On stage, several dancers test the flexibility of their bodies '€” fluidly shaping themselves into the curves and shapes of the Javanese alphabet, known as Hanacaraka, while reciting its letters at the same time.

In the background, multimedia works show the moving Javanese alphabet while occasionally projecting the dancers'€™ letter-shaped movements.

The dance, called Hanacaraka, is one of the renowned works by dancer-choreographer Boby Ari Setiawan.

'€œI created the piece inspired by a daily phenomenon that I have often encountered due to the declining recognition and use of the Javanese language and its alphabet among Javanese people,'€ said the graduate of Indonesian Fine Arts Institute (ISI) Surakarta in Central Java.

Before creating the dance piece, Boby had already started to raise his concerns over the lack of recognition and use of Javanese language and its alphabet through several school dance workshops, which aimed to introduce the Javanese alphabet through movements.

And the response, he said, was very good.

He said there were many students who had only just started to get to know the alphabet, but were interested and enthusiastic to discuss the subject.

'€œFrom that point on, I felt much more confident in performing dance using Javanese characters, which serves as an effort to help preserve the language as well as its culture,'€ said Boby, who was also one of the dancers in the colossal dance drama Matah Ati by Atilah Soeryadjaja.

When learning about the Javanese alphabet, Boby said he found out that many movements in Javanese dance resemble its alphabet.

His work, which does not only visualize the alphabet as movements and multimedia, but also criticizes people'€™s ignorance of culture, has attracted the attention of general audiences and dance enthusiasts alike.

Boby said he plans to develop Hanacaraka into another work, this time inspired by the Balinese alphabet, which will contain movements based on positions and philosophy related to human organs.

He is taking the planned choreography to the American Dance Festival (ADF) at the International Choreographer Residency in the US, which runs until July 25.

At the festival, Boby will not only perform his work, but also give workshops and join dancing classes held by the best choreographers from other countries.

As an instructor and part of the performance itself, Boby said he will present his new dance piece.

'€œThis time around, I will try to use movements to elaborate and identify the significant roles of each organ in our body through the dance,'€ the 32-year-old said before leaving to the US for the festival.

The Balinese alphabet-inspired dance would be presented to a number of dancers from various countries. Afterward, Boby would choose some dancers to perform his choreography.

'€œI hope this collaboration will not only result in a performance, but will also be able to introduce Indonesian culture while impressing every dancer, audience member and participant,'€ said Boby.

His name and works may be recognized in dance circles, both at home and abroad, but he did not make it in the dance world overnight.

At the start of his career as a dancer, the grandson of Supadmi '€” a well-known female puppet master in president Sukarno'€™s time '€” recalled that for several years he went through hard times, dancing from one village to another without getting paid.

Boby Ari Setiawan

Looking back, he said he was fine with his past, since art should naturally be from and dedicated to society. '€œHowever, of course, it becomes a problem if you dance too often without pay,'€ he said, smiling.

Choosing his path to live from and for dance was not easy. Many dance institute students or dancers switch to other careers '€” some even become office workers.

'€œI have no problem with their life choices. However, it'€™s possible to live from and for dancing as long as you are willing to collaborate, pay attention to other fields and sincerely devote yourself to the art,'€ said Boby, who has been involved in the works of famous choreographers like Sardono W. Kusumo, Elly Luthan and many more.

Together with Agus Mbendhol Margiyanto, Boby founded the Independent Expression dance company and started to recruit a number of dancers.

'€œIn financing a production or dance experiment, I sometimes have to travel away from Surakarta to teach traditional dance, yoga and other subjects. I don'€™t mind doing that, as long as it is still in the field in which I master,'€ Boby said.

Overall, he finds that the country'€™s dance scene has made significant improvements, as shown in the rising number of dance companies, collaborations between Indonesian and international dancers and increased appreciation from the audience.

However, he also finds there are many things that still need to be learned and improved upon.

In other countries, he said, audience recruitment has become the concern of the theater management, private companies and the government.

'€œI once performed at a festival in which 20 to 30 percent of the audience were senior citizens. Later, I found out that the theater management, the ticket agents and the government agreed to sell the tickets at a lower price to the senior citizens,'€ he said. '€œSuch a measure could be implemented in Indonesia to bring in larger audiences.'€

'€” Photos courtesy of Mammoth