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.