Performing arts festival graces Solo's historic fortress
An annual festival of performing arts took place at the historic Vastenburg Fortress in the Central Java city of Surakarta, commonly known as Solo, for three days on Sept. 11-13.
With this year's theme, "Generation of World Culture", the Solo International Performing Arts (SIPA) festival featured performances from seven international delegations from Germany, Singapore, South Korea, Malaysia, the Philippines, the United States and Myanmar, as well as home-grown talent from Riau Islands, Yogyakarta's Indonesian Arts Institute (ISI), Jakarta Arts Institute, Bali, Thousand Islands regency, Bandung and Surakarta itself.
“We want SIPA to be more than just a performing arts festival. We want people to acknowledge and appreciate the artistic spirit both in Indonesia and other countries," said SIPA's chairwoman, Irawati Kusumorasri.
The festival opened by showcasing SIPA's 2014 mascot, Yang Mulia Tunku Atiah, who is a descendant of Surakarta's Mangkunegaran royal house and Johor, Malaysia. She greeted the audience that had filled the fortress from a royal carriage that was led to the stage.
Once she was onstage, Tunku Atiah kicked off the event by dancing with the city's Semarak Candra Kirana dance group, which was accompanied by traditional Sundanese, Javanese and Malay music.
A beautiful contemporary ballet performance by German pair Soren Magnus Niewelt and Jessica Sarah Larbig, calling themselves Just Live Dance, enlivened the stage shortly afterward.
Local choreographer Mugiyono Kasido also took to the stage on opening night. Accompanied by South Korean musician Jin Hi Kim, who is a renowned maestro of the komungo - a Korean fourth-century fretted-board zither - Mugiyoyo's dancing thrilled the audience, especially when his son, Marvel Gracia, joined him on stage for a duet.
Another highlight of the three-day festival was a dance by performers from ISI. Entitled "Wisayawisa", the dance depicted scenes from the epic tale, Ramayana. The traditional Tandak Mendue Muke dance by performers from the Seni Angsana dance studio from Karimun, Riau Islands, and a performance by Bali's contemporary music group, Gus Teja World Music, also delighted festival-goers.
The overseas attractions included dancers from the Maya Dance Theater in Singapore, who performed a balletic dance fusion of Asian and European styles, and a delegation from Malaysia, which offered a modern dance performance featuring its three dancers, Stepharina, Eva and Atiah.
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