Heavenly inspiration for Boi's latest piece
By Primastuti Handayani
JAKARTA (JP): Running out of inspiration? Just go outside and look up at the clouds. At least, that's what worked for choreographer Boi Gumarang Sakti while conceiving his group's performance for the Third Art Summit Indonesia 2001 International Festival on Contemporary Performing Arts.
Inspired by the clouds' slow-but-various movements in a fine blue sky, Boi created Di Jalan Tua (On the Old Road), which is being staged at the Graha Bakti Budaya, Taman Ismail Marzuki, in Central Jakarta on Friday and Saturday nights.
The performance begins with six women wearing maroon halters and gold-colored A-line skirts with tails, and three male dancers in gold baggy pants, all lined up on the stage. Their hair is covered by veils. The stage itself has bamboo in the background to the right and coarse grass on the left.
Which part reflects the clouds? The dancers' movements, which are precise but random, just as the clouds, exploring their bodies' endurance, agility and strength.
The performers are accompanied by seven musicians, dominated by Javanese sitar (zither), kecapi (plucked stringed instrument), gong and drums.
Both the dance and the music are strongly influenced by Minang choreography and composition -- Boi's heritage.
"We didn't merely take Minang music to accompany the dance, it's more subtle. We give our members freedom to express themselves before we finish the composition," said music director Piterman.
Di Jalan Tua describes a paddy field drought -- symbolized by white sand -- in a village. The drought reflects the context of contemporary society, needing fertilization, as symbolized by dancers growing yellow flowers in the sand.
The 35-year-old Boi, whose real name is Yandi Yasin, said after Thursday's rehearsal that he uses the sand -- 10 cubic meters bought especially from Bangka island -- to reflect the drought, as well as to demarcate the past and the present.
The flowers are symbols of love that must always be planted in one's lives.
Boi actually changed his previous plan to perform another work Ritus-ritus Kesucian (Rites of Purity), which explores women's rights violations, only a month prior to the arts festival.
"I didn't want to perform a work that has been presented in previous events. I admitted that I wasn't prepared and needed two weeks to develop the concept," he said.
Art Summit organizer's spokesman Yusuf Susilo Hartono said that the nine-member artistic team -- including Sardono W. Kusumo, Ratna Riantiarno, Rahayu Supanggah and Sal Murgiyanto -- did not object to Boi's decision to change his work.
"The team considered the change a creative development. Besides, Boi was not selected because of his mother's reputation, but for his excellent national and international achievements," Yusuf said, referring to Boi's well-known choreographer mother Gusmiati Suid, who is currently sick in hospital.
Credit must be given to all dancers who demonstrate their ability to move quickly and fluently on the sand, while always maintaining their poise. The accomplished performances have been achieved through high discipline, strong commitment and hard training.
During the opening sequences, Boi uses a sand curtain while the dancers move backward. There is also a section involving four female dancers lying face down while sand is poured on their backs.
"That really hurts, but we try to enjoy it," said female lead dancer Grace Suzan. "It feels like someone is throwing stones at you."
With only one month of rehearsals in Boi's Depok studio, this performance deserves two thumbs-up. Boi commented that the nine hours of rehearsals each day helped intensify all dancers' interaction, interpretation and evaluation of the piece.
Male lead dancer Benny Krisnawardi admitted that, "I still have to focus on my balance during the performance. It's a tough challenge as the sand is very unsteady, just like dancing on water."
"In the first two weeks, we had to dance with glasses and masks to avoid inhaling the sand. Later on, we adapted to it and breathing techniques are definitely necessary in the show," Grace said.
After the rehearsal, Boi expressed some disappointment -- not because only a small numbers of reporters and photographers showed up, as most of them had to cover violinist Vanessa Mae and noted local singer Krisdayanti shows -- but because of some technical "faults" relating to the use of fire in one scene and water pouring onto a female dancer's head covered with a banana leaf in another.
"The flame should have burnt the dried soil to give the effect of a drought, while the water must be fall onto the dancer's head drop by drop. We'll work on it," he said.
Boi's skyrocketing career began when he performed Pitaruh at the Indonesian Choreography Competition in 1987. Since then, his work has been performed in various countries, including India, France, the United States, Hong Kong, Taiwan and Japan. He also assisted organizers of the 1998 Asian Games with both the opening and closing ceremonies.
His high standard of work and high commitment to the field of dance have been recognized internationally and in 1991 he was awarded the Bessie Award for choreography, in New York.