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‘Indonesian Broadway’ to mark EKI’s 25th anniversary
A Broadway-style event will liven up the Jakarta Playhouse when the Eksotika Karmawibhangga Indonesia Dance Company celebrates its 25th anniversary this week.
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Jovial: The Eksotika Karmawibhangga Indonesia (EKI) Dance Company will celebrate its 25th anniversary with EKI Update v.4.1, to be staged on Friday and Saturday at the Jakarta Playhouse (GKJ). (JP/Jerry Adiguna )
T
he Eksotika Karmawibhangga Indonesia (EKI) Dance Company will bring out some Broadway charm for its upcoming shows in EKI Update v.4.1 on Friday and Saturday at the Jakarta Playhouse (GKJ).
The shows, which mark the EKI Dance Company’s quarter-century anniversary, will be staged under the theme #BroadwaynyaIndonesia (Indonesian Broadway), representing EKI Dance Company cofounder Rusdy Rukmarata’s goal for his dance company to become the Indonesian version of Broadway.
“Both Broadway and West End, even though they’re similar, they have their own identities, with West End being mostly classical while Broadway is more jazz. Likewise, we have to be able to create a special Indonesian overtone that translates into a universal language. That is our hope for the future of the Indonesian dance scene.”
Far from the glitz and the glamour often on display in the EKI Dance Company’s performances are the dance company’s humble beginnings.
Fresh off his studies at the London Contemporary Dance School, Rusdy established the dance company in 1996 along with his wife Aiko Senosoenoto. Unfortunately, dance was not a common career path at the time.
“Around the time we first started, if someone had a good family background, they would not go to have a career in the arts,” Rusdy said, reminiscing over his struggles to recruit the EKI Dance Company’s first dancers.
Rusdy ended up recruiting troubled youth to be trained as professional dancers. Some were addicted to drugs or alcohol, while some others have criminal records.
