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Building bridges: JakIPA 2019 promotes cultural exploration, invention
Foreign performers say that the biennial international festival brings cultures together toward understanding and creating new ones.
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Carolin Liesegang from the Berlin School for Acrobatic Arts performs with a Cyr wheel on opening day of the Jakarta International Performing Arts (JakIPA) 2019, which ran Nov. 16-17 at Merdeka Square, Central Jakarta. (JP/Dionnasius Aditya)
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udiences were presented with performances like no other during the Jakarta International Performing Arts (JakIPA) 2019, held on Nov. 16 to 17 at the National Monument (Monas) East Plaza of Merdeka Square in Central Jakarta.
The biennial festival featured local and foreign artists and troupes, including those from Jakarta’s sister cities of Berlin, Budapest and Moscow.
The Berlin-Jakarta collaborative show presented acrobatic acts to the accompaniment of Indonesian traditional music, which was a challenge for its young performers.
“Some of the students struggled to adapt to the music, which was unusual for acrobatic acts. They had to rehearse more for it. But who could imagine [that] traditional Indonesian music and our acrobatic acts actually [fit] harmoniously,” said Uwe Podwojski, a teacher at the Berlin School for Acrobatic Arts (Staatliche Artistenschule Berlin; SAB).
Podwojski said that the SAB crew was extremely delighted with the chance to go abroad and perform for a new audience.
“It’s very important for the students, because they are all here to widen their insights about other countries,” he said. “Who knows? Maybe later when they have finished school, they can find opportunities here in Jakarta.”
In addition to SAB's student acrobats, the Junost (Youth) Dance Ensemble from Moscow and Hungarian jazz singer Erika Kertész also performed at the JakIPA 2019.
