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Gusmiati Suid and Gumarang Sakti: Moving Forward with Tradition (note 1)
by Sal Murgiyanto
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Gusmiati Suid (1942-2001), a vital figure in Indonesian contemporary dance, made her choreographic debut in 1979 at the second Young Choreographers Festival organized by the Jakarta Arts Council. Eight years later, she migrated to Jakarta to pursue a performing and choreographic career, and reestablished the Gumarang Sakti Dance Company, which continues to prosper under the direction of Boi G. Sakti, Ms. Suid's only son. This paper traces the career of Ms. Suid and her struggle to reinterpret the heritage of Minangkabau (a region of West Sumatra) through her contemporary work. Two characteristics that connect Gusmiati's work to Minangkabau traditions are the ways in which her dances are guided by adat (local custom) and syarak (Islamic rules).
The light dims. Three men clasping a rattan pole with a hook at one end stand up straight. They wear maroon loose-fitting galembong trousers paired with white T-shirts. In front of them lies a young woman wearing the same galembong, but dressed in a yellow bra top. Silence slices the heart. The sorrowful sounds of the saluang (bamboo flute) and the clanging canang (gong-chimes) linger in the air. The three dancers move at top speed while the woman rolls to the front of the stage. The atmosphere of the Minang region gains strength not only from the steps of silek (or silek tuo, a martial art) movements and the sounds of musical instruments in the background, but also from the dialogue between the dancers and the musicians.
I found this note, among a scattered pile of books, archives, and documents left ruined by the floods that struck Jakarta in January and February 2002, when I visited my house in February 2002. I wrote it after watching Menggantang Asap (Catching the Smoke), a dance by Gusmiati Suid that premiered at the Gedung Kesenian Jakarta on 19 August 2000, a year before she left us forever. Even if that small note had been washed away, the imagery of the blunt movements and emotion portrayed in them would remain. Later, I read the next paragraph:
The dark sneaks in. The back screen is lifted together with the strong light, uncovering the images of a Minang kampung (village) in the hinterlands: bamboo trees, bagonjong houses, bonfires, and long bamboo benches. Soon the strength of Gusmiati as a choreographer emerges. Four dancers with supple bodies–occasionally "flirting" with the audience–present visually beautiful rhythms as they perform their highly skilled techniques. Flying bodies land lightly and securely in each other's graceful catch. A dancer tiptoes precisely on the repeated speedy beats of the bedug (large drum used in mosques) while others break the time with sharp and uniform movements.
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.
Menggantang Asap is a sequel to two previous works, Api dalam Sekam (Fire in the Chaff, 1998) and Asa di Ujung Tanduk (Hope on the Tip of A Buffalo's Horn, 1997). The trilogy evokes the anxiety, even desperation, that Gusmiati felt observing events in the country she loved so much. In these three works, the sounds and elements of pencak-silat (local martial arts-based dance movement) contribute to the dominant atmosphere of the Minangkabau. These things are not idiosyncratic to Gusmiati; they are what differentiate the creative process of many contemporary Indonesian choreographers from their counterparts in the West. In their creative process, Indonesian choreographers encounter a domain, a shared body of conventions, techniques, and historical knowledge, towards which they orient their work, and for Gusmiati this domain is the land, the people, the culture, and history of the Minangkabau as well as the new Indonesia.
