The long-awaited biannual Salihara International Performing-arts Festival 2016 will finally be presenting the most innovative and moving musical and theatrical performances from both local and international prominent artists from 1 October to 6 November at Komunitas Salihara, Jakarta.
As many as 14 internationally-acclaimed performers such as the German theater group She She Pop are to open the festival with their award-winning plays, the Australian Speak Percussion with two expressive musical repertoirs namely Fluorophone and Transducer, Benoît Lachambre & Montréal Danse from Canada that will put on a show of fun, hot and colorful dances of the current social and political situation titled Prisms, who joined SIPFest first held back in 2008 to artistically inspire the audience. All performers will also host a workshop with the audience to pave way to the creative ideas from both sides to meet and unite at the end of the day.
The clatters and clangs of the Indonesian traditional musical instruments gamelan namely gender, rebab, gambang, kendang and gong will be echoing in the Salihara’s halls thanks to the country’s top gamelan players A.L. Suwardi, Iwan Gunawan & Kyai Fatahillah, and Total Perkusi. The latter has even planned to combine it with the influence of modern drums in its complex repertoir called White Knuckle Stroll.
More plays will be on the agenda as Arica Theatre Company (Japan) will wordlessly narate the search of life’s true meaning by two individuals through all artistic elements including drama, music, design, fine arts and even architecture. The Human Zoo Theatre’s (UK) play is to be staged in the festival, which was even nominated for Best Young Production from Brighton Fringe Awards 2016 — what an honour to see it here in Indonesia.
The Jogjakarta’s Kalanari Theatre Movement is going back to Salihara following their successful performance of Kapai-Kapai atawa Gayuh—written by the Indonesian leading poet and theatre director Arifin C. Noer—in Helateater Salihara 2015. Meanwhile, the Norwegian dance company Ingun Bjørnsgaard Prosjekt will hit the floor with their contemporary dynamic dances.
Highlighting the country’s diverse traditional dances from every tribe and culture, the Indonesian choreographer Fitri Setyaningsih is daring to step out of the box as she will fuse the indigenous music, stage and choreography together into one single performance and the dancers will be draped in outfits resembling bubbles and clouds of seven-color gradations. Eko Supriyanto, also known as Eko Pece, an Indonesian dancer renowned for his work in choreographing for the world’s diva Madonna and dancing on several international stages, will exhibit his new moves in the SIPFest for the first time as well before embarking on four abroad festivals.
