French-RI artist exchange program features wayang

French-RI artist exchange program features wayang

By Emilie Sueur

JAKARTA (JP): Cultural collaboration between France and
Indonesia seems to be on a right track as, for the second time,
the French Cultural Center (CCF) in Jakarta invited French
artists to take part in its artist-in-residence program.

The aim of this program, also called Nusantara, is to initiate
enriching cultural exchanges between French and Indonesian
artists.

This time, CCF cultural director Yves Ollivier invited Eric
Wurtz, a French lighting technician for entertainment, Gladys
Sanchez, a French dancer and choreographer, and Chiara, an
Italian dancer.

The program for the three artists started with a two-month
trip in Indonesia to explore the secrets of Wayang Kulit. They
chose this particular art form as it combines the use of light,
movement, storytelling and dance, allowing Gladys and Eric to
work in a total "symbiosis", the dancer said.

Besides, they chose Indonesia for the richness of its artistic
culture. Gladys says Indonesian dances show an interesting depth
as they are synonymous with completeness.

All the elements, music or setting, are complete parts of the
performance. Even the dancers, Gladys said, are totally involved
in their character.

"The masks, for instance, are not only laid on the artist's
face, but are completely internalized," Gladys explains.

Besides, dance is more than a representation, it is sacred.
The aim of genuine traditional dances, as opposed to tourist
performances, is not to be spectacular, Gladys adds.

From this discovering of Indonesian culture, they wish to
create a performance.

Their aim is not to simply copy Indonesian traditions, but to
be impregnated with their spirit so they can retransmit it in
their creations.

But before going back to France to work on this performance,
they led a lighting workshop organized by the CCF and the Jakarta
Arts Institute.

This is the core of Nusantara because Indonesian students from
the institute and some entertainment lighting professionals
worked in association with the French artists.

Art of light

In the workshop at the institute from Sept. 29 to Oct. 3,
students learned and re-learned techniques of lighting and how to
create different atmospheres.

Gladys and Chiara intervened on the fourth day to show
students how to combine light and movement.

On the last day, three students performed two impressive
creations, in which all participants eventually joined in.

The two performances were centered on the combination of dance
and lights. Suhendri, theater student at the institute, for
instance, danced and played with an orange square-shaped light
ray.

The first lesson from this performance was summed up by
Aditya, a fine arts student, who will recall from this workshop
that "with only very little and simple material you can create
something".

This lesson is essential for the students whose working
conditions at the institute are quite hard.

When the workshop started, Eric realized available material
was limited.

"To eventually transmit something", he says, "you have to fit
the everyday situation of the students".

And as Eric concluded after Suhendri's performance: "With only
a square of light and a dancer you can get something very
interesting. The most important thing is to set what is available
at the right place."

Lighting technicians said the workshop was interesting as it
exposed them to a reality beyond just technical skills.

Sunarno, a lighting technician at Taman Ismail Marzuki said:
"Now I know that lighting is an art in itself... that a spotlight
can be a way to express something."