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The story of a ballerina
Saya Farida: An Autobiography by Farida Feisol, Gramedia, 2014, 296 pages with photos
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Saya Farida: An Autobiography by Farida Feisol, Gramedia, 2014, 296 pages with photos.
The cliche of not judging a book by its cover does not apply to this written memoir of the late Indonesian ballerina Farida Oetoyo.
The compelling sepia photo of the young dancer and the book's simple title, Saya Farida (I am Farida), profoundly hint at its content.
What is expected is that the book is an absolute page-turner.
During her life in the performing-arts world, Farida had been known by different surnames after her father and husbands.
Farida was mama to her children and tante (Dutch for auntie) to her pupils.
In the autobiography, which was written years before she died at 75 in May, Farida said that she wanted to be known just as her.
She shares her inner thoughts on each decision she made, offering long-kept personal views that even her children knew nothing about.
The author Djenar Maesa Ayu, who lightly edited the memoir before handing it to the publisher, said that Farida was a warm-hearted mother and open-minded friend to her children ' someone who they talked to about anything, including sex.
'Mama was very open to us, she hid nothing from us. But it's the first time I learned her true feelings,' said Djenar. 'The publisher agreed with me that the book was beautifully written. She could just become a writer.'
Djenar was the daughter of Farida's husband, legendary filmmaker Sjuman Djaya, from a later marriage.
She said that Farida had been excited to get the autobiography published, but the good news came only after she was admitted to the hospital for a chronic heart illness.
'She was struggling with pain after a dialysis when I told her that the book would be ready for release on July 8, a day after her birthday. She was pleased hearing that and, holding my hands, she talked for hours about the book and forgot about the pain,' Djenar said at a media gathering in August.
Farida, who was half-Dutch, had an outlook that remains progressive, even today.
Born on July 7, 1939, as the eldest of three to Raden Oetoyo Ramelan and Mary Te Nuyl, Farida was raised in a mix of cultures.
From the age of 9, she already knew she wanted to become a ballerina.
As a daughter of a nationalist who set up the foundation for international liaisons during the first years of an independent Indonesia, Farida grew up in Singapore and Australia, where she was exposed to modern dance.
While it was hard for her to switch to ballet, hard work and determination brought her to formal ballet academies in Australia, the Netherlands and eventually the Soviet Union.
She graduated cum laude and saw the Indonesian Red-and-White flag hoisted for the first time at the Bolshoi Theater in Moscow for her commencement performance in 1965.
In 1973 Farida received a fulbright scholarship to study dance at Columbia University in New York.
Returning to Jakarta before the attempted coup in 1965, Farida found more stumbling blocks in popularizing ballet at home.
She came home when the young nation was trying to exert its own identity and when society did not see dancing as a respected, well-paid profession.
Against all odds, Farida held ballet performances and established her own school. She formulated a curriculum that set the standard for ballet in the country.
Dozens of her choreographies, some banned during the New Order dictatorship, were even screened overseas. Farida never confronted the government. In silence, she just choreographed more theatrical dances.
Her strong stance led to her election as a member of the Jakarta Arts Council and as director of Jakarta Playhouse from 1987 to 2001.
Fellow council members, artists, journalists and observers praised the changes she made during her stint compiled in a book titled Farida Oetoyo Menari Di Atas Ilalang (Farida Oetoyo Dancing on Weeds).
Farida sought to develop business-like, professional management in the performing arts that would ensure quality performances and improve the livelihoods of cultural workers.
In 40 chapters, Farida frankly discusses her career and personal life, including two failed marriages and raising two sons as a single mother, the dancer Arya Yudistira Syuman ' who is a schizophrenic ' and the musician Sri Aksana Syuman, popularly known as Wong Aksan, the erstwhile drummer for rock band Dewa.
She also highlights the importance of education for artists, a subject she dedicated her life to at her ballet school Sumber Cipta, and at Kreativität Dance Indonesia, devised for the school's graduates who wanted to become professional dancers.
'For me, she was a teacher, a well-experienced teacher. I learned much from her,' said Yudistira, also a Jakarta Arts Council member.
Farida wrote the last chapter, 'Conclusion', just before her death. Written in English, Farida shared her thoughts on her mother's influence in shaping her character, her faith and her decisions in life.
'To love, what is it? I found out that to love someone is not ever lasting. Love does not exist forever and at one stage it dies somewhere during life's journey. ['¦] I was never sorry with decisions I had made in my life whether right or wrong. I have learnt a lot from my stupid mistakes. It has made my life stronger and became who I am.
'The only thing that stays forever with me is the love for my 'children' ,and now also my granddaughter. That is the everlasting love.'
