The audience at a function hall in Menara Kuningan, South Jakarta, cheered when six female dancers came on stage and started performing the Balinese pendet dance.

After around eight minutes, the girls started throwing flower petals in the air, marking the end of the first performance in the talent and music concert for kids with special needs last week.

Even when one of the dancers forgot her steps, the hall was still filled with appreciation for the girls from the Indonesian Down Syndrome Association (ISDI).

'I need longer time to teach children with Down Syndrome but I'm happy to do that because they are so cheerful and friendly,' said Erna, the dance coach.

'I've been dancing since I was 14,' said dancer Intan Sartika, 32. Intan and her friends have even performed overseas, including in Singapore and Taipei.

After enjoying the dance from the ISDI girls, the audience was entertained by Spe.ed.ster band, which consists of six children with autism from the Bina Abyakta shelter.

The band, which was formed in 2010, sang the patriotic song 'Tanah Airku' (My Mother Land).

'We're performing here and we've also performed on several TV stations,' said Joey Santoso, 22, the band's drummer who speaks English as his first language.

The band chose Joey, who has Asperger syndrome, because of his drumming skills, said Joey's mother Yun Santoso. 'I think it [the band activities] helps him to work in a group, to bond, and to give him more confidence to perform in public,' Yun said.

Tito Sumarsono, a renowned singer and song writer in the 1980s, has been teaching children with autism to play musical instruments in a band for the last three years.

'At first I didn't know anything about children with autism, but slowly they finally got it,' said Tito, adding that the band recently performed in the US.

'In all of my career moves, this is the most important one. Because there aren't a lot of music teachers who have the honor to teach children with autism,' he said.

The ISDI dancers and Spe.ed.ster were among the performers in a concert held by the Indonesian Association Caring for Children with Special Needs (YIPABK).

With the theme of 'My Nation', the concert was a part of a campaign called 'What Will I Be?' that started in March, according to the foundation's supervisory board chairperson, Budiarti Silalahi.

Besides the concert, the campaign also included other activities such as a film screening, photo competition and seminar, she added.

Women's Empowerment and Child Protection Minister Linda Gumelar said after the show that the concert was a call for all children to show their love for the country through arts, 'whether it's in the form of dance or singing or musical performances'.

'We've published books on assistance for children with special needs by NGOs and experts on children with special needs,' she said. This year the books were distributed throughout the country by provincial governments, she added.

Meanwhile the audience was surprised by the abilities of the children, despite their special needs.

'I found out about this concert on Facebook, so I chose to watch the performance rather than something less meaningful,' said Alfriyanto, 23, who has a relative with Down Syndrome. (nai)

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