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Jakarta Post

Gianti Giadi’s lifelong love for dance

Courtesy of gigiartofdance

Josa Lukman (The Jakarta Post)
Jakarta
Fri, January 24, 2020

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Gianti Giadi’s lifelong love for dance

Courtesy of gigiartofdance.id

Fast forward to the present year, Gianti 'Gigi' Giadi has two dance studios and an internationally renowned reputation.

Recently, Gigi had the chance to attend the Broadway Teachers Conference and she shared her experience at the American cultural center @america.

According to Gigi, she attended a directing and choreography course, as well as a three-day teachers’ program, where she learned the skills needed to stage a show, from preparation to finish.

“As for the teachers’ program, there were five classes each day, ranging from set building to directing young actors and sound design. There were different programs each day, but we learned directly from the professionals,” she recalled, noting that in the evening they would watch the shows being discussed during the day.

The proprietor of the Pondok Indah-based dance studio Gigi Art of Dance (GAOD), Gigi graduated from LaSalle College of the Arts in Singapore and participated in major events like the American Dance Festival.

Based on her experience, Gigi noted that what struck her when she arrived at the conference was the participants’ competitiveness. She said that their passion for advancing was probably due to the high number of skilled people dancing, where being complacent might not get you anywhere.

“Here, the [dancing] community is smaller in comparison, so it’s not as competitive and we don’t feel the need to be as eager. Because they have big dreams and a definite goal, they are very much driven in achieving it.”

That drive starts in small things, such as coming to class. She distinctly remembered the participants arriving in class as if ready for an audition, complete with full makeup and in costume.

“That’s also probably because many people here dance for fun, whereas over there it’s like career-based, so they’re much more ready to go professional.”

Dance has a long history in Indonesia, where each region will have its own tradition. Because of this, Gigi explained that many times Indonesian dancers would be boxed in as being proficient in the traditional side. 

“In major festivals like the American Dance Festival, they would be familiar with several Indonesian choreographers who previously attended, but they would normally remember Indonesia as highly traditional. We don’t have a lot of dancers trained in ballet or contemporary and modern dance, so the body language and execution would be very much different.

“However, when I went to the conference, they didn’t even know we spoke English! So it’s really sad, they didn’t even know where Jakarta was and some thought it was part of Bali,” she said, adding that the participants were very curious about Indonesia as they had little idea about what Indonesia was like.

Gigi herself was trained in traditional Sundanese dance, starting at the tender age of four. Her mother and grandmother were both dancers and they passed on their love of dance onto her.

Gianti “Gigi” Giadi (JP/Dionnasius Aditya)
Gianti “Gigi” Giadi (JP/Dionnasius Aditya)

As she entered school, she still trained in traditional dance, but over the years got into modern dance and performed at school festivals. During those times, Gigi was not yet exposed to the theatrical side of dance, but that all changed when she visited LaSalle’s open house in Singapore.

“From there I marveled at the beauty of contemporary dance and the story behind the moves. I used to dance just to feel cool, but after that I really felt that I wanted to do this forever,” she said.

After successfully applying for a scholarship, Gigi studied intently and was even offered a position as dance instructor at the university. However, in 2009 she left her position and the city-state to open up GAOD, which celebrated its 10-year milestone just recently.

GAOD’s pieces also cover jazz or modern dance, where the music is the driving point. With contemporary dance, Gigi explained that there was a central concept that would then influence the moves, with the music being considered later on or even absent from the piece.

“My recent piece Plastic Fantastic is about environmental issues. The way I did it was determining the era it is presented in, or deciding whether it has a narrative take or an exploration of the body. We incorporated plastic waste into costumes and set design, and considered the emotional journey of the dancers,” she said, adding that the message was on the overconsumption of plastic.

With her experience in Broadway, Gigi said that she would use the knowledge gained to further expand GAOD.  For musicals, she said that the dance company usually created an original script. After the trip, a channel has opened where they can acquire rights for scripts already performed in other places.

Going forward, Gigi said that the next 10 years of GAOD would be focused on expansion, as she feels that two studios are simply not enough for her nearly 600 students.

“We’re finding ways to expand but also looking into having our own performance space. Especially now, with the renovation of Taman Ismail Marzuki for the next couple of years, so where else are we going to perform?”

Also on her wishlist is to expand GAOD into an actual dance school, as she feels the need for a performing arts school in Indonesia that both focuses on the performer as well as the more technical aspects of the field.

“The dance community in Indonesia is sizeable but very individual, as in they’re busy doing their own thing, including us. That’s why one of my wishes is for everyone to be more open and collaborate more to make dance accessible to everyone.

“We have a class for people with disabilities, which I hope to expand so people can see the positive effects of dance. It’s not just about the serious, career-based dancers, but it has a lot of positive impacts for a person, so I want everyone to see dance as therapy as well.”

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