The dancers’ movements are graceful but precise, their faces masks of concentration. They are practicing the Bedoyo, a special dance performed only for the Sultan of Yogyakarta and one that is deeply rooted in Javanese folklore.

The scene would almost seem timeless were it not for the performers t-shirts, one of which announces, “I’m very proud”.

Classical dance demands an understanding of the steps and also the philosophy behind them. But many say the challenge they face now is working to preserve their art while making it appeal to wider audiences.

Interest in classical tradition has dimmed with time and as Western culture has gained popularity, particularly among youth who prefer the quick beats of pop and hip hop.

“Young people think classical dance is boring and old-fashioned,” says Dedi Panggung Suprabowo, a classical performer who doubles as a teacher of traditional Javanese music gamelan to students of Al Azhar elementary school in Yogyakarta.

One of the palace’s five instructors looks on as the women work on synchronizing their steps. Photo by Sara Schonhardt

To counter that perception, some performers have taken pains to mix the old and new, setting wayang (traditional shadow puppet performance) to dangdut music, for instance.

“Young people see this as interesting,” says Dedi, who agrees that the hybrid helps revive interest in the flagging art form. But he is concerned that the experiment could somehow dilute the foundations that give these traditions their uniqueness and significance.

Even if this cultural experimentation succeeds in drawing larger audiences, 25-year-old Dedi says people his age don’t have the patience or energy for the intensive training required to know and understand complex classical dance numbers and gamelan music that accompanies it.

At Pujokusuman, where Dedi gives his gamelan lessons, an afternoon session often last for four hours. Special performances also require extensive preparation. Recently, the dancers trained for three months to perform the Bedoyo dance for Sultan Hamengku Buwono X’s birthday.

The sultan’s second-oldest daughter, GKR Condrokirono, who was part of the Bedoyo dance group, called the training “exhausting”.

That’s not an overstatement. Dancers must hold their positions for long stretches without twitching or fidgeting. When the music begins their faces have to look somber, as they absorb the sound of the gamelan. After nearly an hour of practice, however, smiles on their faces slowly disappear and their trembling hands indicate a physical stress.

Classical dances can last from one to four hours, though many have been shortened for modern audiences. It’s the pressure of performing such a revered dance that never lets off, Condrokirono says, noting that members of her family never let a mistake go unnoticed.

Bedoyo finds its roots in historic manuscripts and is largely confined to an exclusive group of dancers because of its ties to the palace, or Kraton. Sarastiati, who trains with a studio that regularly performs there, said she studied contemporary dance for years before catching the eye of palace instructor R. Ay. Sri Kadarjati.

It was only then that she learned the trade secrets of the Bedoyo. “You have to have the right techniques, and you have to be passionate because the music and the movement is so slow. In Bedoyo all of the dancers move in unison, so you have to become one,” says Sarastiati.

Dancing the Bedoyo is still a matter of pride, but the dance once reserved for the eyes of Sultan and his guests of honor is now performed for tourists during dinner shows or cultural exhibitions.

That does not concern Sarastiati, who says she enjoys sharing the beauty of her culture with tourists. But GKR Pembayun, Sultan’s first daughter, says that the foundation of classical dance needs to be re-established by the palace.

Anthropologists have long cautioned that younger generations must learn traditional crafts from their elders or the arts will die along with them. For now, support for the arts remains strong in Yogyakarta, where dancers have long held distinguished positions in society because of their roles as the sultan’s servants.

Pembayun says it is difficult to preserve classical dances because the supporting community is now very small. A preservationist group consisting of concerned artists fears that complacency could precipitate the extinction of the art forms. While others, such as Dedi, say the West has a stranglehold over modern culture.

“Indonesia already imports many things from overseas, so we have to have other things that show who we are,” he says. “We have to keep what makes us Indonesian, and we can only keep our culture if we work hard to preserve it. If we don’t, there will be a big price to pay.”

For Dedi, efforts to maintain traditional culture are a form of resistance, and he tries to introduce his students to these practices from a young age. Like many classical performers, he comes from a family of artists. His mother danced and his siblings all studied one traditional discipline. As a group, they can sing, play gamelan and perform shadow puppetry.

Sarastiati says she became interested in dance as a young girl because she loved the beauty of the costumes and the make-up. Although she does not come from a family of performers, she will enter one when she marries Kadarjati’s son, also a classical dancer.

Condrokirono and Pembayun say it was simply a fact that they would study classical dance, but because they are the only two among their five siblings who have learned the movements, they have more to maintain support for their heritage.

“It’s the real tradition, it is part of our history and our culture,” says Condrokirono.

Among youths who have no such cultural connection, the need for preservation is less obvious. Dedi says young people will have no awareness of the art if it is not a part of their early education or upbringing.

And making the art a regular part of their lives can be difficult since such an investment require a serious amount of time and money.

Some classical dancers now rely on scholarships to fund their training, but many come from privileged or well-connected families that embrace traditional culture as their birthright.

As studios go, many around Yogyakarta offer classes that support the classics. Others have programs that include a range of styles — from ballroom dance to salsa.

Martinus Miroto, a well-known choreographer and the founder of several dance studios, has made efforts to make the classics more appealing by creating modern dance based on traditional Javanese epics.

In many ways, his effort defines the true philosophy behind Javanese culture, which as a mix of animism, local beliefs, Hinduism, Buddhism and Islam, honors adaptation.

That makes it rather difficult to explain just how to preserve certain traditions, but Jeanie Park, the executive director of performing arts’ center Yayasan Bagong Kussudiardja, says at its heart dance is about expression, and that is what people should value.

“If [artists] come from a classical dance background it will come out, and if they’re able to create new forms or movements based from that, I have no qualms because I know its coming from that personal artist.”

But effort also requires interest, says Dedi, who will continue exploring new ways to work with and teach others about classical forms, hoping that if he can instill the passion in children when they’re young, their love for these traditions will be too strong to shake.

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