SEMARANG, CENTRAL JAVA — On Sunday morning (17/12/2023), the Sobokartti Cultural Heritage Building was busier than usual. The community flocked to fill the seats in the main room of the building. The audience, predominantly millennials, was all eager to witness a collaborative performance between the Suluk Nusantara Cultural Association and the Sobokartti Art and Culture Association.
Dance performances with gamelan orchestrations of various themes entertained the visitors at the Nusantara Art Action (AKSARA) event. The Gambyong Pareanom dance opened the event, followed by the Srikandi dance, Golek Campur Sari dance, and Yapong dance. The young talents from the Sobokartti Cultural House in Semarang beautifully blended with their seniors from the Suluk Nusantara Art Studio.
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“Through this collaboration initiated by Dompet Dhuafa, it certainly increases our enthusiasm in appreciating art and culture. Here, we continue to nurture culture amidst the onslaught of foreign cultures through dance classes, Javanese gamelan, puppetry, and so on. We nurture the younger generation to take care of culture. We welcome you to Sobokartti and enjoy the performance,” said Darmadi, Head of the Dance Department at the Sobokartti Cultural House.
This collaboration allowed visitors of the AKSARA Performance to witness and learn about Nusantara arts together. This was elaborated by Zaini Tafrikhan, the Branch Manager of Dompet Dhuafa Central Java, during the AKSARA Performance.
“Let’s start this day with gratitude to Allah SWT for bestowing His blessings, allowing us all to gather this Sunday morning. Together witnessing various dance and gamelan performances. The hope is that everyone present today can learn about Nusantara culture,” he said.
The AKSARA Performance was uniquely presented. The age contrast among the dancers and gamelan players added a unique aspect to the art show. Performers from the Sobokartti Cultural House were predominantly young, students and university students, while performers from the Suluk Nusantara Art Studio were mainly senior citizens. This set up a two-generation art performance.
“We from Suluk Nusantara essentially want to introduce ourselves, that we have been established since 2017 and supported by Dompet Dhuafa. Hence, we remain active until today. The Suluk Nusantara family is indeed dominated by the elderly, but the audience here is mostly young people. Initially, we at Suluk Nusantara tried to survive with the elderly and tried to involve the young people around. Thus, collaboration became the next goal at Suluk Nusantara. At Suluk Nusantara, we harmonize gamelan, keroncong, and now we are branching into Angklung.”
“Through these collaborations, we want to collaborate further. With Sobokartti as a starting point, and we want to collaborate with other arts. Essentially, we are ready to collaborate with Sobokartti and other studios. To be more active in the future in showcasing Nusantara cultures,” expressed Iskandar Ismanadji, Founder of the Suluk Nusantara Cultural Association.
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At the end of the session, a special silat performance was presented by Herman Budianto, the General Manager of Da’wah and Culture at Dompet Dhuafa. This enthusiasm shows that culture, as one of the pillars at Dompet Dhuafa, continues to be preserved as a cultural asset and national strength. Through culture, Indonesia can showcase its beauty, values, and philosophy. Thus, culture becomes a national strength with its noble values. (Dompet Dhuafa/Taufan YN)