I

want to respond to the review of Panji Sepuh since I was privileged to see the performance at Salihara on Friday evening.

Rather than asking, “what are the sins of the flesh?” (The Jakarta Post, Aug. 16), I have to ask “what are the sins of the reviewer?” of this performance.

The performance was definitely a combination of traditional Javanese and contemporary or at least non-Javanese elements. I don’t know how many in the audience (which was an interesting mixture of generations) were familiar with the traditional meaning or symbolism of the royal dance at the heart of this choreography.

I have to assume that many knew little about it, and therefore had to apply their individual understanding of what they saw. And what they saw was an intense depiction of relations between an initially very powerful man and a group of extremely servile women.

Their silent dancing, with the amazing section of movements behind plaster masks, was almost painful in its rendition of their subservience to him. When the dancers finally broke their masks, it signified a break in the narrative as well.

The sultan character had his moment of glory when he too danced behind a golden mask, showing his strength as royalty but his limitations as a man. The following section was truly astounding, when one of the women joined the sultan and simulated violently erotic sexual intercourse.

This action was intensified, if possible, by the murder of the woman and the sudden shrill shrieks of the other servants. By the end of the performance, the sultan had been defeated in battle by unknown forces but the remaining women were able to carry on.

Since I didn’t understand the vocal part of the accompaniment, I can’t comment on its role. But the musicians were ethereal,
both visually and aurally. They were placed above the stage on three sides and were illuminated and then darkened periodically, making them both harbingers of and commentators on the actions below them.

Indeed, there are many ways of interpreting the performance we saw, from gender relations, to tradition vs non-traditionality, to the place of violence in life. What bothers me about the review you published is that the reviewer omitted any of these, which I believe does both the performers and the readers a disservice. The audience, however, was enthralled and gave the dancers and musicians an extremely well-deserved standing ovation.

Eran Fraenkel
Bogor, West Java