Shipherd Lounge in Asia House was completely packed last Friday evening, with students sitting in a semi-circle around the large room. They were all waiting excitedly for the Javanese dance duo presented in joint programming by the Shansi Memorial and Asian American Alliance.

Java is one of the main islands of the archipelago nation, Indonesia, which has a rich history of arts, culture, music and dance.

Mya Gosling, the Liason of the Shansi Student Committee, welcomed the audience and introduced Djoko Moerdiyanto, Shansi Visiting Scholar from Gadja Mada University in Indonesia. Professor Moerdiyanto provided a brief history of a vast culture. He informed the audience that the dance form they were about to see is one of the two formal dances of Indonesia known as Surakata. The Surakata is traditionally a royal court dance.

Moerdiyanto went on to explain the three dances. The first was an introductory dance that invites the audience into the performance. The second was a more dynamic dance that is sometimes compared to martial arts. The last was a romantic dance that is usually performed at weddings and celebrations.

With that, the beautiful Olivia Retno Widyastuti gracefully entered the room. She was wrapped in traditional Indonesian batik with a bright sash and traditional jewellery. The song was sung in Javanese with a traditional Indonesian ensemble. The dance is very delicate with light foot work and intricate hand and finger movements. Widyastuti’s eyes followed her fluid hand gestures. She used the sash a great deal, gently wrapping it around her arm and then throwing it off again. The butterfly-like dance as well as Widyastuti’s grace mesmerized the audience.

With big strides, decorated by crown-like headgear, an armlet and a batik, Matheus Wasi Bantolo entered the dance floor. He wore a serious expression and unlike the previous dance, the warrior dance consisted of definitive movements, long strides and prominent shoulder movements. The performance came off like a dance drama in which the warrior displayed both his spear and his bravery.

After ending the dance, Bantolo welcomed the audience. He explained that the dance he had just performed is the strong male dance.

There are three characters in a Surakata dance: the female character, very graceful and delicate; the strong male dancer, who is warrior-like and sometimes wears masks; and lastly, the refined male dancer who is both graceful and strong. Bantolo explained how the footwork of the three dancers differed: the female character moves around in a bent position, with her feet not too far apart while the male character dances in an open bent position and the refined dancer performs in a combination of these two forms.

Bantolo then performed a dance of the refined male, which begins with a meditative position. The piece had an ambience of peace and calmness similar to the female’s dance with its swaying and fluid movements.

The last dance was the romantic dance drama of Prince Komojoyo and Princess Komoratih. They are considered to be the perfect humans and usually, in a wedding, this dance is performed to ask for a bride and groom to look as beautiful and handsome as Komoratih and Komojoyo. Bantolo and Widyastuti changed into royal outfits with crowns and more jewelry for this dance. They come towards each other, delicately touching hands. The male character in this dance is refined and thus the piece was very gentle and intricate overall. The dancers were synchronized in their movements and the sashes again played a large part in the performance. At the end, Bantolo sang part of the song while he continued his movement.

The audience burst out with a long, appreciative applause as the two finished their dance. Many of the spectators expressed how lucky they were to experience such a beautiful dance form this close up.

Bantolo and Widyastuti spoke to many of the students and faculty after the show. Bantolo explained how the Surakata dance and other Indonesian dances stem out of Hindu culture and the Bharat Natyam dance form. Many of the basic footwork and mudras, or hand movements, are similar to that of Bharat Natyam.

Bantolo and Widyastuti, both members of the royal family of dancers of Surakata. Bantolo is a dancer, choreographer, composer and teacher. He has performed abroad with Indonesian cultural missions to Germany, Belgium, the Philippines, Japan, and the Netherlands. His dance partner, Widyastuti is a graduate from the famed Surakata Academy of Indonesian Art. She has also performed abroad in places such as London and Cambodia. She is currently a member of the dance ensemble at the Mangkunegaran Palace and the Kasunanan Palace in Surakarta.

The last two weekends have been truly exceptional with respect to classical dance troupes such as Natya and the Surakata dancers. Through such performances, students and faculty alike get to experience different cultures and receive an outlet to learn about fascinating art forms and traditions from around the world.