Elegy for Surabaya in collaborative dances

years ago,

with tears and blood

they defend you

and they succeed

tonight

under the stars

with heart and soul

we are dancing and wishing

for a better Surabaya

SURABAYA (JP): For choreographer Linda Josephine, Surabaya is a source of inspiration.

The director of Elles Dance Company expressed her inspiration through Elegy of Dance and Poetry for Surabaya, a choreography dedicated to the 708th anniversary celebration of Surabaya.

The two-night performance at Majapahit Hotel on May 24 and May 25, were applauded by the Surabaya audience, who had been longing for such quality dance performance.

Linda Josephine, collaborating with other choreographers, namely Bimo Wiwohatmo, Besar Widodo, Izumi Nagano and Chuan Han Kee, presented seven dances, which were supposed to reflect the present situation.

Concern among artists on the fate of Surabaya had been expressed in many ways. Before the dance performance started, poet Hardjono WS read his poem on Surabaya.

The dance performance itself was opened with Lotus, a creation by Bimo Wiwohatmo. It was about a goddess' flower of life. Performed by Bimo, Mila Halim and Justine Lauwardi, it was quite fascinating as a start, with the stage's dark background enriched with a play of lights.

In Sangkakala, Bimo tells that life has become mechanical, everybody lives like robots, which have no soul. A dancer who moved dynamically in the center of the stage, was surrounded by six other dancers who moved just as dynamically and repetitively. The music, composed by Izumi Nagano, hypnotized the audience.

Other dances performed were A Peaceful Sketch by Besar Widodo, Aurora by Linda Josephine, Soul by Bimo, Initiation by Izumi Nagano and Mei Hua San Lung by Chun Han Kee. It is necessary to note the successful collaboration between Josephine's Elles Dance Company and other choreographers from different traditions of dance. Bimo Wiwohatmo was trained in Javanese classical dances before learning choreography from maestro Bagong Kussudiardjo in Yogyakarta. Izumi Nagano has a unique combination of Japanese and Korean culture, and her involvement in both the music and dance gave a special flavor to the whole performances.

Besar Widodo also studied under Bagong and became a teacher at the Padepokan.

Linda Josephine, who is also a member of Dewan Kesenian Surabaya, grew up with classical ballet. She founded her own school (Elles School of Ballet) and dance company in 1994 after 14 years of teaching classical ballet. She is now noted as a trendsetter in classical ballet in Surabaya.

But there seemed to be a gap between the objective of the performance, which was to express concern on Surabaya, and the essence of the dances.

They were beautiful and entertaining dances, but not so inspiring.

Audience who hoped to see the "unorganized Surabaya" or "the depressed denizens" described through the dancing, costumes and settings, would have been disappointed. The choreography was finely performed, but the elegy was not successfully expressed.

Presenting cultural performances for Surabaya denizens has become Majapahit Hotel's goal the last two years. It is like an oasis in a dry land, which does not give importance to culture.

The audience hungry for cultural activities is there. Unfortunately, the government does not seem to care.

Surabaya is busy calling itself the city of Indamardi, which stands for Industri (industry), Dagang (trade), Maritim (maritime) and Pendidikan (education). That excludes the importance of cultural life.

Celebrating its 708th anniversary, however, Surabaya has planned and organized a wide range of activities.

In the same hotel, for example, the painting works of A. Kadir Zaelani, which includes "Pandegiling", "Hotel Yamato", "Kembang Jepun", "Pabean" and "Kalimas", whose subjects are places in Surabaya, will be on display from June 9 to June 19.

It would be a fiesta for Surabaya residents as they can enjoy reminiscing the old Surabaya through the paintings.

-- Riyadi Ngasiran and Sirikit Syah