Feminine figures: Dancers perform the traditional Lengger Gunung Sari dance in memory of and to show reverence for lengger legend Kunes.

The lengger traditional dance from Banyumas in Central Java has faded away since the 1965 tragedy, but an art community is now striving to bring the bold and elegant movements back to the stage with a commemoration of a legendary lengger dancer.

Fourteen dancers from Banyumasan Seblaka Sesutane Community recently performed two compositions, Lengger Gunung Sari and Bedhaya Idag, at the Sudjatmoko Hall in Surakarta, Central Java, in memory of legendary lengger dancer Kunes.

Both compositions, like most lengger-style dances, displayed the performers’ agile and dynamic movements dominated by hip shakes, with the calung (bamboo gamelan) accompaniment typical of Banyumas.

What was special about the two dances was their depiction of the life of Banyumas lengger legend Kunes, who enjoyed her heyday from the 1930s to the 1960s. Seblaka Sesutane Community members were driven to reveal Kunes’ life story, which ended sadly, in contrast to the glory of her dancing days.

“Kunes’ pioneering role as a lengger dancer formed a vital basis for the emergence of succeeding generations,” said Darno Kartawi, the head of Banyumasan Seblaka Sesutane.

Kunes was descended from Nini Bancak, a lengger maestro from Ciparuk hamlet who inspired the highly acclaimed novel Ronggeng Dukuh Paruk (The Dancer from Paruk Hamlet) by Achmad Tohari.

Ice breaker: The comic movements of dance maestro Didik Ninik Thowok, who combines elements of comedy as his signature.

Darno related that Kunes was not initially taught to become a dancer because her extended family had nurtured two lengger dancers — her cousins. She joined the dance only as a sideline activity to accompany the two cousins.

“But Kunes was unexpectedly very eager to be a dancer and she performed much more beautifully and attractively than her cousins. From then on she became a serious dancer and her cousins gave way to help her reach her ambition,” he added.

Kunes’ golden period ended in the wake of the kidnapping and murder of six Army generals on Sept. 30, 1965, which led to the purge of the Indonesian Communist Party (PKI), resulting in the massacres of 1965 and 1966.

The political change also saw the demise of lengger, with many of the artists being branded as leftists and communists. The traditional dance suffered the same fate as other people’s arts that were abandoned. The artists lived miserably, trying hard to earn a living from any job as invitations to put on shows dried up.

Kunes, too, was forgotten.

As she grew old, Kunes was uncared for and her health declined. Having no home of her own, she finally died in the house of one of her relatives. Her gravestone only bears her fading name written in black marker.

“This time we want to present Kunes’ accomplishments as a legendary dancer in Banyumas,” choreographic director Cahwati said.

The show opened with seven dancers performing Lengger Gunung Sari  in honor of the great legend; superb dancing skill elegantly rendered through the typical lengger movements of geyol (hip shakes), gedheg (head shakes) and sash play. The dance gave no impression of eroticism or vulgarity.

The second composition, Bedhaya Idag, portrayed the sensuality of lengger dancers and their teasing male partners, as was the case in the past, when male guests were allowed to approach the dancers on stage, tuck money into their cleavage, hug or kiss them.

However, Bedhaya Idag is meant to forestall the harassment of male teasers; the female dancers trample on the men to make them incapable of impudent acts.

“We want to deny the assumption that lengger is a cheap dance. None of its movements deviate from ethics and aesthetics because lengger was originally sacred,” said Cahwati.

The atmosphere was livened up by the humorous appearance of Yogyakarta-based dance maestro Didik Ninik Thowok for around 30 minutes. Didik’s choreography combines elements of comedy as his characteristic signature. This time he staged his medley by changing masks with amusing mime and comic movements, drawing the audience’s laughter throughout his performance.

— Photos by JP/Ganug Nugroho Adi

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