ASEAN Rainbow performance successfully amazed spectators at the Koesnadi Hardjasoemantri Cultural Center (PKKH), Friday (27/5) night. Dance performances created by three students and alumni of the Graduate School of UGM’s Performing Arts and Fine Arts doctoral study program also closed the activities of the ASEAN Youth Cultural Forum.
This dance is quite unique because it is presented by 90 people who all are the delegates of 15 universities in Southeast Asia. However, not all of them are performing; some of them play the gamelan, sitar, singing, and playing other musical instruments. As the name implies, the dance combines elements of movement, music and costumes that represent each country. The story that brought on in the ASEAN Rainbow is taken from the story of Rama Tambak of the Ramayana story.
Event coordinator, Eddy Pursubaryanto, says the training for the new dance takes 6.5 hours for the 15-minutes performance. The training is facilitated by 3 instructors, Pamardi (S-3 students of the Performing Arts Program), Sukisno (UGM gamelan trainer), and Untung Mulyono (alumnus of the S-2 of performing art).
Eddy added that every country featuring new creations by combining two different cultures of the two countries. This was done to teach students diplomacy through the art. "How two different cultures meet through art, that’s the spirit," said the lecturer at the Faculty of Cultural Science.
Intan Diana (25) from the University of Malaya, Malaysia, admitted to be very pleased after attending this ASEAN student meetings. Although it is her first time participating in this kind of events, Intan said that she was able to get the experience to be acquainted with various cultures. “There is lot of obstacles to get to know their culture," said student of Drama Department, Faculty of Culture. In this time performance, Intan along with three colleagues collaborated with the National University of Laos.
Previously, the University of Putera Malaysia and University of Indonesia featured new creations of contemporary dance by combining zapin dance with saman dance. After that, Rama Seeking Shinta dance was performed by students of UGM and Chulalongkorn University of Thailand. Finally, the event was closed with the appearance of the Burapha University of Thailand’s delegation in collaboration with the Sains University of Malaysia.
UGM Rector, Prof. Ir. Sudjarwadi, M. Eng., Ph.D., said that this activity does not merely display the culture and the collaborative culture of the two countries, but also strengthens the friendly relations between the participants. "It develops mutual understanding and appreciating art and culture," he said.
On the occasion, the Rector received souvenirs from each delegation. Conversely, the Rector also presented certificates for the participants for their participation in The Ninth ASEAN Youth Cultural Forum, which took place from 23 to 27 May 2011. Next year, the same activity is planned to take place at the University of Brunei Darussalam.