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Javanese drama, dance at Hill

It is very fitting that Java native F.X. Widaryanto carries the title of International Institute's Distinguished Visiting Artist in Residence. Not only has he spent this entire year teaching Javanese court dance to University students, giving free lessons to members of the University's Gamelan Ensemble, and choreographing a dance drama which included both groups, he is also sewing some of the costumes for the show. He is dancer, choreographer, musician and costume designer all rolled into one.

Laughingly, he adds, "Like Shampoo!" But if he were bottled, he would not be Pert Plus, he would be Pantene. It is unusual, and so refreshing, to see such modesty in an artist who possesses such talent and virtuosity.

Tonight's performance is a full-length Javanese dance-drama in sendratari form, a 20th-century art form which combines elements of traditional and modern Javanese dance styles with music and theater. "Sendratari" literally means "art, drama, dance."

F.X. Widaryanto stressed the fact that this performance was a very large endeavor. Some of the 50 performers started rehearsing three months ago -- a very short time when compared to the years he was trained in traditional Javanese court dance and music before actually performing.

The dance-drama, titled Nyidrasmårå (Stolen Love), draws on the ancient Indian epic The Mahabarata, but its theme is a universal one -- the conflict between love and marriage. The dance-drama focuses on the rivalry of the two sons of Krishna for the love of a beautiful princess.

Unlike Western orchestras whose scores are written down, the University's Gamelan Ensemble will perform a rehearsed improvisation. The 30 members perform on elaborately ornamented bronze instruments, which include gongs, metallophones and drums, that are specifically made to be played together.

"I introduced (to the performers) a new way to listen. The dancers need the (gamelan's) dynamic, (it provides) the softness, the loudness ... and the changing pattern of the piece affects the feeling and emotion of the scene," remarked F.X. Widaryanto.

However, probably one of the most interesting aspects of this performance is one that the audience will not have the pleasure of watching. "In Java, the ritual gathering of all the performers the day before the performance, called selamatan (literally meaning safe), is very important." During the night, it is customary "to make a special offering, usually a mountain of rice with vegetables and fruits, in order not to encounter any obstacles."

"Togetherness is very important," F.X. Widaryanto emphasized throughout his interview with the Daily. "I tried to make a significant role for everybody ... without her or him," the performance would be very difficult to put on. Moreover, the performance isn't the only thing that is supposed to come together when the curtain goes up, "The performers have to become one entity ... one group performing in harmony and with inner peace."