Jakarta festival serves up cultural treats
Jakarta festival serves up cultural treats
Text by Mulkan Salmona, photos by Bertho Wedhatama
JAKARTA (JP): For more than 20 days, Gedung Kesenian Jakarta
presented a range of world-class performing arts in dance, music
and theater.
As the political atmosphere heated up in Jakarta, the shows
presented by local and foreign artists during the Jakarta
International Festival from Aug. 19 through Sept. 9 became a
refuge for the capital's art lovers.
Frightening news of bomb blasts, the fall of the rupiah,
corruption cases and rumors of alleged infidelity by President
Abdurrahman Wahid could be temporarily put aside for the
performance of Indonesia's Gumarang Sakti dance troupe at the
festival's opening.
Ten countries -- Indonesia, Japan, Korea, China, Poland,
Mexico, Italy, Britain, Austria and the Netherlands -- took part.
The charm of Stephen Mottram's Puppet Theater from Britain
brought a light diversion to gloomy Jakarta. Traditional dance
from Heilongjiang provided an exotic window into a spring
festival in a peasant village in China.
Korea's Sen Hea Ha dance presented a mixture of ancient Korean
dance with modern dance and mime, while Mexico enchanted the
audience with its dynamic dance performances.
There were so many other memorable performances, with Poland's
eco-theater show by Wladyslaw Kazmierczak, Japan's Tokyo Harp
Ensemble Concert, Keros Ensemble from the Netherlands, Austrian
Heinz von Hermann Jazz Quintet and Italian opera by Nunzia
Santodirocco and Guido Galterio.
No less important were the performances of the host country
which presented Topeng Cirebon (Cirebon Mask Dance), Teater
Payung Hitam and the Balinese traditional drama Arja Bon which
closed the festival on Saturday.
During this critical period, it was indeed difficult to
organize an art event, especially an international-scale one,
because art activities in Indonesia have always been considered
unimportant by many, the government in particular.
Yet, it is art which always binds together
people from different races, culture, social and political
backrounds.
The arts might be able to enhance the tarnished image of
Indonesia on the international stage. Many visitors said they
believed the management of Gedung Kesenian Jakarta and artists
should receive great commendation for enlivening Jakarta with
their artistic endevors.