Tribute performance: Dancers in masks perform Serdtse (Heart in Russian). The contemporary ballet number was created by Farida Oetoyo.

In the chill of the night, a young couple meets by fate after being alone for a while. There is joy in their next encounters but also sorrow. Nevertheless, the ballet dancer and the film student hold on to each other until the curtain closes.

The contemporary ballet dance was choreographed by Arya Yudistira Sjuman to tell the story of his parents, prominent Indonesian ballerina Farida Oetoyo and filmmaker Sjuman Djaja, as they pursued their studies and career in Russia in the 1960s.

“I talked to my mother’s friends and colleagues who knew about the story as well as my mother’s habits at that time to create the dance,” Yudistira said at the opening of the performance in Teater Besar of art and cultural center Taman Ismail Marzuki in Central Jakarta on Dec. 13.

The dance, titled Dan Pertama Kalinya Bulan Purnama (And For the First Time, a Full Moon), was the theme of the extra performance by Jakarta City Philharmonic (JCP) to close the year.

It was an homage to the late Farida, formerly a commissioner of the Jakarta Arts Council — the patron of the philharmonic — who would have been 80 years old in 2019.

And it was also the first time for the philharmonic to play as an accompaniment to a ballet performance presented by Farida’s school, Ballet Sumber Cipta.

The performances were divided into three segments, each representing the different ballet styles taught at the school: classical, neoclassical and contemporary ballet.

In the first segment, the orchestra played the children’s song “Burung Gelatik” (The Sparrow) by Saridjah Niung Sudibjo, popularly known as Ibu Sud. The song had inspired Farida to create a dance suite consisting of three parts based on the songwriter’s other songs, titled “Burung Kutilang” (The Finches), “Kupu-kupu” (Butterflies) and “Lihatlah Matahari di Waktu Pagi” (Look at the Sun in the Morning).

Next is Farida’s rendition of Tchaikovsky’s The Nutcracker that was closed by a pas de deux between the Prince and the Sugar-Plum Fairy.

The third segment was opened with Serdtse (Heart in Russian), among the pieces Farida created after undergoing angioplasty to remove a blockage in her arteries.

Fated encounter: A contemporary ballet number portrays the first meeting between ballerina Farida Oetoyo and her husband, filmmaker Sjuman Djaja, in Russia in the 1960s. The dance was choreographed by the couple’s eldest son, Arya Yudistira Sjuman.

The dance illustrated her experience with dancers emulating the pulsating heart and the flowing blood only with masks and red clothes as props. The contemporary ballet number was performed by the ballet school in 2006 and 2010.

The music to the choreography was composed by musician Aksan Sjuman, Farida’s youngest son, also a member of the music committee of the arts council and a member of JCP’s board of commissioners.

A piece by Yudistira, the artistic director, teacher and choreographer at Ballet Sumber Cipta and Kreativität Dance Indonesia was the final number that was performed on top of the “Concerto Piano in G Major, Second Movement: Adagio Assai” composed by Maurice Ravel. Internationally renowned pianist Harimada Kusuma was invited to play the piano part of the composition.

The music fittingly encapsulated Farida’s own memoir about the fated encounter as she once wrote: “I always leave the house five minutes after he passes. Fate has saved and postponed our meeting for Moscow — for this good fortune.”

Standing further back on the stage with a thin veil serving as a partition separating the orchestra and the ballet performance. The orchestra was conducted by Fafan Isfandiar and guest conductor Suthipong Tantivanichkij from Thailand.

Although the tribute event was an additional performance to the commonly eight presented in a year, the full orchestra appeared on stage playing a wide range of classical music, from a lively children song to the heart-rending contemporary-classical music focused on the sound of strings.

It was an evening to remember, not only because of the theme or uniqueness of the whole program, where the audience also received a free copy of the memoir from Farida’s children, friends and students, titled Miss Fari: Pointe to Remember.

It also marked the progress made by the JCP since its establishment in November 2016 to become the capital city’s cultural icon.

“We hope that in the future, JCP’s concerts will not only be held in the capital but also in other big cities in Indonesia and abroad,” said Danton Sihombing, acting chairman of the Jakarta Arts Council. “We hope to perform abroad as part of Indonesia’s cultural diplomacy.” (ste)

The greeting: Dancers Hita Ayu Manuhara and Neva Elena perform the opening dance titled Burung Kutilang (The Finches). The dance, choreographed by late ballerina Farida Oetoyo, was inspired by a children’s song.

— Photos courtesy of Rumah Karya Sjuman/Extra Jose