Sanggar Caraka Buana news: Saman dance officially recognized by UNESCO

Aceh`s Saman dance has been officially included in UNESCO`s intangible world cultural heritage list, an official said.

The decision to include the Saman dance was reached at the 6th Session of the Intergovernmental Committee for the Safeguarding of Intangible Cultural Heritage being held in Nusa Dua, Bali, from November 22 to 29, 2011, I Gusti Ngurah Putra, a tourism and creative economy ministry spokesman , told the press here on Thursday.

"At the session, the Saman dance from Gayo Lues and environs in Aceh province was officially included in UNESCO`s List of intangible Cultural Heritage in urgent need of Safeguarding," he said.

The UNESCO meeting was being participated in by around 500 representatives from 69 countries, international NGOs, cultural experts, and the media.

Coordinating Minister for People`s Welfare Agung Laksono expressed his appreciation for the inclusion of the Saman dance in the intangible world cultural heritage list.

The recognition of the Saman dance by UNESCO should become the beginning of serious efforts to preserve and promote the saman dance, he said.

The Saman dance is originally from Gayo Lues and environs in in Aceh Province. It was created by a Gayo tribe in the 13th century and later developed by Syeh Saman to convey religious messages.

The Saman dance shows very dynamic movements and interesting harmonious sounds without the help of any musical instrument. In the dance, its performers sit cross-legged or kneel shoulder to shoulder in a straight line. They wear traditional Gayo clothes featuring the symbols of nature and noble values. In the past, all Saman dancers were male and their number was always odd.

Javanese Gamelan Performance at Linclon Center New York

Javanese gamelan performance

Just like its title, "What makes it great?" this is a story of one of Indonesia's classical music, Javanese Gamelan. Monday night (11/14), Kusuma Laras, a group of Javanese Gamelan supervised by Indonesian Consulate General in New York, has an honor to perform in front of New York's public at the one of the prestigious art and culture center in New York, the Lincoln Center. The performance that night was a part of White Light Festival which was held from October 20 until November 19, 2011. The White Light Festival offers experiences of passionate beauty and occasion of profound insights into the many dimensions of our individual selves and the collective shared forces of the human condition. This year is the second year of the festival.

There's something special in the performance that night. Unlike the past performances of Kusuma Laras, there is a special commentator, Rob Kapilow (an exclusive Schimer composer who has been widely known in America, Europe, Asia and Australia), who gave approximately an hour long elaboration about Gamelan Jawa and what makes it great. Kapilow started by introducing each musical instrument played in the Gamelan. Every time he finished explaining an instrument, he would asked to audience to join him in copying the sound made by the instruments.

Kapilow also explain the deep philosophy of Javanese culture embed in the classical music of Gamelan Jawa. The music of Gamelan Jawa was all about harmony and balance between unity and variety. Each instrument exists and played to complement each other in creating a wonderful music. The way Kapilow interacted with the audiences, sharing with them the beauty and mystery of Gamelan, has catch their attention. In the end of the performance, audiences who were captured by the greatness of the music were not only able to enjoy the music, but they also able to appreciate the music.

The performance was opened by a song titled Geger Sekutha before Kapilow began his elaboration. After Kapilow's presentation, the show was followed by more songs such as Laler Mengeng, Panjang Ilang, and Asmarandana. As many as 268 New Yorkers came to the performance, and went home with a new knowledge of the beauty, mystery, moreover, greatness of one of Indonesian Classical Music, Gamelan Jawa. (Source: KJRI New York).

Note: Kusuma Laras was formed 28 years ago at the Indonesian Consulate General in New York. Kusuma Laras ("Flowering Harmony") has enthralled audiences in the US and Indonesia with its authentic performances of music and dance from the classical repertoire of the courts of Central Java. The ensemble has been a treasure of the New York City cultural science since its first performance in 1983 in a Tribeca loft, using instruments built especially for the Indonesian Pavilion at the 1964-65 World's Fair in Flushing, New York.

KJRI-Bern: Charm of Saman Hypnotied audience 

Saman Dance performed by 16 dancers of Dance Students League Krida Budaya University of Indonesia (LTMKBUI) has hypnotized 389 guest who attended Indonesian Diplomatic Reception and Cultural performance, held in Theater National Bern, Thursday night (18/8).

The performance which has tagline “Colorful Indonesia” is held to celebrate 66 years of Independence of Indonesia and established through cooperation among Embassy of the Republic of Indonesia, Folkloreique Rencontre Internationale Committee and LTMKBUI. The Invited guests consisting of representatives from the diplomatic corps, government officials, businessmen, academics, press and media, travel agency, and friends of Indonesia.

Cultural performance “Colorful of Indonesia” is intended to promote arts and cultural diversity of Indonesia, especially in Switzerland, which in turn is expected to increase the number of tourist from Switzerland to Indonesia. 30 dancers and traditional musician, has performed wide range of traditional dances and musical performance, including dance Sprado (papua), Ubruk (Jakarta), Gantar Berlian (East Kalimantan), Delman, Pagelu (Tana Toraja), Jepin Kluang (West Kalimantan), Pajegan (Bali), Ganto and Saman (Aceh). The Guest also had the opportunity to watch the fashion show by Indonesian designer Aji Bram, which themed Unity in Diversity.

Aji Bram collection were presented by 20 models, swen on special fabric from Indonesia from Sabang to Merauke such as Lurik, Batik, Songket, and Sasirangan.

Cultural performance “ Colorful Indonesia” started by diplomatic reception, where guests had chance to taste Indonesian dishes, like Chicken Satay, Fried Rice, Fried Noodles, and Peanut Snacks. On his welcoming speech, Ambassador of the Republic of Indonesia for Switzerland and Liechtensetain has highlighted the importance of Indonesia-Switzerland relationship which next year will reach 60 years.

The Ambassador furthermore expressed how rich in culture Indonesia is and invited guests to visit Indonesia in order to witness the real diversity of arts and culture. LTMKBUI, which has invited by International Folklore Festival COmitte, will be in Switzerland from 15-21 August 2011. The committee converged dances group of Students from different countries to perform in Fribourg. LTMKBUI is always invited every 2 years to the festivals. At the end of the event, the Ambassador has given token of appreciation to the coordinator of LTMKBUI Fadhlan Al Abraar and Designer Aji Bram

(source: Indonesian embassy cultural news)

The road to the Asia Festival

Sanggar Caraka Buana will be make a performance to The Road to Asia Festival in Toronto, Canada.

And we will  say goodbye to summer and head into fall, anticipation for The Road to Asia Festival is building. Mark your calendars for the weekend of Saturday November 5 and Sunday November 6, 2011. Make sure that you come and help us celebrate the 11th Anniversary of this fantastic multicultural festival of arts and culture!

SANGGAR CARAKA BUANA need your support and ask you to joint for the festival..... Finally, see our performances there!

And how far the place we'll trying to go there and the show must go on..... 

The beauty angels: The attractive dance will be shown.....

Pentas Tari Musik Caraka Buana di Pretoria

Pada tanggal 18 Agustus 2011, KBRI Pretoria dengan dukungan tim kesenian Sanggar Caraka Buana dan EFEF Band di Musaion Auditorium kampus Universitas Pretoria telah menyelenggarakan Malam Budaya Indonesia.

 

Tujuan penampilan di kampus ternama Afsel tersebut adalah dalam rangka upaya untuk lebih meningkatkan citra budaya Indonesia yang pada kesempatan ini dalam bentuk penampilan seni tari dan musik untuk meningkatkan minat dan pengetahuan generasi muda Afrika Selatan terhadap budaya Indonesia dan lebih jauh lagi guna mempererat rasa pertemanan dan saling pengertian di antara generasi muda kedua bangsa pada masa yang akan datang.

 

Acara yang berlangsung dari pukul 19.00 sampai dengan 22.30 dibuka secara resmi oleh Duta Besar RI, Sjahril Sabaruddin dan dihadiri tidak saja dari kalangan mahasiswa Universitas Pretoria, namun juga dari kalangan masyarakat umum, media cetak dan elektronik serta “Friend of Indonesia”. Para penari telah cukup berhasil menampilkan tari – tarian Indonesia dengan baik antara lain tari Belibis, tari Kipas, tari Punjari, tari Jaipong Kembang Tanjung, tari Merak, tari Nandak Ganjen, tari Marpangir, tari Jaipong Bajidor Kahot dan tari Saman, serta mendengarkan lagu – lagu Indonesia seperti Jali – jail, Bengawan Solo dan lagu – lagu daerah lainnya yang dikemas dalam musik semi rock yang sangat menarik.

 

Penampilan tari Nandak Ganjen yang genit dan jenaka membuat para penonton tertawa riuh rendah, sementara penampilan tari Saman membuat penonton berdecak kagum atas keunikan gerakan jari – jari tangan para penari tersebut. Para penonton dibuat bangkit dari tempat duduknya ketika para pemusik muda EFEF Band menyanyikan lagu Afrika Selatan yang berjudul “Shosholoza”, mereka naik ke atas panggung dan berjoget ria dengan para pemain band dan pengunjung lainnya.

 

Acara “Indonesia Cultural Evening” tersebut ditutup dengan lagu Poco – poco serta lagu Kopi Dangdut dimana semua penari beserta penonton berjoget bersama di atas panggung. Penutupan secara resmi acara tersebut ditandai dengan penyerahan cenderamata dari Duta Besar RI kepada Direktur Seni Universitas Pretoria, Dr. Mashita Hoane serta foto bersama dengan para penari dan pemusik muda dari Indonesia, dan dilanjutkan dengan ramah tamah.

Selasa, 23 Agustus 2011

Sekali lagi, KBRI Pretoria dengan dukungan tim kesenian Sanggar Caraka Buana dan EFEF Band pada tanggal 20 Agustus 2011 di Pierneef Theater, Pretoria telah menampilkan acara Indonesian dance and music. Tujuan penampilan mereka di Theater milik masyarakat kulit putih tersebut adalah dalam rangka membantu KBRI Pretoria guna meningkatkan citra Indonesia dalam bentuk penampilan seni dan budaya serta untuk menarik minat masyarakat Afrika Selatan terhadap Indonesia.

 

Acara yang berlangsung dari pukul 10.00 sampai dengan 12.00 dibuka dengan kata sambutan singkat dari Pejabat Fungsi Pensosbud yang pada intinya menyatakan bahwa kedatangan tim kesenian dari Indonesia tersebut adalah untuk memperkenalkan seni dan budaya Indonesia kepada kalangan generesai muda Afrika Selatan serta lebih jauh lagi guna mempererat rasa pertemanan dan saling pengertian di antara generasi muda kedua bangsa pada masa yang akan datang khususnya masyarakat kulit putih Afrika Selatan.

 

Acara yang cukup meriah tersebut ternyata dihadiri tidak saja dari kalangan masyarakat kulit putih saja namun juga dari kalangan masyarakat kulit hitam serta “Friend of Indonesia”. Para penari menampilkan tari Belibis, tari Kipas, tari Punjari, tari Jaipong Kembang Tanjung, tari Merak, tari Nandak Ganjen, tari Marpangir, tari Jaipong Bajidor Kahot dan tari Saman serta memperdengarkan lagu-lagu Indonesia seperti Jali-jali, Bengawan Solo dan lagu-lagu daerah lainnya yang dikemas dalam musik gitar akuistik.

 

Penampilan tari Nandak Ganjen yang genit dan jenaka membuat para penonton tertawa riuh rendah, sementara penampilan tari Saman membuat penonton kulit putih berdecak kagum atas keunikan gerakan jari-jari tangan para penari tersebut. Para penonton dibuat bangkit dari tempat duduknya ketika para pemusik muda EFEF Band menyanyikan lagu Afrika Selatan yang berjudul “Shosholoza”, kefasihan para pemusik muda Indonesia dalam menyanyikan lagu tersebut mendapat acungan jempol dari penonton khususnya yang berkulit hitam. Diakhir acara tersebut, para penonton meminta kepada pihak KBRI guna memberikan kesempatan kepada mereka untuk dapat melakukan foto bersama dengan para penari dan pemusik muda Indonesia sebagai tanda appresiasi spontan mereka terhadap budaya Indonesia dan penampilan memikat dari para penari dan pemusik Indonesia tersebut.

Indonesian Cultural Evening at University of Pretoria

 

Dance in Indonesia (Indonesian: Tarian Indonesia) reflects the country's diversity of ethnicities and cultures. There are more than 700 ethnic groups in Indonesia: Austronesian roots and Melanesian tribal forms are visible, and influences ranging from neighboring Asian and even western styles through colonization. Each ethnic group has their own dances; makes total dances in Indonesia are more than 3000 Indonesian original dances. The old traditions of dance and drama are being preserved in the many dance schools which flourish not only in the courts but also in the modern, government-run or supervised art academies.

For classification purpose, the dances of Indonesia can be divided according to several aspects. In historical aspect it can be divided into three eras; the prehistoric-tribal era, the Hindu-Buddhist era and the era of Islam. According to its patrons, it can be divided into two genres; court dance and folk dance. In its tradition, Indonesian dances can be divided into two types; traditional dance and contemporary dance.

In Bali on November 19, 2011 UNESCO will announce the traditional Saman dance from Aceh province as a world intangible cultural heritage. Saman dance is unique due to there are no music instrument accompany the dance and just only sing and clap their hands together to create harmony in movement and sound.

Caraka Buana Indonesian Real Dance

Sanggar Caraka Buana Performance

Terbangan from Bill Cunningham on Vimeo.



Terbangan from Bill Cunningham on Vimeo.

Traditional Indonesian Dances

Surung Dhayung from Bill Cunningham on Vimeo.

Sumunar Youth Gamelan from Bill Cunningham on Vimeo.

Kecak Dance

Kecak (pronounced [ˈketʃak], alternate spellings: Ketjak and Ketjack) is a form of Balinese music drama, originated in the 1930s and is performed primarily by men, although a few women's kecak groups exist as of 2006.Also known as the Ramayana Monkey Chant, the piece, performed by a circle of 150 or more performers wearing checked cloth around their waists, percussively chanting "cak" and throwing up their arms, depicts a battle from the Ramayana where the monkey-like Vanara helped Prince Rama fight the evil King Ravana. However, Kecak has roots in sanghyang, a trance-inducing exorcism dance.

History

Kecak was originally a trance ritual accompanied by male chorus. German painter and musician Walter Spies became deeply interested in the ritual while living in Bali in the 1930s and worked to recreate it into a drama, based on the Hindu Ramayana and including dance, intended to be presented to Western tourist audiences. This transformation is an example of what James Clifford describes as part of the "modern art-culture system" in which, "the West or the central power adopts, transforms, and consumes non-Western or peripheral cultural elements, while making 'art' which was once embedded in the culture as a whole, into a separate entity." Spies worked with Wayan Limbak and Limbak popularized the dance by traveling throughout the world with Balinese performance groups. These travels have helped to make the Kecak famous throughout the world.

Performer, choreographer, and scholar I Wayan Dibia cites a contrasting theory that the Balinese were already developing the form when Spies arrived on the island.^[5] For example, well-known dancer I Limbak had incorporated Baris movements into the cak leader role during the 1920s. "Spies liked this innovation," and it suggested that Limbak, "devise a spectacle based on the Ramayana," accompanied by cak chorus rather than gamelan, as would have been usual.

(source: http://www.wikipedia.org)

Barong is a character in the mythology of Bali. He is the king of the spirits, leader of the hosts of good, and enemy of Rangda in the mythological traditions of Bali. Banas Pati Rajah is the fourth "brother" or spirit child that accompanies a child throughout life. Banas Pati Rajah is the spirit which animates Barong. A protector spirit, he is often represented by a lion, and traditional performances of his struggles against Rangda are popular parts of Balinese culture. The Barong is often portraited with two monkeys.

The animal/ mythical creature would dance along the street to the calonarang dance. A priest would throw Holy Water at it. It is known as the Demon Queen and Mother of All Spirit Guarders.

The lion barong is one of five traditional Barong. In Bali each region of the island has its own protective spirit for its forests and lands. Each Barong for each region is modeled after a different animal. There is a boar, a tiger, a dragon (or serpent) and the traditional lion. The lion is the popular one as it comes from the Gianyar region where Ubud (the home of tourist viewed ritual) is located. Within the calonarang, the dance drama in which the Barong appears, the barong responds to Rangda's use of magic to control and kill her to restore balance.

Legong is a form of Balinese dance. It is a refined dance form characterized by intricate finger movements, complicated footwork, and expressive gestures and facial expressions.
Legong probably originated in the 19th century as royal entertainment. Legend has it that a prince of Sukwati fell ill and had a vivid dream in which two maidens danced to gamelan music. When he recovered, he arranged for such dances to be performed in reality. Others believe that the Legong originated with the sanghyang dedari, a ceremony involving voluntary possession of two little girls by beneficent spirits. Legong is also danced at public festivals. Excerpts from Legong dance dramas are put on for tourists.
Legong dancers are always girls who have not yet reached puberty. They begin rigorous training at about the age of five. These dancers are regarded highly in the society and usually becomes wives of royal personages or wealthy merchants.


Classical Legong enacts several traditional stories. The most common is the tale of the King of Lasem from the Malat, a collection of heroic romances. He is at war with another king, the father (or brother) of Princess Ranjasari. Lasem wants to marry the girl, but she detests him and tries to run away. Becoming lost in the forest, she is captured by Lasem, who imprisons her and goes out for a final assault against her family. He is attacked by a monstrous raven, which foretells his death.
The dramatics are enacted in elaborate and stylized pantomime. The two little actresses are accompanied by a third dancer called a tjondong or attendant. She sets the scene, presents the dancers with their fans and later plays the part of the raven.

Jaipongan, also known as Jaipong, is a popular traditional dance of Sundanese people, West Java, Indonesia. The dance was created by Gugum Gumbira, based on traditional Sundanese Ketuk Tilu music and Pencak Silat movements.

Jaipongan, also known as jaipong, is a musical performance genre of the Sundanese people in the Sundanese language of West Java, Indonesia. Jaipongan includes revived indigenous arts, like gamelan, but it also did not ignore Western music completely despite the ban on rock and roll. It used its sensuality and the sensuality found in a traditional village music and dance, ketuk tilu. However, many believe it is something purely Indonesian or Sundanese in origin and style. It is developed predominately from rural folk forms and traditions as a purely indigenous form. The rise of cassettes and films has led to the popularity of the musical form of jaipongan. It has spread from its home in West Java’s Sunda, to greater Java and Indonesia. It can be seen as many regional varieties of gong-chime performance found through much of Indonesia. As also an urban dance form, it is based primarily on the village forms of ketuk tilu and on the Indonesian martial arts, pencak silat. The musical genre is largely influenced from ketuk tilu with traces of the masked theater dance, topeng banjet and the wayang golek puppet theater. Ketuk tilu is its biggest influence, as a traditional Sudanese musical entertainment form.

Gong-chime performance is characterized by such features as: use of an ensemble dominated by idiophones, metallophones and knobbed gongs. It is a stratified polyphony, with lower-pitch instruments playing parts of lesser density and all parts are structured colotomically around time-cycles. This can be found in traditional Indonesian gamelan. There is improvisation on certain instruments. The modes used are grouped into two broad types: slendro and pelog.

Ketuk tilu was a musical genre based off ritual and celebration in the villages of the Sundanese people, meaning three kettle gongs. It was known for complex drumming coordinated with equally dynamic solo female dancers. The music was performed for planting and harvesting rituals and later celebrated village life, circumcision and marriage, expressed fertility, and displayed sensuality, eroticism and even sometimes “socially accepted prostitution.” Ketuk tilu was very popular in the Sundanese villages, but the urban Sundanese considered it unrefined and inappropriate because the music involved males and females dancing together suggestively, or mixed dancing between men and ronggeng, or prostitutes. Ronggeng probably has existed in Java since ancient time, the bas reliefs in Karmawibhanga section on Borobudur displays the scene of travelling entertainment troupe with musicians and female dancers.

Jaipong is less strictly associated with ceremonial functions, but performances are common in the Rayagung festival month, and with circumcisions and marriages. The performances now have the character of secular social functions, attended by young and old, primarily for entertainment and socializing. Public performance is now extremely frequent especially in clubs or street performances.

The cassette industry and its boom in Indonesia helped popularize jaipongan greatly and promoted regional styles rather than hurt them. Many learned the dance through cassette rather than the performance. The mass media have made jaipong ubiquitous. It has created competition in the styles of the drummers among ensembles. It has also helped to bring about many dance schools, altering dance and its label on females in West Java.

The song repertoire of jaipongan is varied, and that is why it is better understood as an intertwined performance style of music and dance. Many songs are associated with ketuk tilu or other wide reaching regional varieties, not traditional gamelan. It consists of songs of more recent origin often composed for jaipongan. Song topics vary, encompassing amatory, moralistic, bawdy, topical and spiritual subjects, often emphasizing grass roots culture.

Kipas Dance: The kipas (literally means fan) is a folding fan which people used to keep themselves cool in Southeast Asia's tropical heat. Although created in China (where it is known as tieshan), the fan is common to many Asian cultures, as can be seen in traditional Indonesian-Malay dances. As a weapon the fan should be able to open and close easily with one hand, particularly if two are being wielded at once. Usually made of bamboo, more combat-worthy kipas are constructed from harder wood or iron. The smallest fans measure only six centimetres in length but some are quite large and can reach as many as fifty centimetres long.

Saman Dance: “Saman” the most popular dance in Aceh and the dance that has become well-known abroad with the name “Thousand hands”. It has its origin from the Alas ethnic group from Gayo plateau central Aceh and is normally performed to celebrate the birthday of the Prophet Muhammad and other important occasions.

It’s an energetic, dynamic and require excellent coordination among its players.  The movements are intense and powerful because, those movements also formed the rhythm for the dance.  Because beside the sound of claps, chest slapping or hand hitting the floor there’s only one person reading a narrative in Acehnese tone.   If it’s not powerful then nobody will hear anything and if it’s out of control, not only it will ruin the rhythm but somebody may get hurt.  However, those are the charm of this dance.  It’s dynamic and excellent coordination.

Eight to twenty male performers kneel in a row on the floor and make different kinds of torso movements accompanied by songs, clapping hands, slapping chests, slapping hands on the floor, etc. The songs usually are praises to Allah or prayers or part of Islamic teachings. The dance starts with slow movements and increases its tempo gradually to great speed and finally come to a sudden stop. There are many different regional versions of “Saman”.