Nauval Yazid, Contributor/Singapore
An elderly woman dressed all in pink could not stop moving her body to the beat of the drums.
It was as though she had not a care in the world, and soon others joined her, nodding their heads, clapping their hands and tapping their toes.
Such enthusiasm for the Noer Trajoe Contemphonic Music Group from Jakarta, which opened the Malay Festival of Arts in Singapore, was indicative of the audience response throughout the 10-day festival.
The arts festival is presented by Esplanade annually to celebrate Hari Raya.
Artists and musicians from Malaysia, Indonesia and Singapore who have a strong Malay cultural background were invited to perform at the festival.
Noer Trajoe, led by the legendary Tom Ibnur, were uncompromising in their upbeat wind instrument and percussion performance.
Even as they ""paused for breath"" to accompany a local singer who was belting out a keroncong song, or provided music for the Malay dance performance by the ERA Dramatic Theatre Company from Singapore, the group retained its stage presence and energy.
However, what really got the audience going was the inclusion of techno music in the performance on the open-door Waterfront stage in the Esplanade.
Electronic music filtered out from the keyboard section, and with the addition of the drums, the audience cheered.
Even the dancers, who were not scheduled to perform, took to the stage.
Tom Ibnur is a born entertainer, as seen the next week when he presented another troop of performers in a magical show.
The Segalah Sedayung dance company came all the way from the regency of Muara Tebo, Jambi to join forces with local dancers to perform traditional Malay dances, such as Tari Piring (the plate dance). The climax of the show was when they invited audience members up on stage to try holding up a big doll, unaware that it could only be ""moved"" by their emotion.
For Yandhie Dono, a 24-year-old graphic designer who was one of the people tasked with lifting the doll, his three-minute stint on stage was exhausting. While catching his breath, he acknowledged confusion as ""the doll had looked very light.
""Yet, it was heavier than I thought, I had no idea how to bear its weight. I could only manage to hold the tip of its dress, and even then, I was perspiring, and I felt pain here,"" he said, indicating his left knee.
Yet, arguably the strongest Indonesian presence at the festival was that of Jamaica Caf, in their second performance at the Esplanade after their first in February this year.
The a capella group became an ""overnight sensation"" in the last two days of the festival, not only among the Malay community in Singapore, but among various cultural communities, despite the language barrier.
