For many people, a journey can result in a new beginning. Getting away from home and out of one's comfort zone gives the space to reflect on life and see the world from a different point of view. This can be life-changing.
For an artist, a journey can be a way to search for new inspiration - to find a new beginning and see new possibilities.
Hartati, a well-known Indonesian contemporary choreographer, has been studying the techniques of Minangkabau traditional dance for more than 20 years. She was part of Gumarang Sakti Dance, one of the biggest dance companies in Indonesia, which has its roots in the Minangkabau tradition.
Returning to her homeland, and learning again those traditional body movements, after more than 10 years, has given her an opportunity to move beyond a dance form.
In March, as part of her plan as recipient of a grant for the Empowering Women Artists program held by Yayasan Kelola, she went to a village called Kotoanau, in Solok, West Sumatra. There, she learned the movements of Silat Harimau and Silat Mancak, a body movement based on martial arts techniques.
"For two weeks, I lived with the villagers who practice those movements as part of their rituals of daily life and I learned how to live with them," she says. "I realized the value of getting out of my comfort zone and opening myself up to new adventures and growth."
The residency, she adds, turned out to be a very important experience in her aesthetic search.
Being out of her comfort zone underlined the fact that every human being has their own limitations. She feels that her life was lived in a box - a box of her own thoughts, identity, feelings and dreams.
In choosing the title In/out, Hartati is telling a tale of how human beings (particularly women) have put themselves in a position of conducting never-ending negotiations within their own limitations and a the world at large. Life, as she depicts it, is always a labyrinth of boxes - we always get out from one box only to enter another box, with each getting bigger and bigger.
Therefore, for her new work, she uses the box as the main setting on the stage. She began the choreography exploration with three of her dancers, Andara F Moeis, Siti Ajeng Soelaiman and Nur Hasanah, in April.
The three have been dancing for Hartati since her first performance for the EWA program, Hari Ini (Today, 2007), and also participated in Cinta Kita (Our Love, 2008). It is interesting that they have all developed their art as dancers by joining an ongoing process with the same choreographer.
In addition to exploring new possibilities learned from the traditional Minang movement, Hartati also incorporates elements of daily life, such as a girl who has a happy time doing karaoke with her friends, or the busy movements and gestures of girls who are queuing.
It is also interesting to see how she enters a new approach of working with props and an artistic setting, using boxes as a metaphor for her conceptual idea.
"I don't copy their gestures or borrow them to be part of my work. I move beyond to take over their spirit and create my own movement vocabulary. And I am quite happy to see the result," she says.
Born in West Sumatra and raised in Jakarta, Hartati graduated from the Jakarta Institute of the Arts (IKJ) and developed her skills in various techniques and styles as a dancer when she danced for Gumarang Sakti (Gusmiati Suid), as well as for other recognized choreographers such as Sardono Kusumo and Boy G Sakti.
She was awarded a grant from the Asian Cultural Council for a residency program in New York for six months in 2000, and recently joined Point to Point, a collaborative choreographer project held by Asia Europe Foundation.
For In/Out, to develop the structure and dramaturgy, she invited Agus Noor and Yudi Ahmad Tajudin, theater practitioners from Yogyakarta, to participate. The collaboration with them was a new experience for Hartati, enabling her to incorporate more resources and make her work stronger and more structured.
The artistic element was created by Ignatius "Clink" Soegiarto, an experienced lighting designer. Music was composed by Arif Susanto. For the costumes, she worked with Oscar Lawalata.
Reflecting on the creative process of her new work, Hartati says that she learned a new pattern of working collaboratively with artists from other disciplines, which gave her the ability to have no fear in exploring outside the box and developing something new.
"In this work, I did not have the entire creative burden," she says. "Collaboration gave me the ability to expand in terms of form and presentation. I believe that every time I start a new process I develop a new artistic vocabulary . It evolves through a long journey."
In/Out
Oct. 16 and 17, at 8 p.m.
Teater Salihara
Jalan Salihara 16,
Pejaten, Pasar Minggu
South Jakarta
