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Padneçwara to mark Women's Day
A glimpse: Dance group Padneçwara will perform a sequence of Javanese classic dances titled Natyasastra Padneçwara this Friday and Saturday
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A glimpse: Dance group Padneçwara will perform a sequence of Javanese classic dances titled Natyasastra Padneçwara this Friday and Saturday. (Courtesy of Padnecwara) (Courtesy of Padnecwara)
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span class="caption" style="width: 498px;">A glimpse: Dance group Padneçwara will perform a sequence of Javanese classic dances titled Natyasastra Padneçwara this Friday and Saturday. (Courtesy of Padnecwara)
Dance group Padneçwara will perform a sequence of Javanese classic dances in a double commemoration of its 38th anniversary and International Women's Day.
Titled Natyasastra Padneçwara, the dance recital will be held on Friday and Saturday at the Gedung Kesenian Jakarta.
In a 90-minute performance, the group, led by dance maestro Retno Maruti, will perform two solo dances each representing the Yogyakarta and Surakarta dance styles.
Retno's masterpiece Abimanyu Gugur (The Demise of Abimanyu) will close the performance.
Padneçwara's Yully Purwanti Nugroho said that as of Wednesday only limited number of tickets were left available for both days.
'People can still buy tickets at the door,' she said.
The Java neoclassical drama-dance Abimanyu Gugur, inspired by the short story Nostalgia by Danarto, was performed for the first time in 1976 and has since become the highlight of several international dance festivals and events, including the Women Playwrights International conference in 2006 at Graha Bhakti Budaya, Jakarta.
According to Retno, the story of Abimanyu ' a Mahabharata warrior, son of Arjuna ' was not only about heroism 'but the consequences one must bear when taking a stand'.
'In respect of marking International Woman's Day, the performers are all women,' she said.
The original performers of Abimanyu Gugur included Retno, Sulistyo Tirtokusumo, Rury Nostalgia and Widaru Krefianto Darmawan.
Padneçwara was founded by Retno in 1976 to preserve Javanese classic dances.
Retno coined the name, which was derived from padmi or padni, which means consort of a king in Javanese, and iswara, meaning a king. The name could be taken to mean 'a queen', with respect to the heavy presence of female dancers in the troupe.
Apart from Abimanyu Gugur, Retno has produced masterworks such as Surapati, Savitri, Palgunadi, Sekar Pembayun and Damarwulan.
