Good year in dance, but old woes still hobble development

Good year in dance, but old woes still hobble development

By Rita A. Widiadana

JAKARTA (JP): Just a few months before economic turmoil hit
the nation, dance was no exception among the performing arts in
enjoying a packed schedule of events.

There were works by veterans like Farida Oetoyo, Edi
Sedyawati, Yulianti Parani, Sardono W. Kusumo (the recent
recipient of the Prince Claus Award from the Netherlands for his
distinguished contribution to the arts) and Gusmiati Suid, and
emerging dancers and choreographers including Muhammad Ikhlas,
Boi G. Sakti and Linda Hoemar.

Traditional and modern dance won places in the hearts of local
dance buffs. Fading Javanese royal traditions were revived in
recent performances of classical dances by Retno Maruti and her
husband, Sentot Sudiharto, Sulistyo and Trisapto.

Old and new compositions enlivened local stages in modern
dance.

The Contemporary Dance Week in Pekanbaru, Sumatra, brought
together dancers and choreographers from across the country to
share their experiences and expertise. It was an encouraging
effort to galvanize dance activities outside the traditional
centers of Jakarta, Yogyakarta, Surakarta, Denpasar and Padang in
West Sumatra.

Foreign dance troupes participating in cultural events also
contributed international standard performances.

Ilkhom Theater Group from Uzbekistan, Ricochet Dance from
Britain and Ballet Goteborg Opera from Sweden were among the
visitors. Each varied in its strengths, but their mere presence
in the country was beneficial.

No less important was the recent choreography contest in
search of new talent, held for the first time by Gedung Kesenian
Jakarta to celebrate its 11th anniversary.

Problem

Indonesian dance is still hobbled by several basic problems
related to lack of support from the government and private
sector, poor facilities and the dearth of skilled dancers and
innovative choreographers.

It is hoped the government will offer administrative and
technical expertise to the country's dance troupes to enhance
development of both traditional and modern dance.

Despite the lingering problems, the local dance community may
have reason to be hopeful after the past year's roster of
performances, many of them critically acclaimed.

Routines by Gumarang Sakti dance troupe, led by choreographer
Gusmiati Suid at Gedung Kesenian Jakarta on consecutive days in
June, were exceptional.

Taking the traditional martial art of pencak silat and the
dance forms of their Minangkabau culture of West Sumatra,
Gusmiati joined with her son, dancer and choreographer Boi
G.Sakti, to enthrall audiences. Gusmiati and Boi also presented
several old compositions of Seruan, Warih, Biyai and Salawat.

For Boi, the performance was a rehearsal for his turn as one
of four Indonesian artists invited later the same month to the
Singapore Festival of Asian Performing Arts.

At the opening of the festival, Boi staged one of his
signatures, Biyai (Elder Woman), a work centering on the daily
activities of a matriarch.

Also in June, Taman Ismail Marzuki Arts Center in Jakarta
hosted Retno Maruti's latest composition, Dewabrata, an operatic
Javanese drama based on the Mahabharata epic.

The 50-year-old Maruti is renowned for her pondering, finely
detailed and elegant works. She choreographed The Death of
Abimanyu, an episode of the Bharatayudha from the Mahabharata. In
Ciptoning, Maruti reinterpreted Arjuna Wiwaha as a voice for
women's emancipation.

Maruti's works do not parrot traditional Javanese values and
norms -- often criticized as feudalistic, colonial, elitist and
exclusive to the Javanese -- but send a message relevant to the
multicultural Indonesian.

Historian Onghokham once described the importance of classical
dances in the ceremonies of the Javanese monarchy. Yet the
function of the dances has changed with the ushering in of a new
era.

There have been adaptations for modern audiences, including
shortening the duration. Probably the biggest change is in the
audience members, who are dance and art lovers from the urban
middle class, not the nobles of yesteryear.

Maruti's strength lies in mastery of transferring the concepts
of Javanese classical dance to modern staging and themes
pertinent to contemporary settings.

Model

In Dewabrata, which is another name for sage Bisma, the son of
King Santanu of the Astinapura kingdom, Maruti portrayed him as a
dedicated, unselfish, loving individual who is also honest and a
highly respected statesman, exemplary qualities rarely found in
this modern society.

Interesting dance performances which followed included Ken
Dedes by Eksotika Karmawibangga dance group and Cilai Dance
Theater at Gedung Kesenian Jakarta.

Ken Dedes was an innovative piece by choreographer Rusdi
Rukmarata. It was a harmonious blend of ballet, contemporary and
traditional dance elements and therapeutic movements. The dance
composition was divided into two parts; three short works called
Geliat, Lamunan and Dapitaphon in the first, and the long Ken
Dedes in the second.

Cilai Dance Theater, founded by Muhammad Ikhlas, popularly
known as Cilai, presented several dance compositions.

The son of the late Hoeriah Adam, one of the most famous
Indonesian dancers and choreographers, Cilai takes Minang culture
as his roots, despite Western influences in his dance structure.

Cilai's works such as Transformator, Coda, Ambek bridged
tradition and modernity. His aim is to create new concepts
suitable for modernity from the energy provided by tradition.

Another important event in August was the first dance
choreography competition held by the management of Gedung
Kesenian Jakarta. The competition selected nine winners from 87
contestants.

New talents included Kurniawan S from J and J Dance Theater,
winner of the contemporary dance category with his composition
Goda, Faisal Amri from Padang with his Indang Saleguri, winner of
the entertainment dance category and
Para Empuan in traditional dance.

Director of Gedung Kesenian Jakarta, Farida Oetoyo, said the
competition was urgently needed to evaluate the potential of
Indonesian choreographers and to groom new talents expected to
continue developing the local dance world.

Sal Murgiyanto, a noted dance critic who was also one of the
jurors, commented that many participants had adequate technical
ability but their choreography was lacking. Many of them focused
on technical aspects instead of concept and philosophical ideas.

Murgiyanto added that they still had to work hard to become
mature choreographers. He encouraged young choreographers to
develop their skills, and in so doing find their direction.

A celebration of veteran dancers, Old Dancers Never Fade Away
in September, was also of note as it displayed leading lights who
have survived more than 20 years to shape developments in dance
here.

Among those honored were Farida Oetoyo, Yulianti Parani, Edi
Sedyawati, a professor of anthropology and the director general
of culture of the Ministry of Education and Culture, Sardono W.
Kusumo, Balinese dance master I Wayan Diya and Javanese dancer
Kardjono.

Old dancers

They have all weathered public and critical arrows for their
artistic endeavors. This has grounded them with artistic
maturity, seemingly lacking among many of their younger artistic
descendants.

The rare event was also important as no precise documentation
of dance compositions exists in the nation.

For younger dancers and members of the audience, the two
nights at Gedung Kesenian were a retrospective of dance and
choreography from the 1960s and 1970s. For older spectators, it
was a trip down memory lane.

The first night featured a more traditional approach of I
Wayan Diya, Kardjono's Javanese-influenced Bronto Asmoro and
Hoeriah Adam's West Sumatran heritage.

Among Adam's works were Tari Payung (Umbrella Dance) performed
by veterans Sri Respatini Kusumastuti, who said she had not
performed for 20 years, and Deddy Luthan. Many compositions of
Adam, who died in an airplane crash in 1971, have inspired
younger choreographers.

The contemporary approach was the focus of the following night
-- Farida Oetoyo's Prologue and Perjalanan 20 Detik, (The 20
Second Journey), Yulianti Parani's Nirkata and Sardono's
multimedia composition, Soloensis.

If anything, the evenings confirmed dance critic Sal
Murgiyanto's observation that veteran dancers are living history
and precious cultural treasures.