Ohio - Before busting a move at 19 South or dancing for their lives at The Union on Friday nights, Ohio University students can stop at Gordy Hall to learn some new dance moves.
Permias, the Indonesian student group on campus, holds Indonesian dance classes every Friday in Gordy Hall.
Open to all students, the classes focus on teaching traditional Indonesian dances from different regions, said Fitria Kurniasih, coordinator of the cultural and art division of Permias.
The classes began in 2006, but with the increase in the number of Indonesian students at OU, they have become more popular with about 20 people attending each week, Kurniasih said.
In fall of 2007, there were 25 Indonesian students at OU, compared to 17 in 2006, according to the Office of Institutional Research.
One of the reasons for this increase could be the amount of outreach OU has done in Indonesia, said Josep Rota, associate provost for International Affairs.
“We`ve historically had relations with Indonesia for many years,” he said. “In the recent years we`ve had more activity with the Indonesian Ministry of National Education and the Indonesian Embassy in Washington to help recruit Indonesian students to come to OU.”
Kurniasih, an Indonesian graduate student studying in the Southeast Asian Studies program, said that she learned a few dances in elementary school, but didn`t really dance until she came to OU and started teaching the class.
For many Indonesian students, the classes in Gordy are the first time they`ve had the opportunity to learn some of the traditional Indonesian dances.
“There are not a lot of people who do traditional singing and dancing (in Indonesia),” she said. “Now they have the opportunity to learn it here.”
To help students learn more about Indonesian culture, each dance is usually accompanied by a discussion or slide show about the philosophy of the dance, she said.
Some dances may look familiar to American students, like the poco-poco, which is similar to the electric slide. Others, like the saman, a dance that is done by a row of dancers, are more traditional.
Although the classes are popular with Indonesian students, Kurniasih said that students of all nationalities are encouraged to come and learn from each other.
“It`s like a cultural exchange,” she said. “Even if you are American or Japanese, we say, `Teach us how you dance in your country.`”
Source: http://thepost.ohiou.edu/ (September 26, 2008)