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Ballet brightens lives of Ciliwung children amid evictions
Full of grace: Australian ballet dancer Juliet Burnett teaches ballet to children at an art studio owned by NGO Sanggar Ciliwung Merdeka at the recent Ballet Goes to Ciliwung event on the banks of Ciliwung River in Bukit Duri, South Jakarta
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Full of grace: Australian ballet dancer Juliet Burnett teaches ballet to children at an art studio owned by NGO Sanggar Ciliwung Merdeka at the recent Ballet Goes to Ciliwung event on the banks of Ciliwung River in Bukit Duri, South Jakarta. The program, held by the Indonesian Ballet Foundation in cooperation with the Australian Embassy, will also give scholarships to talented children to study ballet formally.(JP/Wendra Ajistyatama) (JP/Wendra Ajistyatama)
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span class="inline inline-center">Full of grace: Australian ballet dancer Juliet Burnett teaches ballet to children at an art studio owned by NGO Sanggar Ciliwung Merdeka at the recent Ballet Goes to Ciliwung event on the banks of Ciliwung River in Bukit Duri, South Jakarta. The program, held by the Indonesian Ballet Foundation in cooperation with the Australian Embassy, will also give scholarships to talented children to study ballet formally.(JP/Wendra Ajistyatama)
The scene of an excavator gathering up the ruins of former houses in Kampung Pulo after a recent spate forced evictions did not seem to bother the children at Sanggar Ciliwung Merdeka studio in Bukit Duri, South Jakarta, directly across from the now demolished residences, even though their own houses would likely be the next target of eviction.
They concentrated instead on international ballet dancer Juliet Burnett who showed them the basic poses of ballet over the weekend.
'This dance is very happy and celebratory,' she said while forming a spring point position while another ballet teacher translated her words into Indonesian.
Some little girls easily followed the steps, while Burnet tried to fix the postures of some children who struggled. 'Yeah that's good,' she said, complementing those children who finally got it right.
After demonstrating and practicing a few basic steps, music from the ballet Giselle Part I started to reverberate throughout the small studio on the banks of Ciliwung River, a rare sound in that blighted neighborhood.
Dini Septianingsih, an 8-year-old girl who participated in the program, said that she loved learning dances she had never known of beforehand.
'We usually learn traditional dances here,' said the girl, who wished one day to be a professional dancer.
She said she loved ballet's positions and movements. 'They are beautiful, yet difficult to master' she said.
Burnett said she was glad that she could contribute something to Bukit Duri residents. 'I want them to at least be happy and forget what is happening here for awhile,' Burnett said.
Burnet, who is the niece of poet and artist WS Rendra, said that watching ballet or other performing arts had the ability to bring audiences into another world.
'No one should be excluded from experiencing this no matter what the reason is,' she said.
'Just because you are from a poor background does not mean you should not be allowed to experience this connection and magic,' she said.
Burnett added that for people who rarely experienced ballet, it could be even more meaningful. 'It brightens up their day and brings a sort of purpose into their lives,' she said, adding that she really hoped that the program would continue onward because it was very important to enrich the life of children.
Meutia Chaerani, cofounder of the Ballet Indonesia Foundation, the organization that arranged the event, said that children in Ciliwung Merdeka would receive regular ballet dance classes from teachers of the foundation, also known as Ballet.id.
'They will have the chance to perform in a ballet performance in Kuntskring restaurant [in Central Jakarta] in September,' she said, adding that the foundation would also provide scholarships for students who were talented enough to take a formal ballet lessons in Jakarta.
