Seventeen groups gear up for Art Summit
Seventeen groups gear up for Art Summit
By Stevie Emilia
JAKARTA (JP): Art lovers, get ready to whet your appetite. A
strong lineup of reputable international and local artists will
take part in the Third Art Summit Indonesia 2001 International
Festival on Contemporary Performing Arts, which lasts a whole
month.
Two world premieres by international artists, five new works
along with other creations presented by 17 troupes coming from 10
countries -- Australia, China, Egypt, England, Germany,
Indonesia, Japan, Korea, Italy and the Netherlands -- will grab
your attention.
A unique dance troupe from Australia, Strange Fruit, will open
the festival on Monday evening, Aug. 27, at Plaza Senayan's
terrace with an alluring show: female dancers clad in colorful
dome-shaped gowns and male dancers in black suits stand on top of
four-meter high elastic poles.
With music in the background, the group, which won the
prestigious Myer Performing Arts Group Award in Sydney last year
and which has performed in various international events, will
present three pieces -- The Field, Flight and Swoon -- for free.
Those who are not invited to the opening ceremony can watch the
show the next day at the same time and place.
Local artists
During the Art Summit, art buffs will also have the
opportunity to enjoy new works by renowned local artists. From
six Indonesian groups, only one will front up with old material.
New choreography by dancer-choreographer Boi G. Sakti, Ritus-
Ritus Kesucian (Rites of Holiness), will be presented in two
parts -- Tradisi dan Mimpi Buruk (Tradition and Nightmare) and
Mitos-Mitos Kecemasan (Myths of Anxiety).
Through his new work, the 35-year-old son of well-known
choreographer Gusmiati Suid is trying to build imagination,
depicting women who are deprived of their basic rights and then
trying to set themselves free.
Through this piece, Boi, who has taken part in many
international events, describes the grim reality of women who are
tortured, helpless against tradition, politics, economics and
modernity.
Two musicians -- I Nyoman Winda and AL Suwardi -- will entice
the audience with their new compositions.
Balinese musician I Nyoman Winda will harmonize gamelan music
through his new piece Gugatan Bambu (Bamboo Demand), played by 12
musicians including himself.
The new piece was created after the musician realized the
Bali traditional music is dominated by percussion instruments,
inspiring him to use suling (traditional flute) as a dominant
instrument in his new creation.
The 50-year-old AL Suwardi will entertain music lovers with
enchanting compositions, exploring newly made gentha (traditional
bells). Through his new work, the Surakarta-based Indonesia Arts
Institute lecturer is trying to revive the vanishing instrument
that originated from Surakarta Palace.
Rachman Sabur's Payung Hitam will present Peter Handke's
Kaspar, which has been performed at several events but is
considered the group's best. Actor-director-writer Rachman Sabur
has so far directed 45 plays, either his own works or those by
renowned playwrights like Samuel Beckett's Menunggu Godot
(Waiting for Godot) and Nikolai Gogol's Inspektur Jendral
(General Inspector).
Big names -- choreographer Farida Oetoyo of the Kreativitat
Dance Indonesia and N. Riantiarno's Teater Koma -- will also
stage their refreshing creations at the event.
Foreign nuances
Not everything is new; foreign troupes taking part in the
event will present reputable creations -- dance, music and plays
-- which have been performed at noted international festivals.
Exploration of body language will be presented by Guangdong
modern dance troupe from China. Set up in 1992, the first
contemporary dance troupe in China is here with its successful A
Tacit Assembly and I Want to Fly, which were staged last year at
the prestigious Edinburgh Festival in Scotland.
Choreographed by Becky Edmunds and Charlie Morrisey, the
dancers collaborate in A Tacit Assembly to blend body language
with expression and dynamic movements, while in I Want to Fly,
Lin Pai Shi promises an impulsive short dance, full of dance
ritual, intrigue and humor.
Bangladesh-born artist Akhram Khan from England will stage
contemporary Indian kathak dance at the Art Summit. The winner of
the Jerwood Choreography Award, London in 1999 will perform with
his best team comprising Nithin Sawhney, Michael Hulls, Andy
Cowton, Moya Michael and Gwyn Emberton.
Three pieces scheduled to be performed here -- 15-minute Fix,
five-minute Loose in Flight and 30-minute Rush -- promise dynamic
and explosive dances inspired by the energy of sufi, Muslim and
abstract dances.
Three choreographies -- Flower of Existence, the Flower of
Vanity, The Marriage of Blood and Waiting -- will be part of the
Kim Bock Hee contemporary dance company's performance at the
international event.
For the last 30 years, Kim Bok Hee, one of Korea's legendary
dancers, has reflected and interpreted Korea's way of thinking
and Buddhism philosophy into her creations.
Tarantula Hypertext O'rchestra from Italy will display what a
poetical phenomenon it is with its music, Yuji Takahashi from
Japan will present Japanese traditional string instruments sangen
and koto, while Dutch musicians Trio Braam -- comprising bassist
Wilbert De Joode, drummer Michael Vatcher and pianist Michael
Braam -- bring a different atmosphere with their exploration of
jazz music.
Japanese theater troupe Black Tent Theater will play the
seventh interpretation of Georg Buchner's Woyzeck. Directed by
Makoto Sato K., this 105-minute play was based on a
psychiatrist's notes on a man who was convicted and hanged for
killing his mistress in 1821.
Unique theater group El Warsha of Egypt will also entertain
people with their unique show staged inside a specially-designed
tent and specially-ordered yellow sand. The famous Egyptian
troupe, which was established in 1987, is finally making it to
the Art Summit after missing out on the previous event in 1998.
The troupe will stage Spinning Lives (Ghazl el Amaar), which has
been performed in various events, such as in Jordan, Iran and
Eqypt.