic skills and sharpen their emotional intelligence, qualities urgently needed in their adult lives.

Childhood

"I was very fortunate to spend my childhood in a small Balinese village where arts and tradition guided people's lives," Kompiang reminisced.

Born in Singapadu 48 years ago, little Kompiang learned to dance and play gamelan when he was five years old. He was trained by his father and other famous gamelan and dance masters including Made Keretek, father of renowned Balinese artist and scholar I Made Bandem.

"At that time, I didn't known that they were distinguished artists. I just played the instruments and had fun with other kids," he recalled.

He grew into a gifted artist and formed a music group. They performed in villages across the island before he arrived in Jakarta in the early l960s.

"I often spent the night at TIM (Taman Ismail Marzuki arts center) or at friends' houses after performing gamelan and dance," he said of his early days in the capital.

In Jakarta, he grabbed all opportunities that came his way. He eventually stepped into the world of modern music when he collaborated with Guruh Sukarnoputra, Keenan Nasution and other composers to make an experimental record called Guruh Gypsy which compounds Western elements with Balinese gamelan.

Kompiang also forged his own unique traditional music with other genres. In association with contemporary composer Trisutji Kamal, whose works are rich in Islamic nuances, Kompiang produced distinguished sounds.

Kompiang, Trisutji, Iswargia Sudarno and other musicians are now widely known on the international music scene. Their concerts are held in prestigious cultural centers in New York, Paris, London, Rome, Athens, Cairo and Tokyo, among others.

His wide musical interests also brought him to collaborate with rock music. Kompiang helped local rocker Achmad Albar and his music group Gong 2000 produce an East-meets-West music project blending traditional and rock elements.

Jazz musicians from Australia and the United States also invited Kompiang to a joint concert. His most recent project was a religious music recording with teenage pop idol Dewa Budjana.

"My collaborations with these artists have enriched my life because I have an inadequate academic background and experience of modern music."

Despite his accomplishments, Kompiang prefers to dedicate most of his time to teaching Balinese dance.

"My greatest satisfaction is gained from seeing my students master Balinese dance techniques and watching them perform."

Jakarta dance lovers can enjoy the fruits of Kompiang's tireless efforts when dozens of his students present Cupu Manik Astigina and other works at Gedung Kesenian Jakarta (Phone 3441892, 3808283) today at 3:30 p.m.