Jefriandi Usman explores life within the womb

Carla Bianpoen, Contributor, Jakarta

From Nov. 20 to Nov. 21, the stage at Goethehaus Inter Nationes will be transformed into a representation of a womb. Jefriandi Usman, or Jefri, who is making a name as a dancer and choreographer, will explore the motions of life within the womb as conceived, choreographed and performed in his piece, Alam Rahim (Life Within the Womb).

The womb certainly epitomizes woman's most sacred place, a sanctuary where the seed of life matures and the miracle, a human being, comes into existence.

Jefri reveals that he had had the idea for quite some time. Pondering on what has been happening in the world today, he became obsessed with exploring the very beginning of life.

However, the contours of the idea came into shape only after his wife, Aistyia, became pregnant with their first child. Following the development of movements within the womb, Jefri was struck with awe, reverence, excitement, and a determination to follow suit.

After Sakratul Maut (The Agony of Dying) with which he stirred up the public in Cologne (Feb. 2002) and at the Jakarta Playhouse (Sept. 2002), and the accolades he received in Germany after performing Woman in the House with his wife, we may expect yet another leap towards excellence.

The Koelner Anzeiger (Feb. 5, 2002) praised Woman in the House for achieving the contemporary with a direct, and even sturdy, manner of expression instead of adapting modern dance techniques from the West. Specifically of Jefri's performance in The Agony of Dying, the Koelner Anzeiger described him as having "the precision of a combat artist and the aura of a monk."

It may just be coincidence that Jefri's explorations into the miracle of life within the womb comes after his inspiring Agony of Dying, but perhaps it is part of a natural flow. After all, aren't life and death part and parcel of the same cycle, and doesn't a sort of death-phase precede life in rites of initiation?

For Jefri, however, his 45-minute performance is solely about life within the womb, with movements that develop from gentle kicks of the fetus, to firm knocks that feature the final phase of pregnancy, and to the birth of his son.

He does make a note, though, of the importance of paying close attention to the beginning of life, as he muses about the irony of life's realities: children are so much fun, but when older people start acting like children, they are mostly shunned. Perhaps the message is that one should let nature do its work, just as fetuses grow naturally in a womb.

New-age music master Tony Prabowo composed the music with non- syllabic text for this special occasion. It is termed "non- syllabic", because the sounds evoking a sense of consecration, of solemn and sacred feelings, will be brought forward by the crystal clear, penetrating, magnificent voice of vocalist and ethnomusicologist Nyak Ina Raseuki (Ubiet).

The stage design is the work of Berlin-educated painter-cum- stage designer Teguh Ostenrik, while Iskandar Loedin looks after the lighting and Roedjito serves as the production consultant. The experienced Rakata Adventure group is tasked with ensuring that the "umbilical cord" stays firmly attached and is released.

Jefriandi Usman was born in 1972, gifted with a natural ability to dance, and at the age of six, Jefri could already dance with great skill. He perfected his technique at the Jakarta Institute of Arts (IKJ) in 1993 and as a dancer with the prestigious Gumarang Sakti Dance troupe, led by Gusmiati Suid and Boi Sakti.

It did not take long before his potential as a dancer and choreographer was recognized. In year 2000, Jefri received a 6- month scholarship from the Japan Foundation. Later, the Goethe Institute Inter Nationes invited him to spend 4 months with the indomitable trailblazer of German Dance Theater, Pina Bausch, at the Wuppertal Tanz Theater, as well as with dancer and choreographer Urs Dietrich, who has been acclaimed "an exceptional phenomenon in the German and international dance scene.

Alam Rahim by Jefriandi Usman, dancer and choreographer at Goethe Institut Inter Nationes, Jl. Sam Ratulangi, Menteng, Jakarta. Nov. 20 (Wed.), 7.30 p.m. -- preceded by a breaking of the fast at 6 p.m. Nov. 21 (Thurs.), 7.30 p.m. -- without a breaking of the fast.