World premieres for Art Summit

JAKARTA (JP): After three years of waiting, art lovers in Jakarta will be able to enjoy performances by local and international artists at the Third Art Summit Indonesia 2001 International Festival on Contemporary Performing Arts.

At the festival, arts lovers will have rare chance, witnessing two world premieres by the Pappa Tarahumara dance theater company from Japan and the Folkwang Tanzstudio of Germany.

Pappa Tarahumara will blend music and artistic movements free from certain genre, while providing art lovers the space to interpret the artists' work. For the Arts Summit, the troupe will stage Love Letter.

Folkwang Tanzstudio, one of the world's most recognized dance troupes, will close the festival with the latest piece of Hanrietta Horn's creation, titled Der Auftacher (Hard to Understand Dance). The group will center its choreography using chairs as props while promising subtle humor, balanced but with surprises.

Among other local and international performers will be two big names in the country: dancer-choreographer Farida Oetoyo and actor-director N. Riantiarno.

Farida, who is also the artistic director of Kreativitat Dance Indonesia dance company, will stage her new choreographed work Burung-Burung (Birds).

The 62-year-old artist -- who studied ballet at the Bolshoi dance academy in Russia and became a dancer for Ballet der Lade Lander in Amsterdam -- is known for her efforts of mixing ballet with local nuances, creating attractive choreography.

"In my new piece, Burung-Burung to be staged at the Arts Summit, there will be less touches of ballet," Farida said.

The dance is full of metaphors, using birds to express one's uneasiness in life while illustrating the human life cycle. Thirteen dancers will stage the choreography, with accompanying music prepared by noted musicians Indra Lesmana and Farida's son Wong Aksan.

Riantiarno's Teater Koma will certainly bring the crowds in to the Arts Summit, with fans lured for two reasons: the new play and the return of the group's director N. Riantiarno.

Titled President Burung-Burung (President of the Birds), the play promises social-political humor, the group's popular trademark, inspired by the country's ongoing situation.

The play tells the story of a country which faces a repeat of history. Chaos reigns everywhere and people demand the accountability of their former president, who took power 30 years ago, stockpiled a fortune and was then accused of kidnapping and murdering prodemocracy activists. Now, he is an old man with plenty of loyal birds. Old memories are his sole consolation, and he is a leader only to his birds.

The month-long festival -- organized by the office of the State Minister of Tourism and Culture to run from Aug. 27 to Sept. 27 -- will feature 17 groups from 10 countries.

The first festival, with the theme "Music and Dance", featured 15 groups from nine countries in 1995. In 1998, the festival followed the theme "Performing Arts" with 15 groups performing from eight countries.

All acts participating in the event, the most prestigious in the country, had to undergo competitive selection by nine members of the artistic team, including reputable artists Sardono W. Kusumo, Rahayu Supanggah, Putu Wijaya, Ratna Riantiarno, Sal Murgiono and former director general of culture Edi Sedyawati, who is also the event's national committee vice chairperson.

"We had to turn down some groups as they failed to meet our requirements," said Ratna.

She gave an example of a Russian group which planned to present a classical show instead of a contemporary one which was expected at the event.

"But there were also some groups, including from India and the United States, which were ideal for the event, but could not perform due to our limited budget. We can't afford to fly them here, we can only provide meals and accommodation," Ratna said.

Tickets for the shows are priced between Rp 10,000 (about US$1.1) and Rp 50,000 each.

In addition to all the performances, organizers will also stage a three-day seminar from Sept. 14 to Sept. 16 on contemporary performing arts with the theme "The Challenge of Multiculturalism". (ste)