Guruh gives pointers in dance and political awareness

By Helly Minarti

JAKARTA (JP): Guruh Sukarnoputra is more than just an award- winning composer and legendary hitmaker in pop music. He is also a noted choreographer.

Guruh, whose last major show was in 1989, is back with a musical and dance concert entitled Untung Surapati. His new show will be performed at Gedung Kesenian Jakarta from June 18 to 21.

The production, postponed last month due to the riots, is a classic Balinese dance display which is being held to celebrate the 10th anniversary of Kinarya GSP (Gencar Semarak Perkasa) - an entertainments business founded by Guruh.

"Actually, we planned to hold a series of events to mark the anniversary, ranging from publishing a book about the company and running a social campaign on drugs to organizing a concert of all my works," the 45-years-old Guruh said.

But the crisis hit and most of the festivities had to be postponed, so Guruh instead produced Untung Surapati in cooperation with Balinese dance school Lembaga Kesenian Bali Saraswati, led by I Gusti Kompiang Raka, and Gedung Kesenian Jakarta.

Along with pop singer Chrisye, he has added a modern touch to an old Balinese song called Chopin Larung, and resuscitated Puspa Indah Taman Hati, one of his most popular hits.

Kinarya GSP, founded in 1988, is famous for its productions which blend modern and traditional dance movements in an echo of the style Guruh adopted during his Swara Mahardhika days in the 1980s.

Swara Mahardhika (SM) was a youth group founded by Guruh in 1977.

"Actually SM was intended to be a youth organization with social, political and cultural activities rather than a mere dance group," Guruh, a son of former president Sukarno, said.

Guruh formed the group because he was concerned with the state of the younger generation in the late 1960s and early 1970s.

"They were apolitical and didn't have a sense of society. I wanted Swara Mahardhika to be a place where they could learn organizational skills and gain knowledge of social, political and cultural matters," he added.

But political changes made this plan hard to realize. To found such an organization was very complicated and we had to obey certain 'rules' that obliged us to demonstrate our support for the ruling government," explained Guruh. The group also ran into technical and financial problems and were forced to look for another outlet through which to vent their pent up frustration.

"The trend among the youth at that time was to sing folk songs in vocal groups," he recalled. "Some of them asked me for some tuition but they could not sing well, so I taught them to dance instead."

Guruh was stunned by their enthusiasm for dancing and because of this decided to set up his youth organization as a dance group and abandon all formalized attempts at providing the youngsters with a political education. He did, however, hope that this latter and more important objective could be provided for "after hours".

"I encouraged them to discuss many aspects of life, including politics. But I have to admit that discussions became less frequent than dances," Guruh said.

The group's musical numbers, including Untukmu Indonesiaku (For You, My Indonesia) and Cinta Indonesia (I Love Indonesia) were sharp critiques of social issues delivered through catchy pop tunes and enchanting choreographies.

They turned out to be very successful, but ironically, the group, whose members came mostly from middle class families, were branded anak gedongan (overpriviledged children) and became famous as providers of light entertainment rather than a group which offered any meaningful social commentary.

In 1988 Guruh decided to set the record straight. He turned Swara Mahardhika into a foundation and established an entertainments enterprise, GSP Productions.

"I established Swara Mahardhika as a foundation to enable it to continue with its original mission. Those associated with it who were more interested in the entertainment business could join GSP Productions," he added.

He later renamed the production company Kinarya GSP to give a more Indonesian sounding name.

Kinarya GSP has grown smoothly and turned a reasonable profit. It has 40 employees and 100 dancers who work exclusively for the company.

Forty dancers from the company and seven from Saraswati dance school will perform in Untung Surapati. They will be supported by a group of traditional legong dancers from Guruh's own dance troupe based in Peliatan village, Bali.

In showbiz circles, Kinarya GSP is known as one of the best and most expensive dance production companies. They regularly fill venues for commercial performances, but have not yet lived up to the spectacular shows staged by Swara Mahardhika in the 1980s.

Kinarya GSPs last big solo show was JakJakJak Jakarta in 1989.

Their long absence from the limelight has been due to both financial and technical problems. Balai Sidang Senayan, their favorite venue, was renovated and its management transferred to the Jakarta Hilton Convention Center.

"After that, rental fees soared and whenever we managed to get enough sponsors we found that they were overbooked," Guruh said.

The monetary crisis has forced Kinarya GSP to send most of its staff home until the economy recovers, but the celebration should offer at least a glimmer of respite in an otherwise gloomy year for Guruh Sukarnoputra, a talented artist and business survivor.