Essays

Few theories of the body have been formulated in Indonesia to date, and theoretical writings on the body are generally embedded within texts concerned with health, social, political, economic (industrial) and gender specific issues. I am yet to encounter a text which considers the body from an artistic perspective. Indonesian theoretical writings have not addressed the body as an object imbued with artistic elements, nor have theorists considered the interconnections between these elements or the means by which they are used to communicate a visual message. I use the term 'artistic element’ in reference to the movements and forms of the body. An artistic element is comprised of spatial, energetic, and temporal components, and has a strong and specific character.

I was driven to write this article by my concern at the lack of regard for the communicative character of the body in contemporary Indonesian choreography. I have come to realize that the body – the main element of dance – is rarely discussed in terms of its function as an instrument for visual communication. Discussion tends to focus on movement techniques and the reproduction of movement forms – even though new techniques only arise in the wake of a movement form. This tendency compounds the lack of progress in the search for a repertoire of movements, which sees audiences confronted with the same movements over and over again.

Body movements and forms are the products of individuals and societies. With this in mind, I would like to begin this text by examining contemporary Indonesian society, before turning to a discussion of the artistic body.

On people

Surveying contemporary Indonesian society, its culture and its character, one can identify three major groups: traditional society, transitional society, and urban society.

1. Traditional society

Today, traditional Indonesian society is open to change, dialogue and the exchange of information. This openness also shapes its cultural values. The members of this traditional society truly understand the values that shape their lives, enabling them to adapt to changing circumstances and successfully deal with conflicts. While traditional society is shrinking, it remains a strong and lively culture. Its members actively uphold traditional values and give equal regard to the past, the present and the future.

2. Transitional society

Indonesia’s traditional society spawned two generations. While the first generation still actively supports traditional values, they play a minor and passive role in the lives of the second generation – the latter now constitute a transitional society. The transitional society is comprised of a broad spectrum of individuals who are caught up in this transition. Most of them have significantly better access to education than their parents. Not only are they are less familiar with their ancestor’s cultural values, they are almost unable to comprehend those values. They live within an urban culture, but their ability to adopt urban cultural practices varies. In such circumstances individuals are unable to form solid convictions and resolutely defend their way of life. They desire to be seen as 'modern' (in the sense of ‘progressive’), but they do not fully understand the meaning of Modernism. They do not want to been seen as individuals who have discarded their traditional values, but nor do they subscribe to those values. Their position is ambivalent and they lack values which they could truly call their own. It is not evident where this development will lead. Of all the social groups in Indonesian society, their quest to find their place will be the longest. That is why I choose to speak of a ‘transitional society’.

The members of transitional society are also part of traditional society, as are those individuals who form what I term the 'closed society’. The members of this ‘closed society’ see themselves as the heirs to cultural tradition. They claim to live according to traditional values, yet they refuse to change or move with the times. Their lives are focussed on the past

3. Urban society

Indonesian urban society is comprised of families in which traditional values play a pronounced role and, equally, of families in which these values play a less significant role. These families are open to the urban culture that surrounds them. What distinguishes these individuals from the members of transitional society is their capacity to find positive values in urban culture. Drawing on what they find in urban culture, these families create new values. The dynamism of urban culture tends to bolster their powers of self-development. Urban society is also distinct from transitional society, in that its members are well-versed in traditional values and understand their deeper meaning. Urban individuals draw on the old values, shaping them according to their own insights and creating new values. Some people take this approach their entire lives. There is no 'final word' in the evolution of their principles. Instead they are constantly shaped by new interpretations and impressions. Urban society is focussed on the present and the future.

It is important to recognize the existence of these social groups, or sub-societies, in contemporary Indonesia, as the body is formed within their various contexts.

1. The traditional body

In Indonesia the body is widely held to be a medium of communal expression. It is associated with the social values of traditional society and their expression through the body fulfils a range of functions and interests.

The origins of traditional art lie in traditional society. In traditional art the body is a medium for the communication of the cultural values which inform and shape the individual’s conduct. While traditional art necessarily entails a search for the artistic elements of the body, cultural values form the focal point rather than the body itself. Indonesian traditional society developed a range of physical forms and movements with their own distinctive characters and idiosyncrasies. These distinctive movements are used to embody cultural identity.

Anthropologists claim that the existence of a cultural value is dependent on its function. This raises the question of whether traditional cultural values still have a function in contemporary Indonesian society. And if so, are traditional arts able to express these values? Or do the traditional arts simply serve to provide a product for the tourism and entertainment industries? Do the arts merely demarcate the 'memory' of Indonesian culture and serve to salve their proponents’ nostalgic sense of loss? All of these aspects are evident today.

The arts still have a strong presence in ritual social ceremonies, where they reinforce the cultural values of specific social groups. As a product for the tourism industry, the traditional arts are a political instrument for the promotion of state identity and for the acquisition of foreign currency. In some cases, the traditional arts also provide a livelihood for their practitioners – a function that has not been mentioned so far. There are a number of performance ensembles in the Betawi, Sundanese, Central Javanese, East Javanese and Madurese traditions where this is the case. These ensembles tour from town to town, and have their own stages in larger cities. 

In traditional society movements are an expression of communal experience, and are used to immortalize the self in the light of the enduring values they represent.

2. The Urban Body

Some Indonesian cities draw their populations from a range of regions. Within the confines of the city these various groups intermingle freely; no single group is large enough to predominate and the various social groups co-exist while retaining their individual cultural character. The list of these 'urban' cities includes Medan, Batam, Jakarta, Bandung, Solo, Jogja, Surabaya, Denpasar, and several others.

The communal experience of life in urban centres produces an urban culture of pluralism, openness, and dynamism. In an urban society these attributes are also evident in art (dance), where traditional Indonesian art (that is art which originates from the region or from elsewhere) co-exists with non-traditional Indonesian art forms (ballet, tango, salsa, waltz, step dance, hip-hop, break dancing, capoeira, mandarin etc.) and alternative art. This diversity is the fruit of the openness that distinguishes urban society. This openness provides the conditions for new interpretations, which in turn lead to the emergence of alternative art. Alternative art is art which re-interprets an existing art form (or work of art), taking a different creative approach to produce something new.

The freedom of choice that marks urban society is obvious here. In the absence of a dominant art form or concept of art, artists have the freedom to make their own choices. They are free to make an explicit statement on the taste, style, and expressions of broader society. In the context of this article, that means they are free to choose their own body.

In Jakarta, in the field of the traditional arts two phenomena stand out in particular. On the one hand, studios provide training in traditional art forms; on the other hand, traditional ensembles also stage performances. The first phenomenon has an educational function. Students learn to express the artistic elements of the body through imitation. The studios emphasise the acquisition of proficiencies and seek to produce as many traditional dancers as possible. In this context movement is deprived of meaning.

In my opinion, there is something distinctly ironic about the second phenomenon. Traditional artistic groups are home to many intelligent and experienced bodies. The rich artistic-corporeal elements in their practice could be a source of huge inspiration in big cities. And yet they struggle to exist from one day to the next. Jakarta has expressed little interest in these groups, especially in economic terms.

3. The Artistic Body in Contemporary Choreography

While the body was a medium of communal expression for the hundreds of years, this changed in the 1960s and 1970s as Indonesian dance groups and art academies began to adopt the discipline of choreography. With the arrival of choreography, the body was recognized in the academy as a medium for individual expression. In its new conception, the body was capable of possessing a variety of repertoires and movement characteristics. It became the site of a broad spectrum of elements capable of embodying any concept that the choreographer might wish to communicate. The embodiment is an individual interpretation, grounded in the artist’s interpretation and his / her emotions and experiences in a particular moment in time – constructed in the knowledge that the concept could change at any moment. That is why we call it 'contemporary' choreography.

This development has continued into the present day, driven onward by the increasing number of dance groups and academies of the arts. But it is not easy to create new movements and characters. Choreographers often fall into the trap of imitating movements, rather than exploring movements and thus creating a new form. While they lend these movements a certain intensity and emotive character, they forget that intensity and emotion are not the exclusive domain of the choreographer and the dancer, they must be communicated to an audience. Clearly we have not yet fully understood the nature of the body as a visual communication system. Dance must involve an audience in every form and movement of the body. To involve the audience is to communicate an impression.

Most contemporary choreographers are still negotiating this transition. It is not until they are admitted to the academy that they learn to see the body as an expressive medium – and they do so only if they continue to their search for their own artistic body and its specific character. So far few artists have succeeded in discovering their character and their own style. Two names spring to mind: Fitri Setyaningsih and Jecko Siompo.

Epilogue

The fact that traditional values still play a central role in the lives of most Indonesians demonstrates both the existence of the 'artistic body' and its role as an expressive medium in Indonesian society. But sweeping changes are taking place, which will also impact on traditional society. The artistic body is no longer simply part of a broader situation. It has become an option which provides artists with a range of possibilities – whatever concept, idea or topic one might want to express. Unlocking the artistic elements (form, body, character) of the body requires both creativity and intelligence; yet it equally requires the ability to communicate these to an audience.

Translated from Bahasa Indonesia.


Renee Sariwulan
has been a member of the dance committee of Jakarta Arts Council since 2006, prior to which she was an assistant lecturer at the Jakarta Arts Institute. Renee Sariwulan studied anthropological dance and was active as a dancer and producer throughout her studies.