Saung Budaya is an Indonesian dance group based in New York. It was founded by Amalia Suryani in 2006 with the intention of introducing Indonesian culture through music and dance. The group presented a lot of traditional and contemporary artistic endeavors and culture from Indonesia. Over the years, Saung Budaya has turn out to be a vital a part of the Indonesian culture of the New York community. Their goal is to present Indonesian culture through dance and music to Indonesian-American youth in New York and, more broadly, to most of the people.
The group, which has performed in New York, upstate New York, Connecticut, New Jersey and Pennsylvania, teaches a wide range of dances from across the Indonesian Archipelago. Saung Budaya currently consists of 20 dancers, mostly students and young professionals.
To rejoice my tenth anniversaryvol anniversary, Saung Budaya organized an event titled “Gong: Spirits of the Archipelago”. It took place on September 13vol 2016 on the Riverside Theater in New York, United States. The titular GONG relies on a metal percussion instrument from Southeast Asia, struck with a hammer. Although different islands of Indonesia have different cultures, histories and souls, the one constant in all things musical is the sound of the gong. Its distinct sound is kind of deep and subtle, but it surely is a sound well-known to the people of Indonesia. Its importance in on a regular basis life lies within the gathering of communities in the beginning of celebrations; in music and dance it’s the constant sound of tempo and movement.
During this event, Saung Budaya performed 10 dances, including eight newly developed traditional dances and two contemporary dances, accompanied by a music band from Indonesia. The 10 dances are Nihau Tintu dance from Kalimantan, Indang and Amban Puruak dance from West Sumatra, Marsipature Hutanabe dance from North Sumatra, Gending Sriwajaya dance from South Sumatra, Pacarena dance from South Sulawesi, Zapin dance from Riau, Bajidot Kahot dance from West Java, the Yosim Pancara dance from Papua and the Kembang Latar dance from Betawi.
Like the gong, Saung Budaya plays an analogous role within the Indonesian-American community. This production will showcase different stories of those islands through the subtle but necessary sounds of the gong and the way it unites Indonesians and their different cultures.
Source : saungbudaya.com detik.com
Image source: rackcdn.com
