Didik Nini Thowok blends different cultures on stage

Didik Nini Thowok blends different cultures on stage

Israr Ardiansyah, The Jakarta Post, Yogyakarta

Blending elements of Javanese and Japanese culture in dance
may seem almost inconceivable, but noted dancer Didik Nini Thowok
has succeeded in creating a synergy between the two.

Titled Kala Kina Kini, which in Javanese means "from past to
present", the show by the Didik Nini Thowok Foundation held on
Monday evening at Purna Budaya Art Center in Yogyakarta drew an
enthusiastic audience.

Hundreds of tickets at prices ranging from Rp 15,000 (US$1.3)
to Rp 50,000 were sold out. The audience gave a standing ovation
after watching four separate compositions in the 90-minute show.

Five female dancers in contemporary costumes performed the
Kipas dance. Resembling the Japanese traditional dance Nihon
Buyo, the dancers waved ogi (Japanese traditional fans) to
illustrate the different seasons in Japan. The Javanese elements
in the dance were the musical accompaniment and batik dress worn
as a kimono by performer Richard Emmert.

For the show, Didik developed one of his trademark comedy
dances Dwimuka (Two Faces) -- where he usually dances with two
masks: one on his face and the other on the other side -- into
Panca-Muka (Five Faces). Here, he transformed into five different
women in only minutes.

The only comical dance in the show prompted the silent
audience to burst into laughter when he ended the dance piece by
yelling out "Yuk ... mang! (Come on ... mang)" before leaving the
stage in his loosely fitting costume. The scene parodied RCTI's
popular Saturday midnight program Angin Malam (Night Breeze)
featuring mysterious alluring dancer Putri Malam (Lady of the
Night).

The peak of the performance was Bedhaya-Hagoromo, a medley of
traditional Javanese palace dances Bedhaya and popular Japanese
plays of the classical mask drama Noh repertory: Hagoromo.

Hagoromo, meaning feathered robe, tells of an angel who comes
down to earth to bathe and a fisherman who steals her robe. She
begs him to return her robe. He finally returns the robe, on one
condition: she has to dance for him.

The Bedhaya dance, which was performed by nine males as female
impersonators, merged into Hagoromo when the nine suddenly turned
their backs to don Japanese masks. The traditional Javanese music
harmonized with Japanese vocals sung by Richard Emmert.

Didik performed the dance as an angel who flew back to heaven
with the chorus describing how she flew over the pine woods of
Mio, the peaks of Mount Fuji before fading away into the clouds.

Richard Emmert, an American who has been living in Japan for
31 years and is one of the country's most respected Noh drama
artists could not disguise his satisfaction.

"It's an interesting challenge to mix the Javanese Bedhaya
with the Japanese Noh since they have a different energy. I'm
very happy with the success of Didik's performance," he told The
Jakarta Post.

"He has been popular as a dancer performing comic
characterizations but it (the performance) has shown that he's a
good and serious dancer too. I'm proud to have a student named
Didik Nini Thowok," he added.

Didik learned Noh drama from experts in Japan, including
Emmert, during a Japan Foundation fellowship program he joined
last year.

Meanwhile, renowned ethnomusicologist Alex Dea, who supported
the show, said that his biggest challenge was to provide a smooth
and harmonious melody for the performance. "The challenge is: how
to give a suitable accompaniment for this show," he said.

Vincent Lelay, one of the International Mask Festival's
committee, said Didik had made a huge contribution to the
promotion of Indonesian traditional masks through his
performances.

"It's a pity only a few sponsors wanted to participate in this
cultural event," he said.

Kala Kina Kini has proven that Didik Nini Thowok, born as
Didik Hadiprayitno, could be a serious dancer.

Jakartans would have been the first to watch the show if the
scheduled performance in October was not canceled due to security
reasons. They will have to wait until March next year to watch
the harmonious blend of Javanese and Japanese culture on stage.