Scapino ballet piece tells a human story

Asip A. Hasani, Contributor/Jakarta

Young female dancers stood firmly behind a long table while another group of nine young male dancers sat on the other side of the stage, bathed in simple lighting.

On the background of the stage was written the words, "Kathleen has a big **** ", which looked like graffiti. When the sound of a piano began to resonate, one or two of them began to move.

The dancers put exerted energy on stage upon hearing the banging sound of rock music from the English band Godflesh and Dutch composer Rubern Stern. The performance soon turned into a demonstration of highly skilled ballet.

This was the second contemporary ballet performance, titled Kathleen, played by outstanding Dutch dance company the Scapino Ballet Rotterdam, at Gedung PPG Kesenian, Yogyakarta, on June 12.

The performance in Yogyakarta was made possible thanks to the invitation of the organizing committee of the annual Yogyakarta Arts Festival (FKY) in cooperation with the Yogyakarta-based Indonesia-Dutch institute Karta Pustaka.

The combination of rock music and outstanding skill of the young dancers, who wore black T-shirts and trousers instead of tutus, made it seem as if the audience was not watching a classical ballet performance.

"This, the rock music, is perhaps the reason why this piece has a strong appeal to young people," said Karta Pustaka director Anggi Minarni after the performance.

Critics consider the contemporary dance piece Kathleen as one of the highlighted works of Scapino's senior choreographer Ed Wubbe, who has built up an entirely new repertoire based on Scapino's works.

The 45-minute Kathleen tells a story about bitter social isolation in the big city. The graffiti, the emotionless dancers, and the rock music symbolize modern life.

However, the piece concludes that even a lonely heart can become tied up in friendship and be dependent on others.

The performance by 15 dancers obtained international success, particularly in New York's Joyce Theatre, where tickets were sold out for a week last year.

The previous piece, Rosary, also a Wubbe work, was more conventional, and was accompanied by Franz Schubert's String Quintet in C.

Again, the twelve dancers demonstrated their excellent skills in this piece. Spectators were presented with beautiful ballet movements in which the dancers shifted from one complicated position to another at a rapid tempo.

The 47-minute Rosary, literally meaning rosegarden, conveyed hope and confusion, desire and passion.

It is interesting to know why Wubbe chooses classical composition String Quintet in C which is considered a Schubert masterpiece.

"I am searching for disorientation and detachment in Rosary ... Schubert's String Quintet is the perfect match for what I wanted. It is as if that music allows us to journey in the soul, in which Schubert visits the most paradisiacal places and dares to gaze into the deepest, darkest abysses, and the various mood landscape in between," says Wubbe in a written remark.

Scapino Ballet Rotterdam is the resident modern dance company of Rotterdam and the first touring company in the Netherlands. It was founded by Hans Snoek, who was known for his commitment in introducing young Dutch people to dance.

The company has developed into one of the trendsetters in ballet in the Netherlands and Europe. It produces an average of 100 performances per year throughout the country. Scapino also travels abroad regularly and performs at various international dance festivals.

"This is a great opportunity for introducing Yogyakarta people to this repertoire. We, the FKY organizing committee, are proud to hold this performance," chief of the FKY organizing committee, Bambang Paningron, said.

Scapino's current performance in Indonesia involves some 27 dancers and crew.

"We feel honored by Scapino's willingness to fulfill our invitation," said Paningron, adding that he hoped for better cooperation between the Yogyakarta and Dutch arts communities in the future, to enable Yogyakarta people to enjoy regular arts performances by Dutch artists at least once a year.

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Scapino Ballet Rotterdam presents Kathleen and Rosary to the Jakarta public on June 15 and June 16 at 8 p.m. at Gedung Kesenian Jakarta (GKJ). For more information, contact GKJ on 3808283/3441892, fax 3810924, E-mail: tu@gkj-online.com