JP/Dian Kuswandini

“I’d always wanted to study law at the University of Padjajaran [in Bandung], but I failed the admission test,” said the senior dancer and actress, whose real name is Siti Nurchaerani Kusumastuti. “After thinking about it for a while, I realized I had to pursue something else in life, and all I could think of was dancing,” she smiled.

It was in 1977, and the young Nungki told her parents she wanted to study dance choreography at the Jakarta Arts Institute (IKJ). Just like any other parents, who dream big for their children, Nungki’s father, a doctor, doubted her decision.

“My father said: ‘Is this for real? You know that dancing is not a respected profession here, don’t you?’” the 52-year-old petite woman recalled. “And I said: ‘Yes, I know. But I want to become more than just a professional dancer — I want to be a dance expert and an arts advocate’.”

Lucky for Nungki, her persistence convinced both her mother and father. Dancing, after all, had been part of her life, as she had learned various kinds of dances since she was 5 years old. So, taking the leap to become a professional dancer wasn’t really a big surprise for her parents.

“I said, let me try first, and they said OK,” said Nungki, one of the founders of the Indonesian Dance Festival. “I was right: It turned out I fell head over heels for dancing.”

She hasn’t stopped dancing since — not even when many movie directors fell in love with her beauty and talent, and lined up to get her acting in their films.

“It was very difficult at that time — I had to choose between dancing and acting,” said Nungki, who first played in late legendary director Teguh Karya’s November 1828 in 1978 and then in 16 other movies. “I had never wanted to become an actress. But when Teguh Karya saw me at campus one day, he insisted I play in his movie. I tried it and liked it. Then Slamet Rahardjo offered me another role, followed by other directors.”

Unfortunately, Nungki said, she was also busy performing overseas at the same time.

“I finally realized I couldn’t do both. So I decided: Dancing is my life and I must leave acting,” said Nungki, who obtained her diploma in choreography in 1981.

Returning to her world, Nungki continued studying at the University of Indonesia, enrolling in dance anthropology, the institution’s new program at that time. She also took a master’s degree in anthropology — to make her dream of becoming a dance expert and arts advocate come true. How exactly did she plan to be an arts advocate? By spreading the love of performing arts among the public — young and the old.

“I kept asking myself: Why do performing arts such as dance keep failing to attract audiences in Indonesia?” said Nungki, a lecturer at IKJ since 1987. “I mean, when I was a kid, almost everybody danced. I often saw my mother and her friends dancing the traditional Serampang Dua Belas at many informal gatherings.”

Nungki realized the government played a large role in promoting the arts. Back at the time, in the early 1960s, she said, “[Former president] Sukarno encouraged people to dance. No wonder children at that time were familiar with so many traditional dances and were interested [in those performing arts].”

But following a regime change, after 1966, such a practice gradually disappeared, making traditional dance lose its popularity.

“Art subjects are no longer compulsory at school,” said Nungki, who finally made her comeback to the acting world in 1990. “They have become extra-curricular activities — and most of the time, the students don’t really learn anything in those classes.”

Of course, Nungki went on, it wasn’t just the government’s fault.

“OK, maybe we, the artists, were responsible for this too,” she said. “I admit it — that was why my friends and I decided we should help bring dancing back into the limelight,” she added.

So she took the performing arts to thousands of high schools across the country, to nurture the love of dancing among teenagers.

“We want teens to realize that arts can be fun — they can bring both happiness and peace,” said Nungki, who launched her project in 1998 with the help of the Ford Foundation. “At first it was hard, as many schools rejected our proposal. Some parents also didn’t agree with the idea of their children joining us; they thought it was better for their children to focus on mathematics and English.”

But Nungki and her friends didn’t give up. They brought artists like Indramayu mask dancer Rasinah, musician Djaduk Ferianto and actor Butet Kartaredjasa, to lure schools into accepting their project.

“When I brought these artists to schools, many teachers and students were surprised. After some friendly talks, many realized that being an artist was just as hard as being a doctor,” said the mother of one.  Today, she went on, “We have finally brought the arts into schools as well as enabled students to visit arts centers, and even perform in malls and public spaces.

“We were so amazed to discover how talented today’s youth actually is. They’re truly fast learners. They did lack artistic skills, but that was because no one had taught them,” she added.

While she’s working on spreading interest in performing arts among the younger generation, Nungki is also still busy working on another project — the Indonesian Dance Festival (IDF), which she started with her friends 18 years ago. The event, also dubbed the Jakarta’s International Performing Arts Festival, poses challenges, however, as she still finds it difficult to gain enough support from both the government and private parties.

“It’s hard because people still don’t appreciate the arts,” said Nungki, who was the IDF chairwoman from 2004 to 2008. “We’re always cast aside whenever we ask for financial support.”

“But we will never give up. We believe we have to fight for this. The IDF has been the longest arts festival ever in Indonesia. So, we can’t and don’t want to stop.”

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