Sanggar Caraka Buana news: Saman dance officially recognized by UNESCO

Aceh`s Saman dance has been officially included in UNESCO`s intangible world cultural heritage list, an official said.

The decision to include the Saman dance was reached at the 6th Session of the Intergovernmental Committee for the Safeguarding of Intangible Cultural Heritage being held in Nusa Dua, Bali, from November 22 to 29, 2011, I Gusti Ngurah Putra, a tourism and creative economy ministry spokesman , told the press here on Thursday.

"At the session, the Saman dance from Gayo Lues and environs in Aceh province was officially included in UNESCO`s List of intangible Cultural Heritage in urgent need of Safeguarding," he said.

The UNESCO meeting was being participated in by around 500 representatives from 69 countries, international NGOs, cultural experts, and the media.

Coordinating Minister for People`s Welfare Agung Laksono expressed his appreciation for the inclusion of the Saman dance in the intangible world cultural heritage list.

The recognition of the Saman dance by UNESCO should become the beginning of serious efforts to preserve and promote the saman dance, he said.

The Saman dance is originally from Gayo Lues and environs in in Aceh Province. It was created by a Gayo tribe in the 13th century and later developed by Syeh Saman to convey religious messages.

The Saman dance shows very dynamic movements and interesting harmonious sounds without the help of any musical instrument. In the dance, its performers sit cross-legged or kneel shoulder to shoulder in a straight line. They wear traditional Gayo clothes featuring the symbols of nature and noble values. In the past, all Saman dancers were male and their number was always odd.

Javanese Gamelan Performance at Linclon Center New York

Javanese gamelan performance

Just like its title, "What makes it great?" this is a story of one of Indonesia's classical music, Javanese Gamelan. Monday night (11/14), Kusuma Laras, a group of Javanese Gamelan supervised by Indonesian Consulate General in New York, has an honor to perform in front of New York's public at the one of the prestigious art and culture center in New York, the Lincoln Center. The performance that night was a part of White Light Festival which was held from October 20 until November 19, 2011. The White Light Festival offers experiences of passionate beauty and occasion of profound insights into the many dimensions of our individual selves and the collective shared forces of the human condition. This year is the second year of the festival.

There's something special in the performance that night. Unlike the past performances of Kusuma Laras, there is a special commentator, Rob Kapilow (an exclusive Schimer composer who has been widely known in America, Europe, Asia and Australia), who gave approximately an hour long elaboration about Gamelan Jawa and what makes it great. Kapilow started by introducing each musical instrument played in the Gamelan. Every time he finished explaining an instrument, he would asked to audience to join him in copying the sound made by the instruments.

Kapilow also explain the deep philosophy of Javanese culture embed in the classical music of Gamelan Jawa. The music of Gamelan Jawa was all about harmony and balance between unity and variety. Each instrument exists and played to complement each other in creating a wonderful music. The way Kapilow interacted with the audiences, sharing with them the beauty and mystery of Gamelan, has catch their attention. In the end of the performance, audiences who were captured by the greatness of the music were not only able to enjoy the music, but they also able to appreciate the music.

The performance was opened by a song titled Geger Sekutha before Kapilow began his elaboration. After Kapilow's presentation, the show was followed by more songs such as Laler Mengeng, Panjang Ilang, and Asmarandana. As many as 268 New Yorkers came to the performance, and went home with a new knowledge of the beauty, mystery, moreover, greatness of one of Indonesian Classical Music, Gamelan Jawa. (Source: KJRI New York).

Note: Kusuma Laras was formed 28 years ago at the Indonesian Consulate General in New York. Kusuma Laras ("Flowering Harmony") has enthralled audiences in the US and Indonesia with its authentic performances of music and dance from the classical repertoire of the courts of Central Java. The ensemble has been a treasure of the New York City cultural science since its first performance in 1983 in a Tribeca loft, using instruments built especially for the Indonesian Pavilion at the 1964-65 World's Fair in Flushing, New York.

KJRI-Bern: Charm of Saman Hypnotied audience 

Saman Dance performed by 16 dancers of Dance Students League Krida Budaya University of Indonesia (LTMKBUI) has hypnotized 389 guest who attended Indonesian Diplomatic Reception and Cultural performance, held in Theater National Bern, Thursday night (18/8).

The performance which has tagline “Colorful Indonesia” is held to celebrate 66 years of Independence of Indonesia and established through cooperation among Embassy of the Republic of Indonesia, Folkloreique Rencontre Internationale Committee and LTMKBUI. The Invited guests consisting of representatives from the diplomatic corps, government officials, businessmen, academics, press and media, travel agency, and friends of Indonesia.

Cultural performance “Colorful of Indonesia” is intended to promote arts and cultural diversity of Indonesia, especially in Switzerland, which in turn is expected to increase the number of tourist from Switzerland to Indonesia. 30 dancers and traditional musician, has performed wide range of traditional dances and musical performance, including dance Sprado (papua), Ubruk (Jakarta), Gantar Berlian (East Kalimantan), Delman, Pagelu (Tana Toraja), Jepin Kluang (West Kalimantan), Pajegan (Bali), Ganto and Saman (Aceh). The Guest also had the opportunity to watch the fashion show by Indonesian designer Aji Bram, which themed Unity in Diversity.

Aji Bram collection were presented by 20 models, swen on special fabric from Indonesia from Sabang to Merauke such as Lurik, Batik, Songket, and Sasirangan.

Cultural performance “ Colorful Indonesia” started by diplomatic reception, where guests had chance to taste Indonesian dishes, like Chicken Satay, Fried Rice, Fried Noodles, and Peanut Snacks. On his welcoming speech, Ambassador of the Republic of Indonesia for Switzerland and Liechtensetain has highlighted the importance of Indonesia-Switzerland relationship which next year will reach 60 years.

The Ambassador furthermore expressed how rich in culture Indonesia is and invited guests to visit Indonesia in order to witness the real diversity of arts and culture. LTMKBUI, which has invited by International Folklore Festival COmitte, will be in Switzerland from 15-21 August 2011. The committee converged dances group of Students from different countries to perform in Fribourg. LTMKBUI is always invited every 2 years to the festivals. At the end of the event, the Ambassador has given token of appreciation to the coordinator of LTMKBUI Fadhlan Al Abraar and Designer Aji Bram

(source: Indonesian embassy cultural news)