Ramayana ASEAN's shared identity
Ramayana ASEAN's shared identity
By Julianti Parani
SINGAPORE (JP): The ASEAN Committee on Culture and Information
(COCI) has launched many beneficial projects since its founding.
It has mobilized the region's artists, writers and scholars in
fostering a spirit of kinship among the peoples and deepening the
awareness of shared cultural heritage and identity.
That was the message of ASEAN secretary-general Rodolfo C.
Severino Jr. on the production of the contemporary dance project
presentation of Realizing Rama based on the Ramayana epic.
Since it premiered on Dec. 16 and Dec. 17, 1998, in Hanoi,
Vietnam, it has been staged or is scheduled to be performed this
year in the Philippines, Indonesia, Brunei Darussalam, Singapore,
Malaysia. It will also be shown next year in Thailand, Myanmar
and Laos as part of its tour as a "flagship voyage" across ASEAN.
The performance at the Kallang Theater in Singapore on Sept.
28 and Sept. 29 was packed by art lovers from various social
spectrums, in particular the young generation.
The ASEAN dance group came from its Jakarta tour which
included a performance at Taman Mini Indonesia Indah, attended by
a small enthusiastic audience. It is expected that in its next
performance in Kuala Lumpur, Realizing Rama will attract a larger
audience.
The Ramayana epic, which originated in India, has been
transplanted to countries in south, east and southeast Asia for
the last 2,000 years or more.
In these countries, the epic was assimilated and transformed
according to local history, geography and ways of life. Once
accepted in these societies, the Ramayana was interpreted by
local artists in oral and written literature in music, dance,
theater, architecture, visual arts and crafts.
As a story long extracted from its mother culture, the epic
has accommodated all ways of life, allowing itself to be recast
in the image of its host culture.
The Ramayana is a tale of quests, conquests and of love and
redemption involving Rama, his wife Sita and Laksmana, his
brother exiled from his kingdom to the forest. In their jungle
adventure, Sita is abducted by King Rahwana.
To defeat the evil Rahwana, they collaborate with Sugriwa, the
king of the monkeys. Rama safely returns and is crowned king.
The present contemporary dance as a collaborative work begins
with a prolog telling of "The Competition", then continues to Act
1, Scene 1 of "The confrontation", Scene 2 of "The Three
Temptations" and Scene 3 of "The Abduction".
After a short interval, it continues with Act II Scene 1
"Nature" and Scene 2 "The Fight Between Rama and Rahwana", ending
with the epilog "Rama Realized".
Ramayana, which has often been performed in international
dance festivals, is a mix of Asian spiritual radiance -- the
common characteristics of traditional dances in the region - and
the physical, technical strength of Westernized dances like
ballet and modern dance.
It is the first collaborative production of its kind
undertaken by ASEAN COCI.
The story of Ramayana, one of the greatest epics of world
literature that binds many cultures and artistic traditions of
Southeast Asia, is conceptualized by Nicanor Tiongson, cultural
historian and professor of Philippine literature and film.
Tiongson's program book and brochure provide excellent
background explanation on the story of the rule of Rama from the
Bay of Bengal to the Pacific Ocean, originating from India and
spreading to Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Thailand,
Myanmar, Laos, Vietnam, Singapore and Brunei Darussalam.
What is commendable about this production is the role of set
designer/advisor Bayu Utomo Radjikin, a graduate in fine arts
from the School of Art and Design at the MARA Institute of
Technology in Malaysia.
Radjikin mixes traditional and contemporary genres using
disparate but complementary elements inspired by shadow plays in
Malaysia and Indonesia.
He enriched the work with symbols from traditional religions
of the ASEAN region, modern life and pure imagination. He used
off-white with some minimal patterns as a backdrop for slides and
gobos; in certain parts, he adopts earth colors to complement the
colorful costume and props.
With the overall concept as envisioned by the artistic
director, the work has been a process of selection and
simplification or perhaps distillation to create evocative
images.
Another interesting piece of work is by Rahayu Supanggah, the
well-known musicologist of the Indonesian Art College in
Surakarta. She avoids composing music which is "too" Javanese and
instead attempts to use musical idioms common throughout
Southeast Asia.
Denise G. Reyes, a prominent choreographer from the
Philippines, and Thailand's Phatravadi Mejudhon collaborated in
the most difficult part of the artistic work with the
choreography of the dance. The dancers were chosen from the best
exponents of their countries.
The whole collaboration would never be successful without the
support of a certain number of qualified professionals. They are
Nestor O. Jardin as project director, Salvador Bernal in working
as set designer and costume designer, U Aung Thwin as costume
adviser, Haji Ibrahim bin Ismail as lighting adviser, Vongchith
Phommachak as sound designer, Jason Lai as videographer, Nguyen
Phong as technical director and Ami Miciano as visual projection
artist.
Realizing Rama is a contemporary dance providing an
interpretation on the theme of selfless leadership. It represents
Rama as the ideal statesman in overcoming social evils of greed,
obsession with power and ogres of lust through a self-
purification in the forest.
Rama is depicted as an ideal ruler who resists his ego and
exorcises his self, thereby achieving the balance of heart
(symbolized by Sita) and mind (symbolized by Laksmana), essential
to one who serves his country.
It is hoped the dance will create greater brotherhood among
the ASEAN member countries and deeper understanding of the
philosophy of ruling.
Some critics found that artistically the dance lacked the
emotional representation of a too highly idealized message with a
political flavor.
-- The writer is an observer and arts consultant