Jade Dewi Tyas Tunggal was commissioned by the Arts Centre, Melbourne, to create a 20-minute Australian/Indonesian dance piece.
The piece has been developing and growing ever since. It is now a fifty minute group effort involving Tunggal, the dancer, Ria Soemardjo, musician and Paula van Beek, responsible for the lighting and set design. What strikes the viewer most immediately is the obvious feeling of teamwork. This is a true collaboration. If any one of the trio dropped out, one suspects that the piece would not survive in its present form.
The choreography, a fusion of traditional Javanese and contemporary techniques, makes considerable demands on the performer. Tunggal, as creator, has not spared herself as a dancer. She is onstage for the entire fifty minute show. Do not be deceived by the middle section, in which she lies down. She is just as active in that position as when she is on her feet!
Soemardjo is also on stage a great deal, singing, playing bells and/or drums. When she is not on stage, the music is still hers, provided by an always-appropriate and often very beautiful backing soundscape.
The lighting is nothing short of masterly. A backlit screen made of native Javanese fibre that gives a watermarked appearance also carries projections of various kinds. The most intriguing element entails Tunggal’s performance being filmed from directly overhead and simultaneously projected onto the screen.
The stylization typical of Javanese dance has been replaced with emotional intensity. The performers have drawn on their Australian/Javanese ancestry and claim to have been inspired by ‘the symbolism, dramatic structure and ritual elements of Javanese Wayang Kulit (shadow puppet theatre)’. Furthermore, there are continual references to Javanese culture in the choreography, music and props. Fishing nets, especially woven by Soemardjo, are brought into play, complemented by piscine movements by Tunggal. Death and rebirth are inherent in the beginning and ending. And the opal reference? Opals are created when water is removed from its parent rock.
We are constantly reminded that Java is an island by Tunggal’s being restricted to a dais of only about two metres by one and half metres. Lit from below, the Perspex-topped dais is at times suggestive of water. Although in the beginning the dais is covered in fine sand, by the end of the piece it has all been swept onto the floor, after being combed by the dancer’s hands and feet into deliberate watery, wavy patterns of intriguing shapes.
The dais, however, is very restrictive. This was no doubt intentional and symbolic, but it did mean that the choreography was somewhat constrained. Had some of it been shifted to floor level there could have been more variety. A more overt suggestion of a story might also add interest. Fifty minutes of abstract solo dance is, perhaps, too long to sustain without a narrative element.
Despite these shortcomings, this is a show well worth the modest admission price. If you have any interest in Indonesian culture or in fusions involving ethnic dance, you will not want to miss this one. By the time you read this, the Perth season will be over, but the tour continues.
Rating: 3.5 stars out of 5
Opal Vapour
Created and performed by Jade Dewi Tyas Tunggal (Dance) and Ria Soemardjo (Music creation and performance, textile and costume design)
Lighting AV and set design: Paula van Beek
Sound Design Consultant: Kelly Ryall
Performance Realisation: Helen Herbertson
Salamanca Arts Centre, Hobart: 22 – 25 May 2013
Centre of Contemporary Arts, Cairns: 28 May – 29 May 2013
Mackay Entertainment Centre: 31 May – 1 June 2013
Visy Theatre, Brisbane Powerhouse: 5 – 8 June 2013
Canberra Street Theatre: 14 – 15 June 2013
Blacktown Arts Centre: 19 – 22 June 2013
