Jakarta to present 1st-class fiesta
Jakarta to present 1st-class fiesta
JAKARTA (JP): Jakarta art, music, theater and dance lovers
will be delighted by first class international entertainment
during September and October when an array of highly acclaimed
artists from over 10 countries swarm the city.
Artists from Australia, China, the Netherlands and Austria,
will demonstrate their talents and skills at the 1994 Jakarta
International Performing Arts Festival starting on Sept. 3 at
Gedung Kesenian Jakarta.
Billed as this year's premier performing arts event, the
festival follows the success of previous festivals held since
l990. Gedung Kesenian, the organizer, is committed to presenting
Jakarta audiences with first class international entertainment.
"In the past, many world class performers bypassed Indonesia.
Now, with the development of the Jakarta International Festival,
which is part of the international festival network, Indonesians
are given the opportunity to see high quality performances from
overseas," said Farida Feisol, the director of Gedung Kesenian.
She added that she was optimistic that this year's festival
will repeat the previous successes.
The Jakarta Symphonic Orchestra will open the festival
culminating with a variety of performances, including works by
noted Indonesian dance troupe Gumarang Sakti.
Led by prominent local choreographer Gusmiati Suid, the dance
group will present a creation called Kodrat, or destiny. Known as
innovative, many of Suid's works are drawn from the tradition of
Pencak Silat (traditional form of martial arts) making her works
quick and dynamic.
In Kodrat, Suid portrays sexual discrimination against women
in eastern society. Kodrat is divided into three compositions.
The first part is Kodrat which depicts career women who are
frequently obsessed by their career without considering their
fate as women. The second part, called Bundo (mother),
choreographed by Hartati, deals with the basic role of women as
mothers. The third part, Kaba si Sabai, is derived from a
Minangkabau (West Sumatra) legend Si Sabai Nan Aluih. The legend
unveils a story of a courageous woman who succeeds in regaining
the dignity of her family and her country, while her brothers are
busy entertaining themselves. The legend tries to answer why
women, in a matriarchal society like Minangkabau, are always
regarded second class citizens.
Foreign participants
Local dance buffs eager to watch high quality contemporary
pieces will also revel in the performances by the Netherlands
based De Rotterdamse Dansgroup which involves choreographers and
dancers from Europe and America.
At the festival they will display their original dance
compositions, such as The Idea of Order choreographed by Ton
Simon. The dance group is renowned for its dialectical approach
to choreography. Its impressive reputation lies in its innovative
and creative approach to music and dance.
Classical music buffs will be treated to one of Germany's
leading orchestras, the Koelner Kammerorchester (Cologne Chamber
Orchestra). Conducted by Helmut-Mueller-Bruehl, the orchestra has
toured half the world. Their Jakarta appearance is part of a
Southeast Asia tour. Focusing on Baroque and early classical
music, the group will present concerts featuring Johann Christian
Bach's (1735-1782) Overture in D Major La Clemenza di Scipione
Allegro assai, Savero Mercadante's (1795-1791) Flute concerto in
E minor and also Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart's (1756-1791)'s Oboe
concerto in C major K.314 and Symphony in A major K.201.
Another stunning music event will be the performance of a
Dutch a capella vocal group called Oom Maw Maw. Through their
remarkable music arrangements, this quartet of two women and two
men, will demonstrate what can be done without the use of any
instruments.
Their repertoire is a mixture of jazz, funk, Latin and pop
music with songs from Herby Hancock and Patricio Wang to Elkie
Brooks and even Michael Jackson.
Highlight
However, Farida believes the highlight of the festival will be
the Beijing Opera. Although it is sometimes eclipsed in
popularity by more modern and less exotic forms of entertainment,
its rare Jakarta performance will thrill theater lovers. The
Beijing Opera rarely appears in front of opera aficionados in
China.
"In the 1950s and l960s there were Beijing opera performances
in three to six theaters every night. Today you have two or three
operas a week," one Beijing opera singer said as quoted by Time
magazine recently.
The opera usually deals with tales of lost empires, chivalry
and courtly romance, situations far removed from those of
contemporary China. It also uses such an archaic form of the
language that even many well educated Chinese are unfamiliar with
the stories.
"If you don't understand Chinese history, Beijing opera may
bore you," claims a scholar of Chinese literature.
Despite its name, Beijing opera traces its origins to music
dramas created in the Anhui and Hubei provinces. In l790 a troupe
from Anhui visited Beijing to commemorate the 80th birthday of
the Qing dynasty Emperor Qianlong. By the middle of the 19th
century, the opera's elaborate silk costumes, colorfully painted
faces, stunning acrobatics and fanciful plots drew large
appreciative audiences in Beijing.
More information on the festival's events, such as a
performance by Indonesian jazz group, Java Jazz, and a piano
recital by Australian musician Jeffry Saba, can be attained,
along with tickets, at Gedung Kesenian on Jl. Gedung Kesenian,
Central Jakarta. (raw)
JAKARTA (JP): Jakarta art, music, theater and dance lovers
will be delighted by first class international entertainment
during September and October when an array of highly acclaimed
artists from over 10 countries swarm the city.
Artists from Australia, China, the Netherlands and Austria,
will demonstrate their talents and skills at the 1994 Jakarta
International Performing Arts Festival starting on Sept. 3 at
Gedung Kesenian Jakarta.
Billed as this year's premier performing arts event, the
festival follows the success of previous festivals held since
l990. Gedung Kesenian, the organizer, is committed to presenting
Jakarta audiences with first class international entertainment.
"In the past, many world class performers bypassed Indonesia.
Now, with the development of the Jakarta International Festival,
which is part of the international festival network, Indonesians
are given the opportunity to see high quality performances from
overseas," said Farida Feisol, the director of Gedung Kesenian.
She added that she was optimistic that this year's festival
will repeat the previous successes.
The Jakarta Symphonic Orchestra will open the festival
culminating with a variety of performances, including works by
noted Indonesian dance troupe Gumarang Sakti.
Led by prominent local choreographer Gusmiati Suid, the dance
group will present a creation called Kodrat, or destiny. Known as
innovative, many of Suid's works are drawn from the tradition of
Pencak Silat (traditional form of martial arts) making her works
quick and dynamic.
In Kodrat, Suid portrays sexual discrimination against women
in eastern society. Kodrat is divided into three compositions.
The first part is Kodrat which depicts career women who are
frequently obsessed by their career without considering their
fate as women. The second part, called Bundo (mother),
choreographed by Hartati, deals with the basic role of women as
mothers. The third part, Kaba si Sabai, is derived from a
Minangkabau (West Sumatra) legend Si Sabai Nan Aluih. The legend
unveils a story of a courageous woman who succeeds in regaining
the dignity of her family and her country, while her brothers are
busy entertaining themselves. The legend tries to answer why
women, in a matriarchal society like Minangkabau, are always
regarded second class citizens.
Foreign participants
Local dance buffs eager to watch high quality contemporary
pieces will also revel in the performances by the Netherlands
based De Rotterdamse Dansgroup which involves choreographers and
dancers from Europe and America.
At the festival they will display their original dance
compositions, such as The Idea of Order choreographed by Ton
Simon. The dance group is renowned for its dialectical approach
to choreography. Its impressive reputation lies in its innovative
and creative approach to music and dance.
Classical music buffs will be treated to one of Germany's
leading orchestras, the Koelner Kammerorchester (Cologne Chamber
Orchestra). Conducted by Helmut-Mueller-Bruehl, the orchestra has
toured half the world. Their Jakarta appearance is part of a
Southeast Asia tour. Focusing on Baroque and early classical
music, the group will present concerts featuring Johann Christian
Bach's (1735-1782) Overture in D Major La Clemenza di Scipione
Allegro assai, Savero Mercadante's (1795-1791) Flute concerto in
E minor and also Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart's (1756-1791)'s Oboe
concerto in C major K.314 and Symphony in A major K.201.
Another stunning music event will be the performance of a
Dutch a capella vocal group called Oom Maw Maw. Through their
remarkable music arrangements, this quartet of two women and two
men, will demonstrate what can be done without the use of any
instruments.
Their repertoire is a mixture of jazz, funk, Latin and pop
music with songs from Herby Hancock and Patricio Wang to Elkie
Brooks and even Michael Jackson.
Highlight
However, Farida believes the highlight of the festival will be
the Beijing Opera. Although it is sometimes eclipsed in
popularity by more modern and less exotic forms of entertainment,
its rare Jakarta performance will thrill theater lovers. The
Beijing Opera rarely appears in front of opera aficionados in
China.
"In the 1950s and l960s there were Beijing opera performances
in three to six theaters every night. Today you have two or three
operas a week," one Beijing opera singer said as quoted by Time
magazine recently.
The opera usually deals with tales of lost empires, chivalry
and courtly romance, situations far removed from those of
contemporary China. It also uses such an archaic form of the
language that even many well educated Chinese are unfamiliar with
the stories.
"If you don't understand Chinese history, Beijing opera may
bore you," claims a scholar of Chinese literature.
Despite its name, Beijing opera traces its origins to music
dramas created in the Anhui and Hubei provinces. In l790 a troupe
from Anhui visited Beijing to commemorate the 80th birthday of
the Qing dynasty Emperor Qianlong. By the middle of the 19th
century, the opera's elaborate silk costumes, colorfully painted
faces, stunning acrobatics and fanciful plots drew large
appreciative audiences in Beijing.
More information on the festival's events, such as a
performance by Indonesian jazz group, Java Jazz, and a piano
recital by Australian musician Jeffry Saba, can be attained,
along with tickets, at Gedung Kesenian on Jl. Gedung Kesenian,
Central Jakarta. (raw)