Following its success last year, Bandung-based dance collective, Sasikirana Dance Camp is making its return to the stage this month. with a dance camp and intensive workshops for contemporary dance choreographers.
ollowing its success last year, Bandung-based dance collective, Sasikirana Dance Camp is making its return to the stage this month. The Sasikirana KoreoLAB & Dance Camp (SKDC) running from Aug. 1-9 includes a dance camp and intensive workshops for contemporary dance choreographers. The event will culminate in the site-specific-performance, “Dance City, Density!” which will be held on Aug. 9 at the NuArt Sculpture Park (NSP) in Bandung, West Java.
The “Dance City, Density!” performance, which is open to the public, has a unique concept in which the audience must follow the performance to different locations. There will also be exhibitions at 15 art spaces in Bandung on the same day.
Coming from 16 cities from five countries, six choreographers and 25 dancers passed the audition to participate in the intensive nine-day workshop and dance camp. Throughout the program, the choreographers and dancers remain on site and are mentored by several international artists, namely Arco Renz from Belgia, Fathurrahman bin Said from Singapore, as well as Hartati and Eko from Indonesia.
“SKDC is an opportunity for dancers to sharpen their skills, build their references, expand their networks, and receive sustainable guidance from our choreographer friends,” Sasikirana founder and head of production, Keni K. Soeriaatmadja told The Jakarta Post via telephone.
Both Arco and Fathurrahman said the diversity of the participants was impressive, with students coming from Singapore, Thailand, USA, Malaysia and Indonesia. Some students already have experience and formal dance education, while others are self-taught dancers, said Arco. Fathurrahman said the workshop was an opportunity to learn from each other, as every student brings different stories that are just waiting to be told.
(Read also: NuArt Lab: Making Bandung an art collaboration center)
Regarding this year’s theme of tradition-based contemporary dance, choreographer Hartati explained that “Contemporary was selected because it is the most important [dance style] to represent the current state of the world.” She added that developing contemporary performing arts was a way to improve public awareness of the nation's identity problem.
“We hope Sasikirana Dance Camp can be an annual event,” says Keni about Sasikirana's future projects. The collective has Dance Lab, a three-day program that is usually held every three to four months at the NuArt Sculpture Park. Compared to the dance camp, Dance Lab is easier in terms of its curriculum. Moreover, she hopes to create several small showcases in the future. (asw)
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