To Belong / Suwung 2014

"Achieving supreme goal"
by Tatsuro Ishii, "Dance New Air 2014 - the dance of tomorrow"
(Dance Magazine, Shinshokan January 2015)

In the past twenty years of the Japanese contemporary dance scene, collaborations with overseas artists have become quite common, but has it ever shown the depth and aptitude as this To Belong? The songs from Indonesia and traditional expression using the body merge with its contemporary Japanese counterparts in an effortless manner, creating an atmosphere defined as "Asian." Yet it does not play upon the stereotypical "oriental" image, but rather diversify this imagery that is defined as oriental. This piece achieves to reach the supreme goal of what contemporary dance has been aiming for.

Performing 'To Belong / Suwung' : Body Dialogue
by Is Mujiarso – detikhot
Wednesday, 17/12/2014 11:40 pm

http://hot.detik.com/read/2014/12/17/114000/2779988/1059/pentas-to-belong-suwung-tubuh-yang-berdialog

Jakarta
In 2011, the renowned Japanese choreographer who already established an international reputation, Akiko Kitamura, came to Indonesia for a creative exploration. She was looking for what she describes as "the Asian body in contemporary dance." She visited Solo and Yogyakarta, and met with unique artists who based their work on the traditional art form also to transcend to others, which enabled her to bring art on cross-disciplinary interaction. In Solo, she was fascinated by Ki Slamet Gundono who was experimenting with his own puppets. She was also fascinated by Endah Laras, a versatile singer with a very strong foundation on tradition. In Yogyakarta, she 'fell in love' with Mohamad Marzuki and Kill the DJ who successfully merged hip-hop with tradition and philosophy of Java .

The meetings inspired her to initiate a collaborative work that combines all the elements that interested her. She also invited Yudi Ahmad Tajudin, the artistic director of Theatre Garage in order to bridge the two cultures. The result is a dance-theater entitled To Belong / Suwung. This work was first staged in Nagano, Japan in November 2013. Then in March 2014 it was presented again in Singapore, and finally returned to Japan to the international dance festival "Dance New Wave" in Tokyo in October 2014.

Towards the end of this year, the art enthusiasts in Indonesia finally had the opportunity to witness this special show. This was an occasion that could not be passed because originally there were no plans to stage To Belong / Suwung in Indonesia. Luckily Akiko Kitamura was in Jakarta for the staging of the opera-theater-dance Gandhari (Theatre Jakarta, December 12 & 13) which was also directed by Yudi Ahmad Tajudin and involved the dancers in To Belong / Suwung. There are 3 Indonesian dancers (Danang Pamungkas, Rianto and Lulu Ari Prasetyo) and 3 Japanese dancers (Kana Ote, Yuki Nishiyama and Llon Kawai.) So all the important figures to stage To Belong / Suwung for the public of Jakarta came together.

To Belong / Suwung is a rich display of the arts. The curtains maximised the minimal stage serving also as multimedia screens. The main screen opens with the video of Slamet Gundono singing with his trademark style: an ukulele and the Banyumasan dialect. Then with the same small guitar carried around her neck, Endah Laras appears. Her song accompanies the dancers who appear one by one on stage. In the beginning the three Japanese dancers and the three dancers from Solo and Jogja move in contrast as to emphasise their differences. They are trying to communicate and seek a common understanding. Keeping their distance with each other, but at moments coming to contact and surprising the other, until gradually the six bodies become united in various complementary motions. Japanese martial arts action captured by Indonesian martial arts, combined with the traditional dance of two cultures, creates a sort of conversation without words that is dynamic and full of energy.

Music produced by Yasuhiro Morinaga combine diverse field recordings, including recording of Slamet Gundono's voice and hip-hop songs by Javanese Mohamad Marzuki. There was a moment when Slamet's voice fills the empty spaces between the dancing bodies: the puppeteer tells the struggle of the gigantic stature with a drop of dew on the tip of the leaf that he could never drink, and his frustration and feeling small and helpless in the face of this drop of dew. Then the sound of Slamet's chant connects to Marzuki's lyrics that describes the body connected to the soul "that has not lost its holiness." The transition from Slamet to Marzuki is so smooth, and all the elements come together, gestures, songs, visual graphics and animations.

In such a union, without the specific role and relation to one another, it felt that Slamet Gundono was an important foundation and an irreplaceable figure. Unfortunately during the process of creation, Slamet died in early 2013. The work is unique and this wonderful collaboration is owed to him, so that the performance in Indonesia particularly had an important meaning. And the good news apart from the two days of presentation in Jakarta, To Belong / Suwung will "return" to Solo, the place of its origin where this collaboration began. In Jakarta the show was held at the Goethe Institute and still can be seen for free on Wednesday (Dec 17) at 20:00 pm tonight. In Solo, To Belong / Suwung will be presented at the Theatre of the ISI this Saturday evening, December 20.

This is the last work that Gundono Slamet was involved in the world of international performing arts. In this work, the last song he created before his death plays an important part and has never been played before in Indonesia. Therefore it is appropriate that when staging To Belong / late artist for all his contributions to the arts in Indonesia and all over the world.
(MMU / MMU)