Zielinski to bring Sumber Cipta's 'Alice' to life

Chisato Hara, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

In commemoration of the 10th anniversary of their studio in Pondok Pinang, South Jakarta, the Sumber Cipta ballet school is to perform Alice in Wonderland next weekend at the Jakarta Playhouse (Gedung Kesenian Jakarta).

This Alice, however, will be no ordinary ballet school production, involving professional dancers from EKI dance company as well as semi-professional soloists, and produced by Canadian choreographer and resident instructor Dislav Zielinski.

A Polish national by birth, Zielinski studied at the National Ballet School of Poland, where he began his professional career with the Gdansk Musical Theatre. As a soloist with the National Ballet of Poland in Lodz, he performed in classic ballets such as Giselle, Swan Lake, Romeo and Juliet and Les Sylphides.

Emigrating in the early 1980s to Canada, Zielinski danced with the Ottawa Ballet (formerly the Theatre Ballet of Canada), touring the Americas. As a guest artist with Les Petit Ballets Performing Company in Ottawa, his choreographic repertoire includes Snow White, Coppelia, The Red Shoes and Alice.

Zielinski first came to Indonesia three years ago, when he produced Beauty and the Beast for a Surabaya ballet company. He learned of Sumber Cipta the same year after a performance in Canada, when school founder Farida Oetoyo approached him.

"I have a wonderful time here as a professional and privately, of course. I like it ... the weather, the people are very much warm. I haven't had a bad experience here," he said, speaking in a unair-conditioned office at the school in sweat pants and a long-sleeved jumper.

Zielinski returned to Surabaya in 2004 to produce Carmen, then came to Jakarta at the end of his stay to teach at Sumber Cipta, choreographing two original works, Retrospection and Emotions for its students. During the same period, he also ran a masters workshop for EKI.

The idea for Alice was born over email correspondence with Farida, and Zielinski has been guest choreographer with Sumber Cipta since mid-June.

"One of the reasons I chose Alice is because I was not familiar with the school's condition, and Alice doesn't really require male dancers," he said.

Even so, Zielinski recruited about 10 male dancers from EKI to be part of the production.

While he concedes that his experience thus far has been "more challenging in terms of technique", his appraisement sees beyond this: "(Their dancing) is not so much professional dancing, but from the heart. And that is important. I have discovered some wonderful talent here," he enthused.

Combining elements of classical ballet, contemporary dance, and even swing and bolero, the Sumber Cipta production of Alice is "not exactly the same interpretation" as the original ballet.

"Perhaps I could say it's a little more ambitious... I think there's something (each audience member) will find interesting about it that they will remember. This is my goal, and I think I'm pretty close to it."

Meanwhile, the story Zielinski follows is closer to the original story by Reverend Charles Lutwidge Dodgson, who wrote under the pseudonym Lewis Carroll.

"It's not so childish, because Alice is a complicated character," he said. "Her body grows, but her thoughts remain the same. She's very immature, and is sort of punished for it."

Zielinski has also imbued it with a more contemporary outlook, addressing issues such as sexual discovery, or attaining physical maturity before one is "ready for the journey". Another is gambling as an addiction, which is raised during Alice's sojourn to the kingdom of cards.

Drawing upon both Alice's Adventures in Wonderland and its sequel, Through the Looking-Glass, and What Alice Found There, Alice (Sumber Cipta's Susi Mariah) is taken on her adventures by her favorite doll and protector (EKI's Gede Juliantara), a harlequin, who comes to life through a mirror.

While there no white rabbit or a Mad Hatter makes an appearance in this production, it features two queens -- the Queen of Spades and the Queen of Diamonds -- and a full cast of about 80 dancers.

Zielinski does not restrict himself to choreography, and also wears the caps of artistic director, producer, costume director and musical director for every production in which he is involved.

"I want to be responsible for absolutely everything," he said, indicating that this also included any disappointment experienced by an audience. In this sense, he is unhappy about the poster, which was printed prior to his approval and features only young children, thus misrepresenting the scope of the anniversary production.

"The harmony and dynamics between all elements of a production is what brings it alive."

But a driving desire is to ensure a "great experience for everyone involved" -- performers and audience both.

"I'm always looking from the audience's point of view, how I would react as a member of the audience. We can't forget the audience."

As for the music, he has arranged compositions ranging a variety of genres that will provide "the right atmosphere that reflects the movement", with an emphasis on early 20th century British composers -- "because Alice is originally British".

"Without music, I'm sure I could do it, but choreography is inspired by music," said Zielinski, who has previously been awarded for music arrangement.

The production held their last rehearsal at the school on Friday evening, and their few remaining days before opening night will be spent rehearsing at the theater.

"Rehearsals have been very good. I can't complain -- the atmosphere is great," Zielinski said. "What is surprising (to me) is that this is an extremely disciplined school. It's not easy."

He continued, expressing his a admiration at the "absolutely unbelievable determination of (Sumber Cipta) students. They have this focus to do very well, and their improvements over these six months are evident".

"So I really, really enjoy every single day working here."

After a moment, he said, "The audience is so quiet here. I can't get used to it. Ballet is like a sport, a game, you have to participate."

Even so, he said, "I think I'm simply so happy I can help ... encourage people not to give up. And I guess if we put our talents together, we will surprise lots of audiences."

Alice in Wonderland will be performed at the Jakarta Playhouse (Gedung Kesenian Jakarta/GKJ) on Nov. 26 at 3 p.m. and 7 p.m., and on Nov. 27 at 11 a.m. and 5 p.m. For more information, contact Balet Sumber Cipta, Jl. Ciputat Raya No. 1, Pondok Pinang, South Jakarta, at (021) 7659467. Tickets are Rp 100,000 and Rp 75,000.