(JP/Ganug Nugroho Adi)

The recent Jakarnaval, which included thousands of participants to mark the 486th anniversary of Jakarta, was brought to life by Bambang Besur Suryono, a man from Surakarta (commonly known as Solo), Central Java, who was chosen to be the event'€™s artistic director.

'€œThe carnival costumes partly came from natural items, such as grass and leaves, which were combined with batik attire emblazoned with Betawi (native Jakartan) motifs. More than being just a big procession, it was a creative carnival distinguished by ondel-ondel (giant puppets),'€ Besur said.

As the main architect behind the Jakarnaval, Besur took about three months to prepare the festival in collaboration with the Indonesian Carnival House; the time frame included a number of workshops to create the costumes from a variety of different materials.

Consequently, the end results were not mere duplications of old-style ondel-ondel and conventional costumes, but were instead fresh creations in both color and ornamentation.

'€œWe also consulted Jakarta historians and cultural experts to infuse philosophical values into the iconic puppets,'€ he revealed.

Besur was responsible for handling the artistic features of the entire show, ranging from the costumes, staging and lighting to installations and performances.

The choice of Besur for this colossal event was based on his artistic management capabilities and experience. In 2010 and 2011, he managed the Solo Batik Carnival (SBC) III and IV in Surakarta. While the former was an offshoot of East Java'€™s Jember Fashion Carnival, the latter was chosen to join the Chingay Parade in Singapore.

Besides Surakarta, Besur also managed the launch of the Tegal Pesisir Carnival (TPC), a traditional carnival presenting diverse batik costumes from Java'€™s northern coastal regions of Cirebon, Brebes, Tegal and Pekalongan.

'€œUnlike the SBCs, with the TPC we gave prominence to batik motifs rather than ornamentation, with more modest and lighter outfits. In Surakarta, most costumes weighed up to 5 kilograms,'€ Besur noted.

Born in Surakarta on Oct. 20, 1960, Besur has a strong background in Javanese classical dance. His grandfather, RM Duto Diprodjo, was a wayang shadow puppeteer at the Surakarta Palace, while his grandmother, RAy Dipo Wiyoto, was a palace dancer during the reign of Surakarta King Paku Buwono XI (1939-1945). His father, Raden Soetarso, succeeded his father before him, and his mother, Soelastri, was a batik maker.

Besur first learned to dance from Surakarta and Mengkunegaran Palace instructors and had already mastered a number of classical dances while studying in junior high school. The fourth of 10 siblings later joined the city'€™s Classical Arts High School (SMK I), training under dance maestro Sardono W Kusumo outside school hours.

'€œIt was only in my second year that I appeared as a dancer in the ensemble and, after five years, as an auxiliary dancer. Mas Don [Sardono] was very selective in choosing his dancers,'€ said the choreographer, who is currently completing a doctorate at the Indonesian Arts Institute (ISI) Surakarta.

Besur, who is married to Sri Rustiana Isfandari, became a principal dancer after 10 years with the Sardono Dance Theater, with performances in shows that included Opera Diponegoro at Art Summit Indonesia, Jakarta (1995), Passage through the Gong at the Tanz Festival in Vienna, Austria (1996), and Soloensis in Germany and South Korea (1997).

His experience with the Sardono Dance Theater later took him to international dance festivals. In 2010, he performed in Minnesota and California in the US in a piece entitled Rain Coloring Forest. In 2007 and 2008, he went further and staged his own shows in Europea.

Apart from dancing, Besur has also held workshops and lectured at several universities, including Swarthmore College in Philadelphia, US, and the School of Oriental and African Studies in London,
England.

Besur began studying about choreography while studying at the Indonesian Classical Arts Academy (ASKI) '€” now the ISI Surakarta. In his early college years, he mostly created traditional dances borne out of his classical training. His meetings and discussions with enrolled dancers enhanced his ideas and creativity, leading to contemporary dance compositions.

In 2004, he stunned audiences with his work, Bedhaya Layar Cheng Ho. This show, which was developed for his postgraduate exam, combined Chinese and Javanese cultures and was inspired by the books Cheng Ho, which was written by Pao Kun and told the story of a 15th century Chinese eunuch, explorer and admiral who sailed to Java, and Chinese Eunuchs by Taisuke Mitamura.

After being performed at the Central Java Cultural Center and Jakarta'€™s Taman Ismail Marzuki (TIM) arts center, it was also staged in 2005 with dancers from Singapore and Taipei in the US cities of Philadelphia and Minneapolis at the invitation of Dance Advance and the Asian Cultural Council.

Other works include Kagura, Interview with Palace Ghosts (2007), Offering (2009) and Circular Ruins (2009).

In 2010, Besur received funding by the Singapore Arts Council to collaborate with Indian choreographer Raka Maitra in presenting across Asia Circular Ruins, which was Besur'€™s interpretation of the short story by Argentine literary giant Jorge Luis Borges.

The instructor of voice and movement on the Theater Training Research Program in Singapore maintains that choreography should bear a message rather than be just an artistic rendering.

Amid his busy schedule, Besur still finds time to develop new dances and design the artistic highlights of festivals.

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