Restu Imansari pursues Indonesian world stage

Restu Imansari pursues Indonesian world stage

Carla Bianpoen
Contributor
Jakarta

When the 14th century Bugis epic poem I La Galigo comes to the
world stage on March 12, 39-year-old Restu Imansari Kusumaningrum
will have achieved another milestone on the way to making her
vision come true.

"I dream of a contemporary world stage where Indonesian
players have a major role," she once said. Those were no empty
words, and she has systematically worked toward their
fulfillment.

Basically artistic by nature, Restu enrolled in the dance
department of the Jakarta Art Institute where she studied from
1984 to 1986 as a special student. Feeling the urge to acquire a
more comprehensive knowledge of traditional dances, she studied
Cirebon masked dance in her spare time.

She also studied with the Tirtasari Group in Peliaten in Ubud,
Bali. Eager to perfect her skills, she delved into meditation and
shamanism in Korea as part of preparing for her role in one of
Kang Man-hong's theater pieces.

Meanwhile, she was asked to lecture in Taiwan on Indonesian
traditional movements for females, and share her knowledge of how
the traditional should progress toward the contemporary.

As she grew into a professional dancer, she performed many
times locally, then progressed to international tours, working
with, among other people, theater wizard Robert Wilson, Kang Man-
hong of Korean dance and theater, and Chen Shi-Zheng, the
New-York-based Chinese director known for his innovative
expressionistic performance style.

She has participated in Sulistyo Tirtokusumo's Panji Sepuh
which was based on Goenawan Mohamad's lyrics and in Sardono W.
Kusumo's Mahabuta and Ramayanaku, performed in Robert Wilson's
The Days Before, in Kang's Gora Goda, and Chen's Monte Verdi.

A strong believer of inter-disciplinary collaboration, she
forged networks with musicians, choreographers, literati,
photographers, painters, and performers, and worked with such
people as I Wayan Sadra, Harry Roesli, Endo Suanda, Sardono,
Sulistyo Tirtokusumo, Goenawan Mohamad, I Kompyang Raka and Guruh
Soekarnoputra.

Restu's multifarious talents in fact emerged early on. She
headed Guruh's Swara Mahardhika for ten consecutive years,
managed the Jakarta C-Line Contemporary Art Gallery, which became
the first alternative contemporary art gallery in Jakarta and was
the first to introduce the idea of a gallery-cafe to Jakarta. As
well, she was involved in the Jakarta fine arts Biennial in 1995.

Meanwhile, the idea of introducing the little known cultures
of the Indonesian archipelago to the world began to take shape.
She initiated and founded, together with six other people, the
Bali Purnati Center for the Arts, an institution that focuses on
Central and East Indonesia. She now serves as creative director.

Her involvement in the Heritage Society (Jaringan Pelestari
Pusaka Indonesia) as a member, again underlines Restu's
commitment to the preservation and revival of the country's art
and culture.

Given the long path of cultural involvement, it is hardly
surprising that Restu Imansari has been able to become a major
'pusher' for taking I La Galigo to the world stage. "Don't think
it came all of a sudden," she warns, describing the three years
of preparation as "hard work", with barely any time for a social
life.

But Galigo is worth it, she adds. "It's a fantastic piece of
ancient literature that I think the world should know about. What
better way than introducing it on a world-wide stage.

"It's also been a great chance to know the Bugis people, to
sense their great heritage and to work with them to make this all
happen."

Most of all, however, Restu loves working with professionals
like Robert Wilson and Rhoda Grauer, as well as Elisabetta di
Mambro and Franco Laera from the Change Performing Arts, which is
based in Milan. "I enjoy working with people who are professional
in every single aspect", she says.

"For the Galigo project, Purnati Center for the Arts and the
Change Performing Arts, a Milan-based independent production
company, are responsible for the production. Within the team
everyone has a stipulated task, and we can count on each other to
accomplish (these tasks) in a timely manner," she says.

"The discipline, and professionalism is something we need to
learn and abide by," says Restu.

Therefore, she has insisted on a fully Indonesian group of
performers, and Indonesians to assist every single foreign
expert, something very unusual for Wilson, who is used to working
with an international crew.

With such an experience, the Indonesian La Galigo crew is
hoping to gain new visions to share with others in their villages
or provinces. In this way a base is built for the growth of
Indonesian performing arts.

Restu comes from a family where the father is Javanese and the
mother Minangkabau. As the two blood streams come together, Restu
says, she was taught to respect nature, and people. "In our
family, it does not matter what ethnicity you are or which
religious group you belong to. What matters is human nature,"
contends Restu.

Not surprisingly, Restu is also a graduate of the Landscape
Architecture and Environmental Technology School of Trisakti
University. Gardening is her hobby, painting a way of meditation,
but the ultimate happiness she finds in dancing. When I dance,
the world stops to exist, she says.

Will she tour the world with the Galigo troupe? Restu just
smiles one of her mysterious smiles.