Who's who among the performeres

Who's who among the performeres

Dance, music and theater are all on the event-packed menu for the
4th Art Summit Indonesia 2004 International Festival on
Contemporary Performances & Visual Arts. So who are the
performers?

* I Wayan Sadra (Indonesia)

Considered one of the most dynamic emerging modern composers,
the Bali-born musician has performed his unique and rich
compositions around the world. For the festival, the 51-year-old
composer will present Otot Kawat Balung Besi (Wire Muscle Iron
Bone), Beringin Kurung (Caged Banyan Tree) and Daily. The works
have been staged before; Otot Kawat, for instance, was staged at
the De Ijsbreker, Gaudeamus Muzik Centrum, Amsterdam (1997) and
West Front Music, Vancouver (2004).

* Hartati (Indonesia)

After scoring success with works like Membaca Meja (Reading
the Table, 2002) and Sayap Yang Patah (the Broken Wing, 2001),
the 38-year-old choreographer will highlight the plight of women,
particularly their bargaining power in between traditionalism and
modernism in The Self Rites: Ode for Women.

Born in Jakarta but raised in West Sumatra, the graduate of
Jakarta Arts Institute's School of Dance is experienced in many
dance forms, from traditional and contemporary dances of West
Sumatra -- learning under late choreographer Gusmiati Suid of
Gumarang Sakti Dance Company and her son Boi G. Sakti -- as well
as ballet and modern dance forms.

* DAM Theater (Japan)

Set up in 1986 by director Hiroshi Ohashi and a group of
actors, DAM, aims to create a performance that is more than just
modern theater but also showcases adventure and the unknown. In
doing so, it experiments and questions the meaning of
contemporary art. Ohashi has produced and directed more than 900
works, including collaborative pieces.

For the festival, DAM will stage Aruku (Walking), a theatrical
poetry that highlights basic human movements.

* Dindon WS - Teater Kubur (Indonesia)

Rising to prominence by winning the award at the Jakarta
Theater Festival in 1985 with Arifin C. Noer's play AA.II.UU,
director Dindon will put his memorable play Sirkus Anjing (Dog
Circus), which premiered at Bandung Institute of Technology in
1990, back on stage for the art summit.

* Magali and Didier Mulleras Dance Company (France)

Invisible, a blend of dance, images and multimedia, will be
the highlight of French choreographers Magali Viguier-Mulleras
and Didier Mulleras. They are performing here as part of their
foreign tour of Asia. The Mulleras -- dubbed among the most
important explorers in digital art -- are part of a new
generation of artists who set themselves free of the established
styles. Their curiosity produces new dances in ever-changing
settings.

* Elly Luthan (Indonesia)

The dancer-turn-choreographer will explore the plight of
Acehnese women, once again taking women's issues as her source of
inspiration. The 52-year-old dancer, who learned classical
Javanese dance from the age of four, has produced notable works,
including Kunthi Pinilih, which was part of the Muziek Theater
Amsterdam.

* Yudhi Ahmad -- Teater Garasi (Indonesia)

Founded in December 1993 as a campus-based group by then
students of Gadjah Mada University in Yogyakarta, the group
became an independent theater group committed to being a
"Laboratory for Theater Creations". For the art summit, it will
stage the third version of its Waktu Batu (Milestone) theater
project.

* Tuhonohono - Gillian Whitehead (New Zealand)

Comprising six musicians from the Pakeha tribe and several
Maoris, the ensemble will present the best works of renowned
composer Gillian Karawe Whitehead. She has been recognized both
in New Zealand and Australia, with her works exploring
instruments, texts and vocals with themes taken from Maori and
Pakeha traditions. The composer has written over 60 compositions,
of which 43 have been staged in two or more countries.

* Tommi Kitti Dance Company (Finland)

Choreographer-dancer Kitti is regarded as one of his
homeland's best contemporary dancers, with 40 works during a
career spanning over three decades. The dance company was set up
in 2000, with notable repertoires comprising an evening length
performance and short ensemble.

* The Tam Dance Company (Korea)

Set up by a graduate of Ewha Women University in 1980, the
dance company made its debut performance the following year.
Known for its artistic style, the company started to use its own
repertoire in 1990. It has won many awards in Korea, including
for choreography and performance at the Seoul Performing Arts
Festival.

* Dieter Mack - Ensemble Surplus (Germany)

Dieter Mack and James Avery Ensemble Surplus will present
several works, including Taro (1987), featuring two piano,
percussion, clarinet bass and flute; Strange (1984) with violin
and piano; and Moon (1990) with clarinet bass and English horn.

The show will be a nostalgic moment for Mack, who set up
Anggur Jaya Balinese gamelan ensemble at Freiburg Music
University in 1982, shortly after a year-long stay in Bali. He
also toured Southeast Asia in 1988.

* Robert Hylton-Urban Classicism (England)

A fascinating mix of jazz dance, hip-hop, the capoeira martial
art as well contemporary and classical dances is promised by this
dance company, commended for "first-class visuals and
thoughtfully sculpted group headstands" by the Daily Telegraph.
Under the direction of Hylton, who has danced for numerous dance
companies (and did a music video for George Michael), the company
is scheduled to stage Physical Elements, comprising two new works
and a short film.

* Kim Itoh and the Glorious Future (Japan)

The dancer-choreographer first danced with Anzu Furukawa and
Dance Butter Tokio in 1987, before leaving the company to pursue
better career options and touring Japan and Europe. He then set
up Kim Itoh and the Glorious Future in 1995, showcasing works
like Dead and Alive and Screaming Garden. Itoh, who was recently
awarded the Shuji Terayama Award for his choreography at the
First Asahi Performing Arts Prize (2002), will stage Dead and
Alive and F.T.

* Black Sky White Theater - Marcella Soltan (Russia)

Reality and myth are at the center of the troupe's Berthrand's
Toys, which is scheduled to be staged at the end of the art
summit. The group was established in 1988 by Marcella Soltan, who
is known as one of leading artists in European physical theater,
and Dimitri Aryupin. The group has performed in many countries,
including in Poland, where Soltan was awarded best actress at
Contact 97 Festival in Torun. -- Stevie Emilia