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Performing arts festival returns to Surakarta palace
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The 2018 Mangkunegaran Performing Arts festival will kick off with the Serimpi Moncar dance choreographed by KGPAA Mangkunegara VII. (JP/Ganug Nugroho Adi)
T
he annual Mangkunegaran Performing Arts festival will run from March 16 to 17 at the Pura Mangkunegaran Pendopo in Surakarta, Central Java.
This year, the event will showcase traditional Javanese dances, rituals and traditional dishes.
The dances were choreographed by Kanjeng Gusti Pangeran Adipati Arya (KGPAA) Mangkunegara IV, KGPAA Mangkunegara VII and KGPAA Mangkunegara VIII.
For the opening show, the festival will present the Serimpi Moncar dance, choreographed by KGPAA Mangkunegara VII, featuring four dancers dressed in Chinese and the iconic Mangkunegaran's Serimpi costumes.
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The two-day event will also showcase other traditional dances, including the Lambangsari, Sekartaji, Gambyong Langenkusumo, Serimpi Pandelori, Bedhaya Bedah Madiun and Gatotkaca-Dadungawuk dances.
The city’s head of destination and tourism department, Iis Purwaningsih, said some of the dances had been developed to bring more excitement to the festival, adding that the event aims to promote Surakarta’s tourism and preserve Mangkunegaran art and culture.
She said that in addition to the Mangkunegaran Performing Arts exhibition, the Surakarta administration will also host the Bengawan Solo Travel Mart BTM, a tourism event organized by the Surakarta Tourism agency in collaboration with the Association of the Indonesian Tours & Travel Agencies (ASITA).
The Bengawan Solo Travel Mart aims to increase attract more foreign and local tourists to the city, according to ASITA Surakarta head Pri Siswanto. (jes/kes)
