"We integrate Choreo-Lab, a process-oriented program, with creative product exhibition Jakarta Dance Extravaganza," said committee chair Yola Yulfianti at a virtual press conference.

"JDMU 2020 will be the embryo for a larger Jakarta Dance Extravaganza to accommodate the creative dance industry and Chore-Lab as an international contemporary dance festival next year,” she added.

Seamless: Three performers appear to strike a pose in the Broadway-style jazz dance by choreographer Ara Ajisiwi, “The Reunion and Joining”. The dance is one of six separate pieces that together form 'Kembaran Jiwa' (Twin Flames), a love story to be livestreamed from Dec. 11 to 13. (Courtesy of Jakarta Dance Extravaganza/Sukadi)

In collaboration with art and cultural center Indonesia Kaya and event organizer BOOW Live, the Jakarta Dance Extravaganza (JDE) is to be presented as a direct-to-video entertainment event comprising six performances that link together under the main theme Kembaran Jiwa (Twin Flames).

Each video is produced by film director Aji Rahmansyah, director of photography Bella Panggabean and producer Bayu Pontiagust.

Set to be live-streamed on the YouTube account Indonesia Kaya from Dec. 11 to 13, JDE is to include five young choreographers of different dance genres and a special collaboration by dancer Josh Marcy, poet/musician Reda Gaudiamo and stage director Rusdy Rukmarata.

Between worlds: Josh Marcy (left) and poet-musician Reda Gaudiamo perform 'The Running and Chasing Stage'. Directed by Rusdi Rukmarata, the dance piece is being livestreamed on Dec. 13 on the IndonesiaKaya YouTube account. (Courtesy of Jakarta Dance Extravaganza/Sukadi)

The five choreographers are Ufa Sofura Maulida of the lyrical dance genre, ballet dancer Michael Halim, ballroom dance master Denny Howman, Chikal Mutiara Diar of the traditional dance genre and Ara Ajisiwi, who will present a broadway jazz number.

“All six performances will build a complete story of finding true love,” said committee member Saras Dewi, adding that each performance was recorded separately.

JDMU is indeed a rendezvous of Jakarta dance communities of different genres and modes of creation, which, according to committee member Aiko Senosoenoto, will help in narrow the gaps between them.

“The event will help the artists or dance studios communicate and even collaborate,” she said.

The Choreo-Lab events are intended to give the artists a place to get into the conversation about dance techniques, performances and even to apply multidisciplinary approaches to further develop dance as an art.

Moving spirit: A still image shows two dancers in 'The Surrender' by choreographer Chikal Mutiara Diar of Swargaloka, a studio that specializes in traditional dance. (Courtesy of Jakarta Dance Extravaganza/Agus K)

While the digital transition of performance art would merely be a subject to trigger dialogue among the artists, it also has the advantage of widening the scope of the event to include artists of different backgrounds from other cities in Indonesia and abroad.

The Meet Up for Artistic Development program will involve Yogyakarta-based theater director, playwright and performer Joned Suryatmoko as the facilitator as well as Gunretno, coordinator of cultural group Sedulur Sikep in Pati, Central Java; Germany visual artist Claudia Bosse, and Berlin-based Singaporean artist Choy Ka Fai as mentors.

In the Meet Up for Upcoming Choreographer program, eight young dancers will follow online classes not only on artistic body movement but also involving the creative process and strategies, the utilization of audiovisual media as well as curatorial skills.

Dance committee member Siko Setyanto, who will also be a tutor for ballet and the mixed genre, said the final result of the program would be the choreographers’ work-in-progress, which might be included in next year’s performances.

“We give the participants the liberty to decide whether they will create a performance as a follow-up to the classes or whether they will adopt the online culture in their works. Let’s just see how they will determine their works should be performed,” said Siko.

One of the participating choreographers, Frans Junias Jugganza from Biak in Papua, said the program would help him find a format and media to exhibit his art.

“I wish to contribute to the development of Papuan dance, especially the cultures of ethnic groups in Biak, my ancestral home,” he added.

Acknowledging that digital platforms could be the new home for art performances, Josh Marcy, committee member and one of the tutors, said the collaboration among artists of different backgrounds – dance, music, audiovisual and others – would elevate public appreciation for art itself.

“JDMU is no longer a program focused on the mapping of the dance communities in Jakarta, but it has become a facilitator of an artistic process that enables the interchange of experience, knowledge and emotions that will lead to new ideas.” (ste)