INDONESIA JERMAN DANCE SHOWCASE WITH DIMAR DANCE THEATRE
At the beginning of April, Wisma Jerman collaborated with a group of young and talented Indonesian and German dancers for a showcase and a workshop in Surabaya. The showcase took place on the 1st of April 2023 at Balai Budaya, Kompleks Balai Pemuda Surabaya. The beautiful city auditorium, with a capacity of 750 seats, was almost filled to the brink with people that had come to enjoy this memorable event and witness a mesmerizing dance performance by the local dance group ‘Dimar Dance Theatre’.
Dimar Dance Theatre (DDT) was founded by Dian Bokir (Indonesia) and Martina Feiertag (Germany) in 2017. Located in Surabaya, this dance studio/group combines traditional dance techniques and theatre with modern European dance techniques and is interested in exploring different styles of movement, feeling and expression.
The event was opened by Mr. Mike Neuber, Director of Wisma Jerman, Mr. Christopher Tjokrosetio, the Honorary Consul of the Federal Republic of Germany in Surabaya, and Mr. Hudiyono, Head of the Cultural and Tourism Department of East Java Province, representing the provincial government. At the showcase, DDT presented two self-curated pieces of their work. After the opening, the audience was treated to a splendid mixture between a traditional Javanese horse dance, modern dance elements and comical slapstick theatre. The “SHADOW OF THE HORSE” titled piece is inspired by the perceived loss of significance of traditional dance values because of rapid technological developments. The attending visitors showed their appreciation with laughter and enthusiastic applause at the end of the first performance.
After a short break, the show continued with “NEVERMIND”, which is based on the burden felt due to thoughts or situations and the pressure from comments and words of people around us. According to the artists “NEVERMIND” is about finding oneself and being oneself despite different expectations from the outside world. Besides traditional Indonesian and contemporary dance elements, the performance also showcased dance elements from Africa. Despite being very different from the first performance in terms of tone, style and mood, “NEVERMIND” was also very well received by the audience. After taking official pictures together with some of the VIP guests, the audience also had an opportunity to meet up-close with the artists directly which was welcomed by many of the visitors.
On the following day, DDT offered a dance workshop at Ruang Halle, Wisma Jerman from 10.00 – 15.00. The program was divided into two sessions. The first part featured a class in “German Contemporary Dance” by Martina Feiertag and Stephanie Körner. After a lunch break the workshop, continued with a lesson in “Indonesian Traditional Mixed Contemporary Dance” by Dian Bokir and Dimar Dance Theatre featuring Live Gamelan Music. The workshop was attended by 20 people who aimed to learn about the basics of contemporary and traditional Indonesian dance with the help of DDT.
The events were supported by a selection of media like SheRadio, Ngopibareng ID, BBSTV, BASRA (Berita Anak Surabaya), Harian DISWAY and MTB FM. We would like to thank them for their support and express our gratitude to everyone who participated. We look forward to welcoming you again at our next event.
