Dozens of dancers from the Semarak Candra Kirana studio were leaving the stage on the western side of Pamedan Field at the Mangkunegaran Palace. Along with the patron of 2012 Solo International Performing Arts (SIPA) festival, GKR Timoer Rumbai Kusumadewayanti, they just performed a dance titled “Save Our World, Better Future”.

Rumbai conveyed love of the earth through modern and classical Javanese dances, including the bedaya and srimpi. Performing for about 15 minutes, the dancers were campaigning for the care and love of the environment, as envisaged in the main theme of this year’s SIPA, “Go Green”.

The stage lights dimmed, and from the left, a balloon emerged slowly, rising before thousands of spectators and soaring higher. A man — Robin Simsons — was hanging under it, presenting acrobatic feats. The member of The Dream Engine from Britain continued to display graceful movements, with the balloon tip being tied by two strings to prevent it from straying with the wind.

Experimental: Choreographer Mugiyono Kasio (center) presents a dance drama, Bina Maja, with the Dedek Gamelan Ensemble and keroncong singer Endah Laras (left).The Heliosphere, the name of the show, became a thrilling attraction, as Simsons, while demonstrating his body tricks in the spotlight, was turning upside down along with the descending balloon to greet the onlookers’ waving hands. Combining acrobatics with music and lighting, the group of aerialists has performed in 50 countries.

“The wind considerably affects this show. When it’s stable, the helium balloon floats steadily. Fortunately, it’s not so strong here so that our string controllers don’t need to work hard,” said Steve Edgar, artistic director of The Dream Engine.

Vocalist and environment activist Ully Sigar Rusady appeared with her group, Nyanyian Alam (Song for Nature), which includes her younger sister, Paramitha Rusady; her child, Elsa Sigar Rusady; and two grandchildren. One of her songs, “Musim Tanam” (Planting Season), accompanied sacred dances of different ethnic groups in Indonesia.

With love: A performance by Kraayenhof Tango Ensemble, a music group from Holland.“I’ve derived the tones of this song and its dances from rituals observed by various ethnic groups in remote regions, where I’ve so far got a grasp of nature,” said Ully after her show. Ully expected the energy emanating from the performance to inspire the audience’s concern and love of the environment.

At the end of her song, Ully’s dancers went off the stage and distributed dozens of saplings. “Plant the saplings. Take good care of the trees to save our beloved planet,” appealed Ully.

At the opening of the event, the chairwoman of SIPA 2012, Ira Kusumorasri, delivered sapodilla seeds to Surakarta Deputy Mayor FX Hadi Rudyatmo and a number of ambassadors. Thousands of people joined the ceremony by setting off fireworks.

“Through this arena, we’re campaigning to boost public care and love of the environment. The entire show constitutes our song for the planet, so that we’ll always be reminded of the necessity to safeguard and look after Earth,” declared Ira.

Full moon: Semarak Candra Kirana enlivens the opening of the Solo International Performing Arts (SIPA) 2012.Eisa Dance from Japan followed with a percussion performance. Sujiwo Tedjo’s Dewa Ruci later wowed the SIPA audience. Tedjo, a puppet master and a versatile artist, collaborated with bassist Bintang Inriarto, contemporary sinden (gamelan singer) Sruti Respati and SMA 4 senior high school.

Tedjo combined the concept of a wayang (shadow puppet) show with songs and fresh narratives that frequently invited loud laughs from the spectators. Dewa Ruci, a story of the Hindu epic Mahabharata character Bima, who searches for spiritual perfection, was turned into a humorous episode with hilarious dialogues, besides offering a social critique of current affairs, such as student brawls and corruption.

This former journalist also played the saxophone and, with Sruti Respati, sang several songs, some of which were derived from his first album, Pada Suatu Ketika (Some Day). But his song “Jancuk” got the most response from the audience. The word, which is a rude way to describe angry people in East Java, in Tedjo’s view, can also be used to imply intimacy, friendship and honesty.

On the second day, Guizhi Theater from Taiwan collaborated with two dancers from Solo, Danang Pamungkas and Dewi Galuh Sintosari, in Shadow and Light, blending gamelan music and Javanese poetry songs with theatrical elements and contemporary choreography. Visuals in stunning silhouettes appeared on a screen, giving prominence to dance movements performed to a slow rhythm.

Mayapada from Krakatau Steel presented an elegant piece of music and dance arrangement. Using multimedia technology, Independent Expression staged an interaction of the body and nature through the exploration of movement in Pe-thoi. It portrayed human expression and treatment vis-à-vis nature and the environment. Lutgardo Luza Labad from the Philippines also brought the theme of nature with scenes of natural disasters through motions and monologues.

Senior choreographer from Solo, Mugiyono Kasido, worked with the Dedek Gamelan Ensemble and keroncong singer Endah Laras in a dance drama, Bima Maja, on the final day. Though with a different performance concept, this composition was one of the highlights at Sukuh Temple. Mugiyono played Bima with dominant dance steps, interacting once in a while with leather puppets on one side of the stage. Endah Laras performed with a ukulele to create a cordial atmosphere along with Mugi’s dancing children.

Tourism and Creative Economy Minister Mari Elka Pangestu officially closed SIPA 2012, flanked by Surakarta Mayor (now Jakarta Governor elect) Joko Widodo and Ira. Winding up the program were, among others, Bantus Capoeira (Brazil), Suvarna Bhumi (Yogyakarta) and Teater Tetas (Jakarta), after the appearance of a Dutch musical group, the Kraayenhof Tango Ensemble.

— Photos by Ganug Nugroho Adi