REFLEKT: Dark Solanum + (Beyond The Idea of Queerness)

At first, Dark Solanum unfolds as a quietly radical gesture. An embodied inquest into the tensions and overlaps between tradition, queerness, and spiritual memory. Drawing from the Banyumas lengger dance tradition, the choreography work positions the body as both an archive and an oracle: a living site where gender ambiguity, ritual, and historical resonance coalesce.
 
In this piece, Otniel’s enquiry into lengger dance is deeply attentive, neither nostalgic nor didactic; all embedded in its utmost form, a framework through which the body speaks and seeks. What shifts when the artist begins not by producing, but by listening to the body, to silence, to space? What emerges when ideas are allowed to grow organically, within a process that honours research as form, rather than forcing outcome?
 
The notion of Dark Solanum was partially developed during a three-month residency in Savvy Contemporary Berlin—REFLEKT residency organized by Goethe-Institut Southeast Asia. For Otniel, it serves as a significant interval that allows for research without the pressure of immediate output. The artist speaks of this time as a practice of listening: to the city, to unmarked histories, and to the body itself. Walking through memorials, tombs, and public silence, the artist allowed sensory experience to guide his questions. The body became a navigational tool: its perceptions shaping an inquiry into trauma, memory, and queer spirituality. Dark Solanum premiered in Yogyakarta in June 2025. 
 
The presentation will be followed by a post-performance conversation with Otniel Tasman and moderated by Josh Marcy.

Working Team

Choreographer: Otniel Tasman, in collaboration with Nova Ruth, Agha Praditya, and Mariska Setiawan
Dramaturg: Lim How Ngean
Art Director: S. Sophiyah. K
Artistic Director: Byakta Babam
Stage Manager: Kristanto
Producer: Dina Triastuti