Spectacular Dance Celebrates Borobudur`s Past

Magelang, Central Java--A cultural dance performance, staged in a park near Borobudur temple, which stands on Menoreh Hill in Magelang, Central Java, tells how the glorious monument was built in opposition to moral decadence.

Once upon a time, 11 centuries ago, the lives of the residents of Menoreh were full of evil and hostility, which created disorder and an atmosphere tainted with fear.

Their spiritual leader Rakai Pikatan was so concerned about the situation that he ordered the Samaratungga king – who started to build the temple – to spread good deeds by building stone terraces around the temple. The entire monument, later called Borobudur, is a religious symbol of the quest to free humans from evil so they can live in peace.

That is the summary of the story of the Mahakarya Borobudur dance performance, which is the result of collaboration between artists from the Surakarta Indonesian Arts High School (STSI), the local community and historians led by the Taman Wisata Candi Company Borobudur, Prambanan and the Boko Temple (TWC).

Through the movements of this large and spectacular dance, which involves more than 150 artists, Mahakarya Borobudur tells the story behind the building of the Borobudur temple, which began during the reign of the Samaratungga king and was completed during the era of the Gunadharma king.

Accompanied by the music of the gamelan and the mocopat (a reflective Javanese song), this spectacular and dramatic dance runs for one hour. It opened by depicting the attitudes of members of the community of Menoreh Hill, who felt safe and enjoyed an abundance of produce from the earth.

Suddenly the situation changed. The people, who had been living in peace and prosperity, changed and became evil. This change was portrayed through the movements of dozens of male dancers dressed in black drawstring trousers, together with dozens of bare-shouldered women. For around 20 minutes, their performance depicted their lives of drunkenness, gambling and violence.

The first dance closed with the spiritual leader Rakai Pikatan giving his mandate to the Samaratungga king: Return to a better life by building of carved stone galleries on the temple terraces, recounting the stories and life teachings of Kamadhatu, Rupadhatu and Arupadhatu.

The second dance in the show told of renewed democracy and cooperation, togetherness and community spirit in the valley below Menoreh Hill when the people started building the temple. Then followed the obstacles, symbolized by five giants running amok and making the community suffer.

The plots of the first two dances developed slowly and there was little element of surprise for the audience. As much as possible the dance movements were performed with traditional style. For example, the Javanese traditional dance movements were flexible and graceful and the steps were slow.

But surprise was aroused by the third dance, which told of the determination of the Samaratungga king to finish building the temple with the support of all the communities, after being whipped by all sorts of trials.

To illustrate the support members of the community offered each other, dozens of men and women danced together joyfully. Through their flexible movements, they talked, indulging in village activities such as gejok lesung (a type of music played during the rice harvest). The dancers` flexible and amusing movements drew applause from the hundreds of people in the audience, among which were foreign tourists.

The other surprising part occurred when livestock – real goats and ducks – were brought onto the stage. Some of the ducks even fled into the audience, resulting in laughter and achieving the aim of the idea – providing humor in the show and ensuring the audience didn`t get bored.

The final dance was presented by dozens of dancers who together built the temple: Dozens of men working together, carrying large stones as the raw material for the temple.

The performance climaxed with the appearance of a miniature Borobudur temple on the stage, demonstrating that the temple had been completed in the era of the Gunadharma king.

With the help of lighting during the performance, the real temple appeared as the twin of the miniature, with the miniature temple set against the backdrop of the original and glorious Borobudur temple.

The hundreds of people in the audience, including foreign tourists, State Minister for State Owned Corporations Sofian Djalil and Tourism and Culture Minister, Jero Wacik, who were present at the 2009 inaugural stage show on May 2, applauded loudly at the end of the show.

Aryono, the head of public relations at TWC, said that the creation of Mahakarya Borobudur required all sorts of specialized knowledge to ensure that the performance piece was true to history.

The performance involved community artists and the local art that has developed around Borobudur. That`s why traditional performing arts such as jathilan (which unites the elements of dance movements with magic), and jathilan are incorporated into every dance, after adjustments have been made to the plot of Mahakarya Borobudur, he explained.

Aryono added that the Mahakarya Borobudur show was intended to add to the available tourist attractions, and make Borobudur, Prambanan and the Ratu Boko Palace world-class cultural tourist attractions.

This was the first year of the program. Mahakarya Borobudur will be staged on the following dates this year: June 12, July 24 and Aug. 14.

The performance area used is an open stage in Aksobya Park, which has Borobudur temple in the background, and can take 800 people.

There are four classes of tickets. Platinum tickets, which cost US$80, include dinner, return transport from Yogyakarta to Borobudur, a photo session, a souvenir and membership of the Friends of Borobudur.

A gold ticket costs US$60 and includes dinner, return transport and a photo session. The other ticket classes are Class A priced at Rp 200,000 ($19) and Class B priced at Rp 150,000 ($14).

TWC is currently working with the Yogyakarta State University to organize a dance performance of the spectacular story of Ratu Boko (the Boko Queen).

“At the moment the preparations include studying all sorts of special knowledge to learn more about the Boko Queen,” said Aryono. Slamet Susanto and Tarko Sudiarno

Source: http://www.thejakartapost.com/ (29 May 2009)
Photo: http://www.thejakartapost.com/

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