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