Thank you for the honorable guests: HE Ambassador of the Czech Republic Mr. Tomáš Smetánka and Madam Irina Smetánková, Ms. Dinar Karina from Namarina Dance Academy, Ms. Rita Rettasari from Marlupi Dance Academy.
Thank you for the honorable guests: HE Ambassador of the Czech Republic Mr. Tomáš Smetánka and Madam Irina Smetánková, Ms. Dinar Karina from Namarina Dance Academy, Ms. Rita Rettasari from Marlupi Dance Academy.

As February 2015 came to a close, ballet.id presented the first recital “For the Love of Ballet”, in the occasion of 1 year anniversary of the Foundation (or 2 year anniversary since we started planning for the first Intensive Dance Course 2013).

In this event, we wanted to share our ballet to our close friends and family. We presented our research on the history of ballet in Indonesia in the onset of 20th century, to show the audience that ballet in Indonesia had seen a better days and had played quite an important role in the history of world’s dance. We also presented three dances from the classical repertoires by the choreographer Marius Petipa.

It is interesting to see how ballet had evolved and seeped into Indonesian culture in the early 20th century. Most of us had forgotten that the big names of dance in 20th century had actually visited Indonesia, and during their visit, they learned about Indonesian dance and culture as well. Names such as Ruth St. Denis and Ted Shawn, later became the pioneer of modern dance in the USA, and of course, the Great Anna Pavlova herself had visited Indonesia back in the 1920s. Later, Martha Graham visited Indonesia in 1955 and not forgetting the great composer Benjamin Britten who visited Bali and created the ballet “The Prince of the Pagoda” using literally Balinese music.

It was also touching to hear the story of the difficult times of the war. The first teachers of Indonesian ballet, such as Puck Meijer, Blok de Neve sisters, and Magda Zahler, had to go through the Japanese Prisoner camp. But they were not dispirited, and rather, they continue to perform their dance and teach ballet in the prisoner camp. Puck Meijer actually taught Beatrijs Vitringa (later soloist of Kurt Jooss ballet) in the prisoner’s camp pig shed! The difficult times did not prevent them to stay faithful to the art form. We should ask ourselves, then, in this time of easy information, why didn’t Indonesian ballet take important places in the world’s ballet scene? The early 20th century had proven that Indonesian dancers is no less talented than other world class dancers.

Then we presented three pieces choreographed by Marius Petipa, and music composed (or re-arranged) by Riccardo Drigo. The first one is the pas de deux from the Talisman, a rather charming piece, set to take place in India, a story about gods and goddesses. The second one is the pas de deux from Le Corsaire, which originally was staged as a pas de trois but then made into a duet and had since became a staple for ballet competition. The last piece was the White Swan pas de deux, from the second act of the famous ballet The Swan Lake. It is a sad and touching piece. The music, originally written by Tchaikovsky, had been rearranged by Riccardo Drigo for the ballet’s revival after Tchaikovsky’s death.

Ballet.id would like to thank H.E. Ambassador of the Czech Republic Mr. Tomáš Smetánka and Madam Irina Smetánková, Ballet Sumber Cipta, Cicilia Ballet, Marlupi Dance Academy, and Namarina Dance Academy. Thank you for Nurwinda Batangtaris, Tania Hayu Safira, and Weddy Gunawan for their great help to the event, and Ms. Ade Siregar and Adella Fauzi for their corrections in the practice sessions. Thank you for Ato Suprapto, Budiman Tanah Djaja, and Indi Soemardjan for their support in photo and videography. And special big thank you for you all who had come and supported us in this event. We hope to have more event like this and of course look forward to partner with individuals, schools, and organizations who shares the same vision of learning together to push for better ballet in Indonesia.


 

Di penghujung bulan February 2015, ballet.id mempersembahkan pertunjukan pertama bertajuk “For the Love of Ballet”(Untuk Kecintaan Kepada Balet), dalam rangka ulang tahun pertama Yayasan ballet.id (atau ulang tahun ke-2 semenjak kami mempersiapkan Intensive Dance Course yang pertama di tahun 2013).

Dalam pertunjukan ini, kami ingin berbagi kecintaan kami terhadap seni tari balet kepada teman-teman dan keluarga terdekat. Kami menampilkan versi awal dari hasil penelitian mengenai sejarah balet di Indonesia di awal abad ke-20, untuk menampilkan kepada para penonton bahwa balet dan tari Indonesia berperan cukup penting dalam sejarah seni tari dunia. Dalam pertunjukan ini kami juga menampilkan tiga cuplikan tarian dari repertoar klasik oleh koreografer Rusia Marius Petipa.

Sangatlah menarik untuk meliat bagaimana balet berkembang dan masuk ke Indonesia di awal abad ke-20. Banyak dari kita sudah lupa bahwa ada beberapa nama besar seni tari dunia berkunjung ke Indonesia, dan ketika mereka berkunjung, mereka belajar mengenai tari dan budaya Indonesia. Nama-nama seperti Ruth St. Denis dan Ted Shawn, yang kemudian menjadi perintis tari modern di Amerika Serikat, dan tentunya penari besar dunia Anna Pavolva berkunjung ke Indonesia di tahun 1920an. Kemudian di tahun 1955, Martha Graham juga tampil di Indonesia, dan jangan lupa, komponis Benjamin Britten berkunjung ke Bali dan menciptakan balet yang berjudul “The Prince of the Pagoda” yang menggunakan musik tradisional Bali secara kental.

Mendengar cerita bagaimana seni tari balet bertahan di zaman perang kemerdekaan sangatlah menyentuh. Para guru balet pertama, seperti Puck Meijer, kakak-beradik Blok de Neve, dan Magda Zahler, semua mengalami dipenjara di kamp tawanan perang Jepang. Tetapi mereka tidak patah semangat, malahan, mereka terus menari dan mengajar balet di kamp tersebut. Puck Meijer malah mengajar Beatrijs Vitringa di dalam kandang babi di kamp tawanan (Beatrijs yang kemudian menjadi penari utama di Kurt Joos Ballet)! Masa-masa sulit itu tidak menghalangi mereka untuk berdedikasi kepada seni tari balet. Mungkin kita harus bertanya kepada diri sendiri, di zaman informasi seperti sekarang, kenapa balet Indonesia tidak kelihatan di ajang balet dunia? Sejarah di awal abad ke-20 menunjukkan, bahwa penari-penari Indonesia tidak kalah berbakat daripada penari kelas dunia lainnya.

Kemudian, kami menampilkan tiga tarian yang dikoreografi oleh Marius Petipa, dan musik yang digubah (atau diaransemen ulang) oleh Riccardo Drigo. Tarian pertama adalah pas de deux dari Talisman, sebuah tarian yang berlatar cerita dewa-dewi India. Tarian kedua adalah pas de deux dari Le Corsaire. Tarian ini awal mulanya adalah sebuah pas de trois (tarian tiga orang), tetapi kemudian diaransemen ulang menjadi tarian duet dan menjadi salah satu tarian wajib di kompetisi balet dunia. Tarian terakhir diambil dari balet “Swan Lake”, yaitu tarian babak kedua yang berjudul “White Swan pas de deux”. Tarian ini sangat sedih dan menyentuh. Musik Swan Lake sangat terkenal dan digubah oleh Tchaikovsky, tetapi diaransemen ulang oleh Riccardo Drigo setelah Tchaikovsky wafat.

Ballet.id mengucapkan terimakasih yang sebesar-besarnya kepada H.E. Duta Besar Republik Ceko Mr. Tomáš Smetánka dan Madam Irina Smetánková, Ballet Sumber Cipta, Cicilia Ballet, Marlupi Dance Academy, and Namarina Dance Academy. Juga terimakasih kepada Nurwinda Batangtaris, Tania Hayu Safira, dan Weddy Gunawan untuk dukungannya dalam pertunjukan ini, Ms. Ade Setiowibowo dan Adella Fauzi untuk masukannya dalam sesi-sesi latihan. Terima kasih juga untuk Ato Suprapto, Budiman Tanah Djaja, dan Indi Soemardjan untuk dukungan dalam fotografi dan videografi. Terimakasih yang sebesar-besarnya untuk anda semua yang sudah datang dan mendukung kami dalam pertunjukan ini. Semoga ke depannya, lebih banyak pertunjukan seperti ini, dan semoga dapat berkolaborasi dengan berbagai individu, sekolah, dan organisasi yang memiliki tujuan yang sama untuk belajar bersama demi memajukan balet di Indonesia.


 

FOR THE LOVE OF BALLET

  • Opening & Public Lecture: The History of Ballet in Indonesia (1900s-1950s): By Meutia Chaerani & Tabita Malat
  • Ballet Performance (Choreography by Marius Petipa, Music by Riccardo Drigo and Tchaikovsky):
    • Pas de Deux from “Talisman”: By Wenny Halim and Enrico Tanod
    • Pas de Deux from “Le Corsaire”: By Mariska Febriyani and Alexander Mawuntu
    • The White Swan Pas de Deux from “The Swan Lake”: By Anindya Krisna and Enrico Tanod

For The Love of Ballet
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