Modest festival showcases quality pieces for art lovers

By Stevie Emilia and Yudha Kartohadiprodjo

JAKARTA (JP): Dances and music performed by renowned artists at the Indonesian Art Summit II have been able to help some Jakartans forget the rat race of the economic crisis.

Even though this year's summit is less glamourous than its predecessor in 1995, held in conjunction with the country's 50th anniversary, its performances have been wowing audiences with their quality, enhanced with philosophical views and special techniques.

Initially, there was fear that holding such a festival when many people are struggling to meet their daily needs, not to mention the country's political and economic turmoil, would be unwelcome.

But, so far at least, such reservations have proven baseless. No protests have been held against the festival and audience halls have been brimming with people.

The organizing committee's secretary, Saini Kosim, said most of the performances have been filled to capacity. "I don't have the figures, but most of the seats have been filled," he told The Jakarta Post.

But repeated changes to the summit's performance schedule has caused some inconveniences to many planning to watch the shows.

For instance, Rendra's Suku Naga (Dragon Tribe), which was scheduled for Sept. 22 and Sept. 23, was moved to Sept. 29 and Sept. 30. The play was to replace the Egyptian theater group El- Warsha, which canceled its performances in the last minute.

Saini has apologized for any inconveniences caused by the ever changing schedule, saying it had been, nonetheless, necessary.

"We printed the schedule before the summit started for promotional purposes and to raise funds, but later on, we had to make some adjustments due to artist requests and other matters," he said.

For instance, Rendra could not perform as earlier scheduled because he had just returned from Korea, where he had staged his play. "He wanted to have more time to prepare for the summit," Saini said.

He praised the cooperation and understanding of the festival's foreign participants. "None of them have complained. But I still apologize in case there's been something wrong. They're very cooperative and understanding to our situation," Saini said.

A lack of promotion has also affected the summit.

"I don't know what this festival is all about," said Made, sitting with his girlfriend at the Taman Ismail Marzuki cineplex on the summit's opening night.

He seemed more interested in watching a popular movie on the big screen than being at the cultural event. But he added that he was not sure what the summit was for because he had never heard about the event.

Since the opening of the summit last week, four renowned artists have performed for Jakarta' art lovers.

Gusmiati Suid's choreography in the summit's opening, Api Dalam Sekam (Tinderbox), captivated viewers with her dancers' dynamic performance.

Dancer Linda Hoemar Abidin, who was in the audience, praised the performance, saying the choreography was esthetically pleasing, though lacked a bit in emotion.

"Some of the dancers lacked some technique, such as breathing...," she told the Post.

But she said, however, the piece could be considered as a good representation of contemporary Indonesian performing arts. "Yes, I'm proud to tell foreigners about the performance."

Another performer, composer Alvin Lucier from the U.S., stunned viewers with his "extraordinary" piece, Music for Voices and Gamelan Instruments, exploring another side of gamelan instruments.

The Japanese experimental dance of Butoh has also been featured in the summit with Yukio Waguri and his dance group Kohzenza performing The Wedding on the Field at the Taman Ismail Marzuki arts center, while noted young composer Toni Prabowo presented four compositions at the Jakarta Playhouse.

Apart from music and dance performances, a two-day dialog on the problems of multiculturalism and exploration of local sources featuring local and international experts was also held at the Alia Hotel on Jl. Cikini Raya, Central Jakarta.