A group of artists from West Sumatra will in December hold a traditional art festival called âKaba Festivalâ, which aims to preserve Kaba, an oral literature tradition among the Malay and Minangkabau communities in the province
group of artists from West Sumatra will in December hold a traditional art festival called 'Kaba Festival', which aims to preserve Kaba, an oral literature tradition among the Malay and Minangkabau communities in the province.
'The process of producing a work of art cannot be completed within one or two months. There has to be a long, continual process over a period of years so that the works created are more mature. Such a process guarantees the quality of the work ' it makes it worth enjoying,' said Ery Mefri, a choreographer from West Sumatra and one of the initiators of the Kaba Festival, as quoted by Antara news agency in Padang on Saturday.
Kaba Festival I, which will be held at Nan Jombang Dance Workshop in Balai Baru, Kuranji district, Padang, from Dec. 3 to 5, was created by Ery and four other West Sumatran artists who founded a traditional art group called Gelombang Minangkabau (Minangkabau Wave).
The four artists are Hasanawi, Irmun Krisman, Joni Andra and S. Metron Masdison.
'We've created this festival independently. We're holding the festival in our own building, performing our own creations and using our own money. We hope that the first Kaba Festival will attract the interest of a range of parties so that by the second festival, there will be parties willing to sponsor us,' said Ery.
Five groups will perform at the festival, namely Nan Jombang Dance Company, Impressa Dance Company, Langkok Group, Parewa Limo Suku and Ranah Teater.
Nan Jombang Dance Company will stage a 65-minute performance entitled 'Night Dance' choreographed by Ery.
Impressa Dance Company will present Ratok Nyao, a 60-minute performance choreographed by Joni.
Langkok Group will present Ratok Singgalang, a 30-minute performance composed by Hasanawi, while Parewa Limo Suku will perform Batampi Bareh, a 30-minute Kaba-inspired dance composed by Irmun.
Lastly, Drama Berdendang, a 60-minute Minangkabau opera composed by Metrom, will be presented by Ranah Teater.
Ery said the five groups, which represented the three genres of dance, music and theater, were rooted in Minangkabau tradition.
'Minangkabau traditional art is very rich. It offers endless opportunities for performance,' he said. (ask/ebf)(+++)
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