Legendary dancer still vital

Bambang M, Contributor, Yogyakarta

S. Maridi, a dancer and choreographer in the Surakarta-style of dance, may not as popular as songwriter Gesang, whose song Bengawan Solo (Solo River) is famous the world over. However, both Surakarta-based artists are masters in their fields.

While Gesang made a name for himself with Bengawan Solo, Maridi shot to fame with his dance Karonsih, which has become "compulsory" at grand traditional Javanese wedding parties.

An accomplished dancer in his youth, the 71-year-old Maridi has choreographed dozens of new Surakarta-style dances.

"His works are characterized by refined movements and excellent technique," wrote Silverster Pamardi, a lecturer at the Indonesian Arts College of Surakarta, in his master's thesis while at Gadjah Mada University in Yogyakarta.

Today, Maridi's works are included on the curriculum of all art institutes offering Javanese dance programs.

Maridi was born on June 9, 1932, in Surakarta. His father, Hardjo Sumarto, was a batik maker and a skilled Javanese dancer.

A photograph of Maridi wearing a traditional Javanese dance costume was used by the Dutch colonial administration for one of its banknotes.

Maridi developed a love for Javanese dance as a boy, imitating his father as he rehearsed different dances.

"I began to learn Javanese dance when I was in the third year of elementary school," said Maridi.

Then his father took him to a dance master at the palace, and it was not long before the young Maridi was showing flashes of his immense potential as a dancer. This prompted one of the boy's elementary school teachers to add the letter "S" before his name, which stands for a Javanese word meaning someone with an edge of superiority.

In his teens, Maridi became an abdi dalem, or court servant in the Surakarta Palace. Again, in the palace, he had the opportunity to study dance with the court's dance masters, such as Jogo Laksito and RM Atmobroto. Later, Maridi also studied dance at the Surakarta Cultural Association.

"So, I had a lot of dance teachers," said Maridi, who has six children and 23 grandchildren.

Maridi was always at his best when dancing the role of knights or heroes like Gatotkaca, Rahwana or Bugis in Handaga-Bugis.

When he took part in the All-Indonesia Javanese Stage Show Festival in Surakarta in 1962, he won first prize.

Then president Sukarno praised him for his performance in Handaga-Bugis at the State Palace in Yogyakarta in 1961.

After the performance, Sukarno approached the dancer and proposed that Maridi rework Handaga-Bugis so Bugis did not die.

"So I created a new version of the dance in which Bugis lives," Maridi said.

As his star rose, he had numerous invitations to dance at different events, and was also included in Indonesian art missions abroad. He performed throughout Europe, America and Asia. In 1964, he participated in the New York World Fair.

Though he is now older, Maridi still dances with surprising flexibility.

Commenting on Maridi's performance at the Taman Ismail Marzuki cultural center in Jakarta in 1997, Kompas daily wrote that at the age of 65, Maridi could still perform the Kelono mask dance flawlessly.

"S. Maridi is flexible. He is a master of dance techniques and gending (the Javanese music accompanying the dances), and is well-versed in traditional dance norms," wrote Pamardi in his thesis.

Besides being a gifted dancer, Maridi also has been blessed with the creativity to choreograph new Surakarta-style dances. His first choreography was a heroic dance called Ekaprawira, which he created on the instruction of president Sukarno in 1961. This work has often been performed abroad by different dancers and choreographers, including the famed Sardono W. Kusumo.

Maridi followed up Ekaprawira with many new dance pieces, including Panji Semirang, Srikandi Mustakaweni and Garuda Yaksa.

"The inspiration (for the dances) came from real life," he said.

It usually took him about two months to complete one piece. What makes Maridi so unusual that almost all of his new creations won first prize when they were entered in competition.

Naturally, he has received dozens of citations for his work.

Of all the dances he has choreographed, Karonsih is by far the most important. It continues to be performed at traditional Javanese wedding parties and, as Pamardi said, some 63,000 copies of the music that accompanies the dance were sold between 1976 and 1984.

Maridi, Pamardi pointed out, was a major influence in the development of gagahan, a genre of dance about the figure of a knight, and also in the development of Surakarta-style dance in general.

Maridi used to work at the Surakarta office of the ministry of education and culture and teach dance at universities, like STSI Surakarta, IKIP Surakarta and Soedirman University in Purwokerto.

Between July and November 1974 he stayed at the Center for World Music in Berkeley, California, to teach dance. If the Surakarta Palace sends an art mission abroad, Maridi is often entrusted to serve as the dance director.

For everything that he has done in developing Surakarta-style dance, the Surakarta Palace conferred on him the noble title of Kanjeng Raden Tumenggung Tondokusumo.

As a dance master, Maridi has devoted all of his life to the development of dance. Now at 71, he remains dedicated to this goal, though he himself is no longer able to dance.

"My ankles hurt when I move," said Maridi. Still, he receives students wishing to learn Surakarta-style dance at his studio, "Maridi Budaya Surakarta". He has students from both Indonesia and abroad. Most of the foreign students come from the U.S., Holland and Japan.

Has Maridi prepared the new generation to replace him? His eldest daughter, Ninik Mulyani, could be a successor. She dances and teaches at STSI Surakarta. Only time will tell, however, whether she can be as good as, if not better, than her father.