I

n October 2010, Rambat Yulianingsih played Rubiyah, a central figure in Langendriyan Matah Ati — an epic of the Mangkunegara Palace in dance — at the Esplanade Theater in Singapore.

She appeared in the same role in May 2011 at Taman Ismail Marzuki (TIM) in Jakarta. Both shows were widely acclaimed as superb.

Langendriyan is a type of dance drama hailing from the Mangkunegara Palace in Surakarta, with the dialogue between performers using tembang macapat (Javanese poetry).

The specific type of dance involved was created by Raden Mas Arya Tandhakusuma and specially presented to Mangkunegara IV (1853-1881).

Rambat has been familiar with langendriyan since childhood. Born in Surakarta on July 23, 1978, she studied traditional arts, poetry singing and kerawitan (Javanese classical music and dance) from her father Sarno, a kerawitan teacher. “I’ve inherited my father’s artistic flair. He introduced various traditional arts to me,” said the woman.

As an elementary school student, Rambat always won interschool arts contests for Javanese dance and poetry singing. After elementary school, she joined Soerjosoemirat, a dance studio set up under the auspices of the Mangkunegara Palace, where she began to learn a lot more about the place’s dance style.

“I got a good deal of guidance from Eyang [grandfather] Tarwo and Ibu Umi, two great Mangkunegara dance instructors. They taught [me] not only how to dance but also customs and aesthetics,” Rambat said.

In her teens, she had already mastered all the palace dance masterpieces like Bedaya Anglir Mendung, Srimpi Moncar and Gambyong Retno Kusumo, and since 1994, the accomplished woman has been one of the palace dancers.

After junior high, Rambat studied at Kerawitan High School in Surakarta. “I wanted to study dance at the Indonesian Arts Institute [ISI]. If I had chosen a general senior high school, I would have missed lots of dance lessons,” said the long-haired woman.

At ISI, Rambat’s dance talent was apparent, and she studied the traditional dance styles of Surakarta, Yogyakarta, Bali, Sunda and Sumatra.

In 1996, she was involved in Opera Diponegoro, the work of senior choreographer Sardono W. Kusumo. The performance took her to different cities, including Jakarta and New York.

In 2009, she was entrusted with the role of a female figure in Gendari, composed by Elly D. Luthan. In 2003, Rambat performed her own work, Sekilas Sambal di Atas Meja (A Bit of Relish on the Table), at Taman Budaya Surakarta in a young choreographers’ show.

Before her role in the dance epic Matah Ati, Rambat had a long track record of performing overseas. From 1996 to 2008, she had dance tours of the US and Europe with such distinguished choreographers as Retno Maruti, Eko Supriyanto, Miroto and Jarot B. Darsono.

In poetry singing, she also frequently collaborated with gamelan music composers Dedek Wahyudi, Blacius Subono and Rahayu Supanggah.

According to Rambat, Rusini and Nanuk Rahayu, her ISI lecturers, greatly contributed to her development into the choreographer she is now. Also thanks to their encouragement, after obtaining her bachelor’s degree she followed it up with a master’s program. Her final exam piece, Adaninggar: Kerikil Kecil Padang Pasir (Adaninggar: Gravel in the Desert) was lauded and earned her a Master of Artistic Creation degree from ISI in 2011.

“I don’t want to be just a dancer, I want to be a choreographer so I can continue to be engaged in creative work,” she said. Her dance career developed further when in 2009 auditioned to perform in Matah Ati, created by Atilah Soeryadjaya. She won out over hundreds of candidates in order to be a part of the masterpiece of Mangkunegara VII’s grandson.

“After many years my dream was eventually realized. I felt very proud and honored to be part of Matah Ati,” recalled Rambat at the Matah Ati base camp in Laweyan, Surakarta.

For over two years, Rambat and the other candidates exercised, researched and read all the manuscripts about Pangeran Sambernyowo (Mangkunegara I) and his consort, Rubiyah (Raden Ayu Kusuma Matah Ati). The Matah Ati team also followed the tracks of struggle of Raden Mas Said (Sambernyowo), and paid homage to the grave of Rubiyah on the hill of Mt. Wijil in Kaliancar village in Selogiri, Wonogiri.

In the long process, some would-be dancers got bored and left the team to join other shows.

“Though there was no prohibition, I couldn’t do it that way. I appreciated the tough audition in order to be admitted. As I was chosen, I had to show my commitment,” Rambat said.

She burst with pride when Atilah named her to play Rubiyah, the woman warrior and consort of Raden Mas Said (Mangkunegara I).

“The role carried great responsibility. Any mistake would have cost the trust I got. Rubiyah would be in the spotlight so I had to perform totally and seriously,” she said.

Rambat described the difficulty in playing the role by referring to Rubiyah’s three phases with three different modes of dance. The first phase was when Rubiyah entered her teens, followed by her adulthood, and finally her acquaintance with Raden Mas Said. She showed the distinction between the dance movements for teenage Rubiyah and for her warrior role.

“Rubiyah was a remarkable woman. I’m fortunate to have been assigned the role of this great figure. I’ve been considerably inspired,” said Rambat, who was ready to put off pregnancy for Matah Ati.

Now with hundreds of other dancers, she is again training to stage Matah Ati on an outdoor platform at the Mangkunegaran Palace in September.

“I am not preparing anything special for the September performance. I may need to increase the strength of my feet for more secure footing to avoid falling while dancing, because Mas Jay [Jay Subiyakto, the artistic director] says the stage is a bit sloping,” said Rambat with a smile.