Gusmiati Suid's company opens Art Summit

JAKARTA (JP): At one point, a alu (a rice pestle) is first used as a plaything and later, burned.

At another point, water is poured over a woman dressed in a Minang outfit of West Sumatra. Drenched, the woman undresses.

Dance observers consider these to be works born of noted choreographer Gusmiati Suid's idiosyncrasies but, at her Gumarang Sakti dance company, Gusmiati calls them "a sewing together" of performers' thoughts.

With this concept, the 16-member company is presenting Api Dalam Sekam (which literary menas fire in the chaffs), a performance of dance and music, at Gedung Kesenian Jakarta on Saturday, Sept. 19, and Sunday, Sept. 20, to kick off a month- long art summit.

The show is about the crises in Indonesia, including droughts, forest fires, a food crisis, rioting, looting and rapes. It is to warn people of a hidden threat, the collapse of the country's social order.

In Api Dalam Sekam, Gusmiati combines the pencak silat martial art and sophisticated and subtle gentle Javanese dance movements.

The summit, Art Summit Indonesia, is billed as the most prestigious art festival in Indonesia, will see 15 groups from eight countries performing at the Taman Ismail Marzuki arts center and the Gedung Kesenian Jakarta in Central Jakarta.

Gumarang Sakti's performance will include Gusmiati's daughter and choreographer Yesi Apriati and dancers Ivone GB, Benny Krisnawardi and Jefri Usman performing to music conducted by vocalist Piter Slayan, Jhony Azwar, Misral, Gunisam and Syahrial. Her eldest son, Boi. G. Sakti, a well-known choreographer, is also assisting her.

Gusmiati, 56, said the performance of her artists, in meaning, is no different than the expressions conveyed in demonstrations today.

"As an artist, I will not join demonstrations. As artists, we have our own way of conveying expressions," said the winner of the 1991 Bessies award of New York Dance Performances.

Gusmiati is known for expanding the traditional martial art pencak silat into fluid, complex moves.

Her 16-year-old dance company at Depok, West Java, has produced some of the nation's most noted choreographies, including Seruan (Cry Out) and Kabar Burung (Rumors). The company has earned a name at international dance festivals in, among others, India, Hong Kong, Europe and Singapore.

Having observed the different forms of pencak silat in several parts of West Sumatra, including in Pariaman, Bukittinggi, Payakumbuh and her hometown Batusangkar, she created Rantak in 1977, a dance form of pencak silat. (ylt)