RI dance troupe to take part in Greek art Festival
RI dance troupe to take part in Greek art Festival
Susi Andrini, Contributor, Denpasar
As many as 27 dancers and gamelan players grouped in the Makara Dhwaja dance company are leaving for Athens to take part in the 23rd Petras International Festival being held at the Petropolis- Athens from July 11 through July 13.
Led by I Made Bandem, professor of arts and former rector of the Yogyakarta and Denpasar Arts Institutes (ISI), the troupe would be the first ever Indonesian cultural delegation to participate in this world-scale cultural and arts event involving artists from around the globe.
"We want to improve the image of Indonesia in the international world through the presentation of our rich culture and arts," explained Ni Luh Nesa Swasthi Bandem, wife of I Made Bandem and choreographer of the dance troupe along with I Nyoman Cerita.
Thanks to Linda Agum Gumelar, wife of former minister of transportation Agum Gumelar, who has built up close relationships with the Greek government, the Indonesian dance group has been invited to the prestigious art event Petras International Festival.
The Indonesian delegation will perform twice at the 4,000 seat capacity Petras Theater amphitheater.
The group includes 27 dancers and gamelan players performing dances and traditional music from across Indonesia.
"We will bring traditional musical instruments such as gender, reyong, seruling (flute) and terbang, a traditional music instrument from Sulawesi," explained Bandem.
Established in Singapadu village, Gianyar in l973, Makara Dhwaja has been growing as a significant learning center for traditional Balinese dance and gamelan music, particularly for local villagers at Singapadu, known as Bali's most important cultural and arts center.
The establishment of the learning center and dance troupe was the couple's expression of thanks to the village, which is, in Balinese traditional system, called Ngayah.
Returning from studying and teaching at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) and Westlegland University in Connecticut near New York, the Bandem's decided to dedicate their lives to promoting Balinese traditional dance and music.
"It would be a good opportunity for us to present so many kinds of arts and dances to the international audience," exclaimed Bandem.
During the festival, Indonesian participants will perform a number of traditional Indonesian dances including Gadung Kasturi, Satya Brasta and Saraswati from Bali, Cendrawasih and Logohu from Papua, and the Pakarena dance from South Sulawesi,
During a recent rehearsal, Bandem said that the Gadung Kasturi dance illustrates the sweetness and fragrance of the Gadung Kasturi flower performed elegantly by five dancers. It is intended as a welcome dance, choreographed especially by Swasthi Bandem, while the accompanying music is arranged by I Ketut Garwa.
The Satya Bhrasta will be performed by six male dancers depicting a dance inspired by the Bharatayuda war scene taken from the famous Mahabharata epic. The dance portrays a scene in which Gatot Kaca, son of Bima of the five Pandawa brothers, is killed by Karna.
The dance is choreographed by I Nyoman Cerita and the music is arranged by I Nyoman Pasek.
South Sulawesi's Pakarena is a traditional dance of the Buginese ethnic group from the Gowa Kingdom, South Sulawesi, and is performed by four dancers. It tells of the bravery of the seafaring Buginese people.
Indonesia's eastern-most province of Papua is well-known for its natural resources as well as its diverse forms of flora and fauna.
Cendrawasih is the Indonesian name for the beautiful bird of paradise, and is the fauna emblem for the province of Papua. Choreographed by Swasthi Bandem and I Nyoman Windha (music composer), the dance tells the story of a couple of Cendrawasih birds.
A legend says that the beautiful Cendrawasih was once an ugly, black-feathered bird. The birds usually nested in dark caves.
One day, a bird hunter entered the Papuan forest, ignoring the black birds on their nests. The hunter was not interested in hunting the bird thinking that the bird's meat would not tasty because it looked so ugly and frightening.
Feeling humiliated, the male bird persuaded the god of the forest to change its physical appearance. "You have been unfair to us, god. You have given us bad and ugly feathers," protested the male bird.
The bird's wife urged her husband to accept their fate saying their lives were safe and peaceful.
The god of the forest would only grant the male bird its wish if it succeeded in flying across the Indonesian archipelago to see the beauty of the country.
Upon its return, the god of the forest transforms the ugly black bird into one of the most beautiful and colorful flying creatures on earth. However, life is full of consequences. Because of its beauty the Cendrawasih is now one of the most hunted birds in the forest, and is now endangered.
"This is just one of the illustrations of the philosophical idea behind the dance creation. We can draw a lesson from the life of Cendrawasih. It took a year to finish the dance choreography," said Swasthi.