Jakarta - Many local traditions have become lost in the mists of time, and only a few manage to find a way to stay vibrant in the modern era.
One that is succeeding is a fresh form of Acehnese dance that will make its debut in a newly choreographed performance here on Tuesday and Wednesday.
The performance, She Lagee, is the work of Asnawi, a choreographer who directs a troupe of about 40 village artists from Meulaboh regency, Aceh.
"I was fascinated and captivated by the passion they display despite the hardships they constantly face," Asnawi said.
Asnawi himself is the son of a charismatic seudati leader, Syekh Lah Genta. Seudati is the popular form of all-male performance where the only music accompanying the dancing and singing is rhythmic torso-slapping. The dance form is arguably the second-most performed Acehnese dance after the saman dance.
In their heyday, Lagenta‘s troupe performed both in Indonesia and abroad, including at the 1991 KIAS -- the biggest Indonesian performing arts festival in the United States. His group, along with two others from Sumatra, were awarded a prestigious Bessie Award for their critically acclaimed run of nine consecutive evening shows at the Joyce Theater in New York.
Asnawi belongs to a new generation. He decided to undertake formal education in dance and choreography, graduating in 2000 from the Jakarta Institute of the Arts. He has since created several fresh works of his own, characterized by their trademark Acehnese influence.
It was during a trip to serve as a judge at an annual local performing arts competition that he met the village performers that make up his newest group.
With the support of an NGO as the producer, Asnawi came up with an idea to rejuvenate a form of dance from Meulaboh best known as rapai lagee 12.
"Originally the dance is performed by 12 men playing the rapai (a large kind of tambourine), with the singing and lyrics taken from oral literature," he said.
For She Lagee, he takes the core of this form but combines it with other traditional forms found in Aceh, such as the popular seudati.
"In the new piece, I reduced the rapai 12 to four men only. But the rhythms and patterns are the same," he said.
She Lagee, which means "shifting style or attitude" in Acehnese, has a layered meaning. It is unfailingly a metaphor, both on and offstage.
"As you know, the war is over in Aceh, but that doesn‘t mean there is no more war. Even after surviving the conflict period and the tsunami, the Acehnese are still struggling to hold onto the good old principles that seem to be forgotten," Asnawi said.
"Ironically, it‘s during peace time that I see those noble principles ‘shifting‘ and I wish simply to give a reminder of them through this performance."
The result is a performance woven from a combination of dance, music, singing and oral literature -- all reworked to be taken onto the stage.
The 40 performers, who range from school students to village artists, were selected out of 200 who auditioned across Meulaboh. They have been rehearsing together for the Jakarta show for about two months.
"Many have never even visited the center of Meulaboh city and now they have to fly to the capital, Jakarta," Asnawi said.
"But they are determined." Helly Minarti
She Lagee
July 8-9, 2008
Graha Bhakti Budaya hall, Taman Ismail Marzuki arts center,
Jl. Cikini Raya no. 73, Central Jakarta
Tickets Rp 30,000 to Rp 75,000
Phone: Aidil 081360809096; Agus 081586111603
Source: http://old.thejakartapost.com (July 09, 2008)