New Dance from Indonesia Combines Tradition and Innovation at Brisbane Festival

The Australian Embassy is proud to announce New Dance from Indonesia (Tarian Baru Dari Indonesia), a tour of two beautiful and original contemporary Indonesian dance companies performing at the Brisbane Powerhouse Theatre as part of this year’s Brisbane Festival from today until 12 September 2010.

Both Indonesian choreographers, Ery Mefri from the Nan Jombang Dance Company and Hartati, have their foundations in Padang, West Sumatra and have created presentations combining both ancient tradition and modernism to tell their uniquely Indonesian stories.

Nan Jombang will present a double bill of Eve (SangHawa), which contemplates the first woman in the story of creation as shared by Islam, Christianity and Judaism and Whisperings of Exile (Rantau Berbisik), inspired by the long tradition of Minang men migrating across the archipelago to make their fortune. The Nan Jombang Dance Company first performed outside Indonesia at the Brisbane Powerhouse in 2007 and have since performed in other parts of Australia, the Philippines and Japan. During their tour to Australia, Nan Jombang will also perform and present masterclasses at the Darwin Festival and present their work at the OzAsia Festival in Adelaide.

Hartati will present her work In/Out (Di Dalam/Di Luar) for the first time outside Indonesia exploring beauty and the language of the female body. Hartati has performed and presented her work extensively in Indonesia and has collaborated as a choreographer with artists from around the world.

More information on the Brisbane Powerhouse and the Brisbane Festival is available at: http://www.brisbanepowerhouse.org and http://www.brisbanefestival.com.au/

The Brisbane Powerhouse tour of contemporary Indonesian dance companies is funded by the Australian Government through the Australia-Indonesia Institute. More information about the Institute’s programs to support bilateral cooperation and collaboration in the arts and culture is available at http://www.dfat.gov.au/aii.

The Australian Embassy is also contributing funds towards the rebuilding of Yayasan Nan Jombang’s rehearsal studio and the Padang Cultural Centre which were both destroyed in Padang’s devastating earthquake in September last year.

Media Enquiries:
Jenny Dee, Counsellor (Public Affairs) tel. (021) 2550 5290 mob. 0811 187 3175