'Dangdut' music beats liven up Yogyakarta nights

'Dangdut' music beats liven up Yogyakarta nights

By Asip A. Hasani

YOGYAKARTA (JP): Bathed in colorful footlights, a young girl
dressed in a tight, short dress swings her hips to the right and
left, and then moves in a circular motion to the dynamic beat of
dangdut music.

Once in a while, she exposes her thighs. And every time she
does, hundreds of spectators, mostly from the lower classes,
cheer. Some even shout dirty words. The dances performed by the
dangdut singers, who are usually female, are always the main
attraction for the audience.

The performance takes place every night at Taman Ria
Purawisata, about one kilometer east of the Yogyakarta Palace,
from 9 p.m. until midnight.

Dangdut, a mix of Malay and Indian music, is often viewed as
the music of the lower classes. However, over the last four or
five years, dangdut has become a popular middle-class
entertainment, being performed at cafes, pubs and star-rated
hotels.

Shikafe features the music every Tuesday night. Owned by noted
Indonesian painter Sapto Hoedojo, the cafe is located on Jl.
Solo Kilometer, some 500 meters east of Yogyakarta's Adi Sutjipto
Airport.

Shikafe marketing manager Remo Karsono told The Jakarta Post
the decision to feature dangdut music was made a few months ago.

"It is a new program, but we can see that our customers have
had a positive response to it," he said.

Those customers enjoying the dangdut music at the cafe include
businesspeople, politicians, intellectuals and foreign tourists.

"We have some visitors who regularly come to our cafe only on
Tuesday nights, when dangdut is performed. It is interesting that
white-collar people are addicted to dangdut," Karsono said.

A regional representative for Yogyakarta who is a fan of
dangdut is pleased with the cafe's decision to feature this
music. Although he loves the music, he did not feel comfortable
going to Purawisata to watch the performances.

"I like dangdut music very much, but you know it is difficult
for a person like me to fulfill my desire by enjoying my favorite
music at Purawisata. What will people say if they find a
legislator like me at such a place," the legislator, who
requested anonymity, told the Post.

At Shikafe not only can you enjoy live dangdut music, you can
also admire the cafe's beautiful interior. The cafe, which can
hold about a hundred people, is artistic in its design, with
Sapto's paintings hanging on the walls.

Live dangdut music can also be enjoyed every night at the cafe
in Matahari Hotel. The hotel, located on Jl. Parangtritis, brings
in different singers to spice up the program and ensure frequent
customers do not get bored.

"We believe that most Javanese love dangdut music, regardless
of their social status. That's why we chose dangdut as the main
entertainment at our cafe," the entertainment manager at Matahari
Hotel, Sumi Ardono, said.

Ardono added that it was cheaper to hire dangdut singers and
musicians than pop musicians.

He is optimistic dangdut will continue to flourish in the
entertainment world.

"Most of our customers prefer dangdut than any other live
music, saying it can ease their psychological burdens better than
any other music can," he said.

The dynamic beat of dangdut undeniably has the "power" to make
anybody dance.

Jojo, a dangdut fan who also owns a travel agency in
Yogyakarta, says he became addicted to the music after
experiencing the joy of dancing to dangdut music. He said people
could not appreciate the music without dancing to it.

"Just dance, follow the music, then you'll be addicted to it.
It's not important whether the singer's voice is good or not," he
said.

Jojo, however, said attractive female singers played a
significant role in the enjoyment of dangdut. "And of course the
singer's sexy outfit and her skill in moving erotically, too."

The marketing manager of New Java Cafi on Jl. Magelang, Leny,
acknowledged that dangdut music had the ability to make people
dance.

She said she sometimes played dangdut music to encourage
customers to dance, although the New Java Cafi mainly features
jazz music.

"When the music turns to dangdut, such as when we play Kopi
Dangdut (Dangdut Coffee) or Terlena (Carried Away), then our
guests will come on the dance floor, no matter if they are
Indonesians or foreigners," she said, adding that among the
cafe's regulars were a number of expatriates.

Commenting on the trend of cafes and clubs featuring dangdut,
sociologist Heru Nugroho of Gadjah Mada University said in the
beginning dangdut was the music of the lower classes. It is
simply normal for the number of fans to grow, not just among the
lower classes, but also among the middle and upper classes.

Citing an example, he said the blues was at first the music of
the black slaves, who expressed their sorrow through the music,
but had now become universally enjoyed.

"Being engaged in a collective dance reflects dangdut's basic
element of the communal culture of the East," he said.

He said dangdut music was influenced very much by India's
traditional music. However, he said that dangdut had its own
growth in Indonesia.

When the majority of dangdut audiences were from the lower
classes, the music absorbed what this audience wanted to express,
he said.

"The singers' sexy appearance and erotic dancing became the
common people's medium to free themselves from their hard lives,
and even from the political oppression of the Soeharto regime,"
he said. "And we can find that dangdut also expresses the
people's sorrow through its melancholy lyrics, but still with a
dynamic beat."

He said this dynamic beat reflected the people's spirit to
continue struggling for a better life.

"That's why dangdut singers, and spectators too, keep on
dancing no matter if they sing sad songs or happy ones," he said.

Nugroho is convinced dangdut music will continue to grow and
develop as the lives of the people develop.

"It is normal and even possible for dangdut to go
international, because all cultures are dynamic, open to the
influence of other cultures," he said.

Realizing that dangdut can be the music for all social
classes, Purawisata aims its live dangdut performances not only
at the lower classes, but also at those who are better off.

"Now we have Cita Cafe inside the Purawisata building for
those of the higher classes who want to enjoy our live dangdut
show," a member of Purawisata's marketing staff, Siman Hadi, told
the Post.

He said a number of foreign tourists visited Purawisata to
enjoy the dangdut.

"They also join in on the dance floor. I am sure they love
dangdut music and that this will be a lasting impression," Siman
said.