Reinventing Tradition: New Dance in Indonesia, cont.

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West Sumatran New Dance

Attachment to Islam and a strong belief in Allah is common not only in Aceh but also in West Sumatra (also called the land of Minangkabau, which refers to the Minang, the fourth largest ethnic group in Indonesia). Last year I was invited by the Jakarta Arts Council to give a speech for its tribute to a prominent West Sumatran choreographer Gusmiati Suid (1942-2001).

Expressing experiences, observations, feelings, and imaginings through words or nonverbal symbols are outlets everyone needs. For a choreographer, the problem of how to express oneself through artistic movements requires intuitive sensitivity and intelligence. This is exactly where Gusmiati excelled. Her work, shaped from shrewd observations and experiences, reflects the interaction between the soul of the choreographer and the real world around her. Supported by the physical skills of her dancers and their awareness of the underlying themes in her work, the result is more than just an imitation of nature, or a repetition or manipulation of other dances. The work of Gusmiati has integrity and originality, even dignity.

Gusmiati moved from West Sumatra to Jakarta, but her commitment to the Minang tradition and life values remained. Gusmiati became modern without forgetting traditional Minang values. Adat (custom), syarak (islamic laws), and alam takambang jadi guru (all of nature is a teacher) remained the basic orientation of her work. These values are reflected not only through the use of martial-arts based dance movements and reinterpreted Minang music, but also in the themes and messages in her work. As she once told a reporter, "Nature teaches me to explore and absorb every space of nature possible. We have to keep communicating with the era and the environment. This process is ongoing and cannot be stopped." (note 7) For Gusmiati, a dance must always contain messages through which audiences can enrich their lives, raise questions, or think critically.

In her program notes, Gusmiati articulates beautifully and expressively the feeling and hope her choreography conveys in Hope on the Tip of a Buffalo's Horns (1997). She writes:

The fear in a desperate situation washes us away
For we are afraid of uncertainty
Nonetheless, hopes live
For life without hope is like dead before death

Gusmiati has left us forever. Her eldest son, dancer-choreographer Boi Sakti, now runs the Gumarang Sakti Dance Company. He inherits much of his mother's creative skills and values, but does not merely replicate her work. As Helly Minarti, dance critic and lecturer at the Jakarta Institute of the Arts comments, referring to Boi's recent work Ritus-Ritus Kesucian: "[Boi's] performing movement at a glance reflects modern dance, which is free and expressive. Vulgar words uttered by dancers and the details of movement can be controversial. Yet, the spirit remains that of Minang." (note 8) In Boi's own words, "In looking for movement, the early awareness is not always coming from tradition though at the end the 'spirit' that wraps it is a Minang one." (note 9) He adds, elsewhere, "Tradition does not always 'emerge' in my work. It will carry on by its own." (note 10)

The fact that Gusmiati Suid had spent the second half of her life in the cosmopolitan city of Jakarta demonstrates that a tradition cannot grow in isolation. Encounter with other cultures and people, as well as new and modern nurturing experiences, greatly stimulates the healthy development of a dance tradition.