Jakarta, IO – To mark the thirty-third anniversary of Ukrainian Independence, last August 24th 2024 the Embassy of Ukraine together with the Dewan Kesenian Jakarta or Jakarta Arts Council of the Taman Ismail Marzuki Arts Centre held the world premiere of ‘Error,’ a dance drama by Dakh Theatre of Ukraine in collaboration with Gema Citra Nusantara of Indonesia. The performance was held in an area where there is a pond outside of Teater Wahyu Sihombing at Taman Ismail Marzuki.
Dakh Theatre is the first independent theatre and contemporary arts centre in Ukraine. It was established in 1994 by theatre producer, director, playwright and actor, Vladyslav Troitskyi. Born in 1964, Vladyslav Troitskyi is a very important figure in Ukrainian theatre who changed Ukraine’s cultural landscape. He began his education by becoming a sound engineer but afterwards studied further to become a graduate of the Russian Institute of Theatre Arts in 2002. Troitskyi was active in the independent theatre and music scene and has left enduring marks with his creations. His dramaturgical works led him to Hungary, Switzerland, Poland and Germany where his work Das Mädchen mit den Streichhölzern or ‘The Match Girl’ by Ukrainian author Klim and Dostoevsky’s ‘The Village of Stepanchikovo and Its Inhabitants,’ proved a great success.
Vladyslav Troitskyi received the Shevchenko National Prize for his requiem opera IYOV in 2020. This award named after Taras Hryhorovych Shevchenko (1814-1861) who was Ukraine’s foremost 19th century poet and a major figure of the Ukrainian national revival, is Ukraine’s highest state prize for works of culture and art since 1961. The music for the requiem opera IYOV was by Roman Grygoriv and Illia Razumeiko for piano, cello, drums and voices whereas the music was directed by Vladyslav Troitskyi, himself.
Another of Vladyslav Troitskyi’s efforts was the establishment of the internationally acclaimed Gogolfest in 2007. This is an international contemporary art (which includes theatre, music, literature, and the visual arts) and cinema festival that before the outbreak of war in Ukraine 2022, was held in Kyiv, Ukraine. The co-founder of the Festival and chairman of its Board of Trustees is Evgeni Utkin, a prominent Ukrainian IT entrepreneur. The production of Error was part of the Gogolfest this year, which since the beginning of the 2022 war with Russia is no longer always performed in Kyiv.
The Gogolfest is named after the well-known Ukrainian writer Mykola Gogol who in Russia is known as Nikolai Vasilevich Gogol (1809 – 1852). This Ukrainian writer’s works are also part of Russian literature and his famous book ‘Dead Souls’ is considered the first modern Russian novel. Although Ukraine and Russia do not share a national language, Ukraine is bilingual and so many Ukrainians also speak Russian. This is what made it possible for them to contribute to Russian literature and which underlines again the tragedy that Russia would attack a country like Ukraine.
Following the traditions of modern theatre, the venues used for performances at the Gogolfest are frequently not ones usually used for traditional productions. This was very much the case for the presentation of Error which was not on a traditional stage but rather in a pond and on a platform built over the pond outside of Teater Wahyu Sihombing in Taman Ismail Marzuki.
The Gogolfest which is usually held in September, also has a history of using different artistic mediums in their performances. This was again the situation in the production of Error where dance and music were combined with audiovisual effects such as background scenery and film running throughout most of the dance and music performances.
Error began with sheaves of wheat blowing in the wind projected on to a half-moon shaped display panel behind the platform, and on to the walls of the Teater Wahyu Sihombing, around the small pool of water. In the pond, Indonesian dancers walked through the shallow waters moving bamboo sticks like oars to the sound of waves. Karin Soerjanatamihardja who both participated in as well as directed the performers from Gema Citra Nusantara said, “We told Vlad that our dancers would perform in the water as the water element is important for Indonesia.”
This is understandable if we remember that roughly 80% of Indonesian territory consists of water with five big islands and 30 smaller archipelagos. Water plays such a large part in our daily lives as a nation. We refer to our motherland as our ‘land and water’. In line with this, the scenes thrown on to the screen and walls also changed to coral reefs with Indonesian boats on the surface of the sea, while the women dancers in the pond moved their bamboos so as to appear to be rowing in unison. The dancers then performed the Saman dance which originates with the Gayo people of Aceh. It is one of Indonesia’s most popular dances and involves a lot of clapping from the dancers. In 2011 it was declared an Intangible Cultural Heritage in Need of Urgent Safeguarding by UNESCO.
The Indonesian women were kneeling in the water and then dancing as they tied each other with rope and together created a net while the screen flashed blue and white megamendung textile patterns (a batik textile design from the town of Cirebon, meaning ‘thunder clouds’) which sparkled in the water. Meanwhile, a Ukrainian woman stood on the platform above them in traditional Ukrainian folk costume playing an accordion solemnly, singing a traditional Ukrainian folk song. Above her, red and green ikat textile patterns played on the screen and she was crowned like a nature queen. The singer was singing an old Ukrainian folk song about the countryside and her motherland. “It is all very traditional and very authentic,” commented a diplomat from the Ukrainian Embassy.
The play of water and light created a shimmering movement on the half-moon screen and walls, with the swirling movement finally turning into ikat textile patterns running into each other. In the water, the dancers had begun to perform a candle dance. This is an ancient dance from West Sumatra where the dancers carry plates with lit candles in the palms of their hands rotating them on a horizontal plane. It was once only performed for traditional events like a harvest festival or weddings but now it is also danced simply for entertainment.
The Indonesian collaborator for Error, Gema Citra Nusantara is a performing arts studio which specializes in preserving and developing the traditional performing arts of which Indonesia is so very rich. It was founded in December 2004 by its head, Mira Marina Arismunandar. Gema Citra Nusantara’s vision is to create a generation of Indonesian youth who are steeped in Indonesian culture and its mission is to hold various Indonesian cultural activities (such as traditional Indonesian dance and music) where it teaches such traditional arts. It also mentors traditional arts as extracurricular activities in schools.
Gema Citra Nusantara however goes further than that, in that it also at times modernizes and creates new dances using traditional forms as it did in producing Error. Both the Saman as well as the Candle Dance are traditional Indonesian dances. However as, the deputy head of Gema Citra Nusantara, Karina Soerjanatamihardja explained, not all traditional dances can be used in dance drama performances such as Error. There are also sacred dances and dances used specifically for healing which cannot be used in simply any public performance by just anyone. Many also require traditional rituals to be performed first and simply performing them would not only disrespect but also disempower traditional communities. She explained, “Dancing of itself has elements of healing in it which many traditional communities have always been aware of. Dance drama is one of the tools for healing trauma.”
As a member of the International Organization of Folk Art and also the European Association of Folklore Festival which are both under the auspices of UNESCO, Gema Citra Nusantara has frequently performed abroad and participated in collaborations with foreign performing arts studios. In doing so, it has won international awards and has perhaps more than any other Indonesian performing arts studio promoted Indonesian art and culture abroad.
Photo courtesy of Djakarta International Theatre Platform 2024.
(IO/Faisal Ramadhan)
At a later point during the performance of Error, the dancers were like yellow lights swirling on the dark water. Then they all squatted in the water and once again did a fast-moving Saman dance. Finally, all the images turned black, and grey with flashes of white like lightening and all the dancers disappeared and red lights appeared. On the platform, black air-filled bags that looked like black rocks began moving and on the screen a hammer proceeded to destroy high-rise buildings as everywhere there was the red blood of smoke, destruction and fire. The dancers moved the black rocks in rhythm with planes on the screen bombing cities and a red sun rise ending in a scene of flaming gold, molten lava slowly covering everything and a final scream. Later, there were more scenes of devastation as a Ukrainian woman spoke in Ukrainian about the unfolding of the war and its terrible effects. At one point she said that she had only four gallons of water left but that at least there was still gas. She spoke on the phone to her child about love and fear and ended by wondering if she would still be alive tomorrow.
Error tries to examine global and personal mistakes that bring irreversible change. It blends traditional culture with technological development. When asked Vladyslav Troitskyi responded that in the performance he is trying to show the destructiveness of war but also the destructiveness of an erupting volcano. “Humanity is now going through terrible things such as terrorism, climate change and war which could all destroy it but the message that Error tries to convey is that we can be stronger and defend the world together.”
Karina Soerjanatamihardja also commented that the final message of Error is about hope, “The world is still waiting for a ray of hope but that as human beings, people are historically resilient and often it maybe darkest before the light finally appears.”
Karina who is the daughter of Gema Citra Nusantara founder, Mira Marina Arismunandar claims that she was already taught dance by her mother as a baby while still in her mother’s belly. Karina had her first on stage performance at the age of three in Berlin where she performed solo a Betawi dance. She learnt many different traditional Indonesian dances and went through intense and varied training from an early age but says that not all people’s bodies or personalities are the same so there will be certain dances that call out more to a person than others. When one has such training one also learns how to tap into the psychological healing that dance provides. “Indonesians love dance dramas because that is the way our civilization has traditionally conducted psychological healing and passed on wisdom to future generations.”
Karina explained that Error was created in 10 days with the idea and concept for the performance coming from Vladyslav Troitskyi while Gema Citra Nusantara provided dancers and musicians to support the Ukrainians in trying to convey their concept and message. In doing so Indonesia has in a sense provided Ukraine with a cultural platform to tell the world about its suffering and the war devastating its land. Perhaps through dance and drama, it has also provided a small opportunity for some healing. In this collaboration, art takes on the responsibility to try to build a better future for world… (Tamalia Alisjahbana)