Kuala Lumpur - A GROUP of students from Yogjakarta, Indonesia, mesmerised the audience with graceful dances during their cultural exchange stint.
The students, aged between 17 and 19, were participating in the Indonesia-Malaysia Cultural Exchange programme in Lang-kawi from Nov 6 to Nov 16. They were accompanied by three teachers.
They were in Langkawi on the invitation of choreographer Dalili Azahari. Dalili, who is from Langkawi, studied in the secondary school in Yogjakarta for five years.
“I invited the students here as part of a cultural exchange initiative. I want them to learn traditional Malay dances, and I want the people here to dance traditional Indonesian dances,” he said.
Art lovers from the region sponsored the trip aimed at promoting regional culture.
“The Indonesian students had the opportunity to learn the Malay Layang-Layang and Zapin steps while the Malaysian dancers picked up Indonesia`s Tarian Golek, Tarian Klon Topeng and Tarian Srimpi.
A dance teacher from Yogjakarta, Tri Endang Yuliati, 45, said Indonesian traditional dance steps were slightly different from Malay dance steps.
“The Indonesian steps are more graceful and slow. The Malay dance steps are more dynamic and involve a lot of feet movement,” she said.
Source: thestar.com.my (23 November 2007)
