See (and learn) dances of Aceh (Sumatra, Indonesia)

Asia Society

presents

Tari Aceh: Dance from Aceh, Sumatra, Indonesia

Tari Aceh

Saturday, February 28

7pm -- pre-performance lecture

8pm -- performance

info/tickets

Sunday, March 1

11am-1pm -- workshop with dancers of Tari Aceh, 

exploring traditions and hallmarks of Acehnese dance

info/tickets

Aceh (Sumatra, Indonesia) is renowned for its exuberant performances combining text, poetry, dance, and movement with a distinct flavor that reflects local culture as well as a strong Islamic influence. It has been ten years since the devastating tsunami killed over 200,000 people in Aceh. This performance celebrates the resilience of the people and a new generation of young women whose traditions have provided an important part of the healing process.

One of the hallmarks of Acehnese dance is a form of body percussion in which various rhythms are created by slapping the body or clapping. One form — saman — is done in a tight line, shoulder-to-shoulder, becoming almost a singular-being moving at split-second speed. The form is not only entertaining, but also has an educational side which reflects the morals and teachings of the community.

This is a rare opportunity to see an all-female group from Syiah Kuala University, located in Banda Aceh, the capital of the Aceh province on the western Indonesian island of Sumatra.

This program is part of Asia Society's ongoing initiative Creative Voices of Muslim Asia.

Can't make it to this program? Tune in to AsiaSociety.org/Live at 7pm EST for a free live video webcast.

Asia Society
725 Park Avenue (at 70th Street), Manhattan
(map/directions)

Asia Society to host Indonesian performance troupes

Nan Jombang Dance Company

As part of its Creative Voices of Muslim Asia initiative, Asia Society will present two innovative performance companies from Indonesia:

Nan Jombang Dance Company (Saturday, October 6, 8pm) will show work that combines the Minangkabau (West Sumatra) traditions of martial arts, dance, folk theater and body percussion. (video clip and tickets)

Papermoon Puppet Theatre's Mwathirika (photo by Indra Wicaksono)

Papermoon Puppet Theatre (Monday, October 1, 8pm) presents Mwathirika--a non-verbal, puppet-theater experience set in 1965, when thousands of Indonesians were jailed and murdered. (video clip and tickets)

Asia Society
725 Park Avenue (at 70th Street), Manhattan
(directions)

"Dance is for peace."

Evidence, ODC and Urban Bush Women Dance for Diplomacy

by Roslyn Sulcas, The New York Times, March 19, 2010

Traditions, Inventions, Exchange

Baryshnikov Arts Center and Danspace Project are co-presenting a new tri-part video/sound installation by Molly Davies and Iki Nakagawa, Traditions, Inventions, Exchange, on the 6th floor of BAC, now through June 11.

A vibrant, fluid interweaving of reflections in imagery and words, Traditions, Inventions, Exchange draws from the experiences of dancers and presenters who took part in the Triangle Arts Program (Indonesia/Japan/US) in the mid-1990s. I attended part of the special programming at BAC on Saturday--a great opportunity to see good portions of the three longish sections of TIE.

Unfortunately, the roundtable panel of artists, indifferently moderated, was less than illuminating, and no time was set aside for audience questions that might have probed a bit deeper and opened up richer information. I'm still not sure, from what I heard, what was fertile, significant and lasting about the interactions and experimental research among the TIE participants. What's more, the follow-up "informal gallery walk with Davies" turned into a DIY affair since Davies resisted the idea of offering anything as structured as a guided tour of the installation. Instead, she just urged us to go look and listen.

I get the point of the laidback, non-hierarchical philosophy of the American participants--Steve Paxton, Nancy Stark Smith and others--but this special event could have used a sharper outline, a firmer shape, a little--yes, even hierarchical--direction. After I took in my fill of the installation--treasuring, especially, the flying geese and pecking shore birds and the breathtaking dancing of Kota Yamazaki, a shaman of movement--I found myself longing for more of the actual air of New York's beautiful day. I slipped away before the concluding live performance, which featured Sardono W. Kusumo, Polly Motley, Diane Madden, Paxton and Yamazaki and was probably wonderful.

You can visit Traditions, Inventions, Exchange during gallery hours, 11am-6pm, through this Thursday. If you'd like to be strictly linear about it and watch the entirety of all three looping sections, give yourself a couple of hours. Otherwise, you can certainly enjoy mixed/matched bits and pieces of TIE, as you please.

Baryshnikov Arts Center