FUSE#2

Element# 2
BAHASA KOREOGRAFI
(PRACTICE OF) SILAT DUDUK:
INVESTIGATING
MALAY(NESS)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cbqvm1nvJD4
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V21eCFIvr-w
The term silat duduk (literally means ‘sitting silat’, silat as in
pencak-silat, the martial arts practice shared in the
transnational Malay world), was introduced by Benny
Krishnawardi whom I invited to give a workshop on the
basic movement vocabulary of Gumarang Sakti. The latter
was formed by the late Minangkabau (West Sumatra)
choreographer, Gusmiati Suid (1942-2001). I invited Benny
to join in for Dance Nucleus’ ELEMENT#2 residency as a
way to open up the conversation on Malay identity, or even
the unmalayness, in relation to the dancing body. We also
looked at the artistic lineage as well as the different Malay
identities as rooted in three different stately contexts: of
Singapore, Malaysia and Indonesia.
by Helly Minarti
According to Benny, silat duduk refers to the informal
session where a silat master invites his student(s) to discuss
the philosophy of silat and of life, taking place in sasaran
silat - or an open field in the nagari (customary
Minangkabau village unit) where young men traditionally
train in silat or randai (traditional theatre). Usually, such
intimate conversations are reserved for advanced students
in pencak silat. Within Minangkabau context, silat duduk is
where the discussion of silat philosophy, customs that
include life ethics, are intertwined. This silat duduk has
become a natural model for the forum or choreographic
platform of ELEMENT#2: Bahasa Koreografi.
When Daniel Kok first expressed his intention to do this
ELEMENT#2 by focusing on issues around the identities
and practices of Malay dance as a transnational practice in
Southeast Asia (mainly Singapore, Malaysia and Indonesia),
I felt compelled to reconsider the obligation of bringing up
cultural identification in contemporary dance practice. In the
beginning, Daniel indeed admitted to being sceptical about
it (".. I am a contemporary choreographer. Not a Singaporean
or Chinese contemporary choreographer"). This view
apparently changed when he watched the Joget
programme organised by Esplanade Theatres on the Bay.
Witnessing the heated debate triggered by some experimental
works presented in that platform, especially the
reaction of the elders of Singapore's Malay dance scene
over certain works, Daniel sensed the urgency to discuss
this topic of Malay dance being the source for experimental
dance for its practitioners in Singapore.
When I was invited to be a 'mentor' (a descriptor that https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UDKVycVfouQ
I resisted in the beginning
since I think it hints at a hierarchy in knowledge), I immediately inquired the involvement
of Alfian Sa'at to take up a role of 'provocateur' in the forum that was given
quite an apt title by Daniel (who doesn't speak any Malay): Bahasa Koreografi.
Alfian's presence was instrumental as an interlocutor, especially given his frequent
and animated discussions on the problems surrounding Malayness on Facebook,
which I have been following rather religiously. Towards the end of 2016, when the
age-old issue of Indonesian identities was reignited in the political scene in Jakarta
(pribumi, or indigenous versus the non-indigenous), the latter category here automatically
referred to Indonesian citizens of Chinese descent). I had already
proposed to work with Alfian on an artistic project, although we never found the
chance to get to it due our busy schedules.
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