Spectacular line up of performers at arts festival

By C.G. Asmara

JAKARTA (JP): From Sept. 23 until Oct. 12, Jakarta audiences will be treated to a variety of performances by internationally renowned contemporary music and dance groups as part of Art Summit Indonesia 1995: International Festival and Seminar on Contemporary Music and Dance. All performances will be held at either Taman Ismail Marzuki or at Gedung Kesenian Jakarta.

The festival, which has been organized by the Directorate General of Culture of the Ministry of Education and Culture, is part of the government's ongoing commemoration of Indonesia's 50th Anniversary of Independence and serves as a salute to Indonesia's artistic achievements which have received international attention and acclaim. It aims at bringing together performances from around the world within the context of multiculturalism that represent the summit of contemporary music and dance.

Apart from the music and dance performances, the festival will also hold a two-day seminar at Hotel Wisata, Jl. Thamrin, Central Jakarta, on Sept. 27 and 28, entitled, Frontiers for Composers and Choreographers: The Problem of Multiculturalism. The seminar, whose committee chairman is I Made Bandem, will open with a keynote address by Edi Setiawati and will host a number of leading scholars on music and dance including Sunil Khotari (of India), Sal Murgiyanto (Indonesia), Jose Maceda (The Philippines), Jochen Schmidt (Germany) and Sumarsam (Indonesia). The main topics for discussion have been broken down into three parts pertaining to music and dance: philosophy and concept; methods and techniques; and case studies.

Building on the theme of multiculturalism, the majority of the 15 scheduled contemporary performances originating from nine countries can be broken down into roughly two types: those that build on and are inspired by traditional genres and those which launch into the avant garde with the intention to create something entirely new. Many of the groups have multinational members. Issues of multiculturalism are crucial in the world of performance today as an increasing number of artists look to their own traditional cultures and to the cultures of others for inspiration. There are many issues raised by these investigations, not the least of which include questions of appropriation that arise when an artist "gains" from the culture and traditions of another without a true understanding or sufficient experience.

In the festival, many of the contemporary artists grow out of the performance traditions from which they draw inspiration. An example of this is Banjar Gruppe Berlin from Germany, headed by Paul Gutama Soegijo. Born in Yogyakarta, Gutama's compositions, which he terms "New Source Music", fuse together his western music training and experience from living in Berlin for the past 30 years with the music of his youth in Central Java. His five compositions all emphasize his spiritual ties with his motherland and include Deprokan which explores the implications of this Javanese word which means "to let oneself fall to the ground into a sitting position with the legs crossed in front or folded to one side. Another of his compositions is based on the dakwah (religious teaching) of the Saman people of Aceh that features singing and rhythmic upper body movements.

The four Indonesian groups performing in the festival -- Slamet Abdul Syukur, Rahayu Supanggah, Sardono W. Kusumo and Bagong Kussudiardjo -- are not only the leading innovators in contemporary Indonesian performance, but also draw upon their traditional training in music and dance. Rahayu Supanggah, a composer who has been known throughout his career as a "rebel pioneer", is committed to the task of continuing his use of traditional Javanese music in order to preserve its existence and to keep it contemporary. Likewise, choreographer Bagong Kussudiardjo has expressed his belief that artists must delve into the traditional arts in order to get at their roots so that they can be protected, allowed to grow, blossom and change.

Supanggah, Bagong and Sardono have all been heavily criticized at one time or another throughout their careers for breaking with their traditional training and not following pakem (conventions and standards) of their respective arts, yet have also been highly praised for their innovations and performances of exceptional artistic merit. These criticisms and praise for contemporary performers who break with their traditional training both in Indonesia and abroad will hopefully be addressed during the festival and accompanying seminar.

Besides these groups that draw on tradition, several of the festival's events will feature groups that have been forging into completely new styles of performance. One such group is Urban Sax from France, whose performance marking the gala opening of the festival promises to be spectacular. Appearing in costumes that resemble toxic waste gear, 30 or more performers will blast their saxophones in a unique staging formation based on group founder and leader Gilbert Artman's in-depth studies into the nature of acoustics and the architecture of urban spaces. Termed "sound manipulations" the musicians explore the nature of the saxophone as a generator of sound that can be controlled by subtle nuances of the breath as well as by electronic equipment.

With such an impressive list of performers, every event is sure to be a success. Such a prestigious list of artists is rarely assembled for a single festival and I urge Jakarta audiences to take advantage of this rare opportunity by seeing as many performances as they can.