Eko Supriyanto dances into the limelight

Eko Supriyanto dances into the limelight

Blontank Poer, The Jakarta Post, Surakarta, Central Java

Nothing is more irritating to Eko Supriyanto than being
labeled an "artist who compromises for the market", simply
because he works in collaboration with mainstream artists.

"It is as if artistic quality is equated with the success in
serving one's ego and that art is only for art's sake," said the
33-year-old choreographer-cum dancer.

Eko, who teaches at the school of dance at the Indonesian Arts
Academy in Surakarta, Central Java, began to make a name for
himself after local media ran stories about his role as a
background dancer for American pop diva Madonna last year.

His role in Madonna's tour has become something of a double
edged sword. It helped catapult him to stardom but also attracted
accusations that he had sacrificed his original style.

Eko isn't overly concerned by the criticism, believing the
collaboration was part of his "socialization", which is vital for
his creative process.

This socialization is important in enriching his experience
and sharpening his skills, he insists.

It was this belief that drove Eko to participate in an open
audition last March for the supporting cast in Madonna's Drowned
World Tour 2001. After a rigorous selection process, he was
chosen from among 3,000 applicants as one of the eight dancers
the superstar needed.

At first he was not particularly interested in the offer made
by a talent scout agency contracted by Madonna in Los Angeles.
After all, he had already signed a contract to perform a solo
dance work at the Getty Museum in Los Angeles on May 25.

Fortunately, his reputation as a dancer who has mastered both
classical Javanese dance and modern compositions saw Madonna's
manager give in to his request for a time-out. He was given a
break from the 12-hour a day, six-day a week practice routine for
the Madonna tour to perform with an American composer of
Indonesian origin, I Nyoman Wenten.

Nyoman Wenten had asked him to arrange the musical
accompaniment to his four dance compositions.

Eko was already well known to California's art lovers. He
frequently toured American cities during the four years he spent
pursuing his studies for a master's degree at the Department of
World Arts and Cultures, University of California, Los Angeles
(UCLA).

In California, he was known as a young dancer who was often
involved in collaborations with other artists while learning the
techniques of modern dance and choreography. His gurus include
leading artists such as Victoria Marks, Angelia Leung, Simone
Forti, Nina Martin and David Rousseve.

The American public first got to know Eko when in 1997 he was
invited to participate in the International Choreographers in
Residency program conducted by the world's most reputable dance
festival, the American Dance Festival (ADF) in New York and
Durham, North Carolina.

His success at the ADF paved the way for him to become guest
dancer for the Sutra Dance Theater in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, in
the same year.

Following this event, in 1999 Eko was again invited to
participate in a program organized by UCLA's Center for
Intercultural Performances in the Asia Pacific Performance
Exchange (APPEX), a prominent forum presenting numerous talented
young choreographers from all over the world.

His collaborative work with a Korean choreographer, Sen Hea Ha
and a Tibetan artist, entitled Exile added further to his
reputation. The famous dance critics, Lewis Seagal and Jennifer
Fisher, wrote in glowing terms of their highly acclaimed
performance.

Eko also enjoyed the invaluable experience of collaborating
with some of America's leading theater and opera directors, such
as Peter Sellar and Julie Taymor. Under Sellar's direction, he
played an important character in an opera entitled Le Grand
Macabre, which was produced by Gyorgy Ligeti at Chatelet Theatre
in Paris, France in 1998.

The same performance was staged a year later during the grand
opening of the most reputable theater in London's Royal Opera
House.

Julie Taymor, the director and creator of the film The Lion
King, asked Eko to act as a dance consultant for the musical
opera at Pantages Theatre, Hollywood, famous for its Broadway
area. After his success in working on the movements of The Lion
King's main characters, Simba, Mala and Musafa, Eko was asked to
handle another project funded by the entertainment giant, Disney,
in Hamburg, Germany this month (February).

Regarding his success in The Lion King musical opera, Eko said
that he felt honored to have earned Taymor's trust. Furthermore,
he was able to experiment by incorporating the rich vocabulary of
Javanese and Balinese dance movements.

In Indonesia, the dance masters who had the greatest influence
on him during his early days were Kahari and Alit Maryono, his
dance teachers at his high school in Magelang, Central Java. His
other gurus were choreographer S. Pamardi and Sardono W. Kusumo
as well as the doyen of Javanese classical dance, the late
Ngaliman and S. Maridi.

After his project in Hamburg, Eko will concentrate on managing
a dance group that he established in 1998, Solo Dance Studio.
This year he plans to produce his latest creation, which will be
performed in two cities, Surabaya and Pekanbaru, Riau.

Some of his works that have been performed include: Leleh (in
Surakarta and Jakarta, 1996), Nya-hi (various cities, 1998),
Continental Shift (Highways Performance Space, Los Angeles,
2000), Second Journey (Indonesia and Korea, 1997 - 2000) and
Joged (Getty Museum, Los Angeles, 2001).