FUSE#2

Element#2
BAHASA KOREOGRAFI
Lenggang Sebagai
Permulaan sebuah
Penelitian dan Praktek
oleh Soultari Amin Farid
Ethnochoreolog, Mohd Anis Mohd Nor (1993) menulis,
“in all types of social Malay dance the male dancer is not permitted to dance like a
woman. The beauty of Malay dance posits the male dancer as the protector and
supporter of the female dancer. Even though their hands don’t touch each other,
the dancing couple gives the impression that there is an understanding through the
execution of movement in dance. The competency of the male dancer lies in the
style of mannerism that is proud and manly and does not mimic the gracefulness
of the woman… The steps and wrist motions of the male dancer is enlarged with
the both hands opened widely to the sides of the body and swaying as if trying to
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defend his dance space from being invaded upon by his competitors” (33).
Cross-dressing in performance is a common occurrence in the
dance and theatre of the Malay world. Performances of kindred
communities such as the ethnic communities in Java, have gender
fluid examples. Ethnomusicologist, Christina Sunardi, provides a
historical sampling of these performances in early Indonesia in her
book, “Stunning Males and Powerful Females: Gender and
Tradition in East Javanese Dance”, listing the customs of males
performing female roles in Ludruk, an East Javanese popular
theatre; males personating females in a 19th century Banyuwangi
dance called Seblang; the tradition of males performing central
Javanese female court dances from the 18th century till the 20th
century; and the possibility of females performing male characters
in the masked dance of Cirebon, just to name a few (20-21).
I use Mohd Nor’s scholarly words to think through what it means to perform the
Lenggang in holistic manner (rather than just concentration of foot movements) and
at same time critiquing the form with my own embodied queer experience of
enacting the Lenggang. I ask whether Mohd Nor’s description of the gender-rigid
performance in social and art dance of Malay dancing provides space for someone
who does not necessarily agree with the imposition of rigid gender mannerisms on
the body.
I may agree to the rigid gender roles when a couple dances together but in cases
when a male dancer is allowed to dance solo (which is actually not a convention in
Malay dance since most dances are performed collectively), should not there be
concessions for the inclusions of movements which may be deemed “female”
without having it be relegated as taboo? In addition, If such an act is seen as a
transgression, then where do we place performance traditions which predicated on
art of cross-gender performance and dressing?
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“Dalam kesemua jenis tari pergaulan Melayu penari lelaki pula tidak dibolehkan menari seperti seorang wanita.
Keanggunan tari Melayu telah meletakkan mertabat penari lelaki sabagai pelindung serta pendamping penari wanita.
Walaupun masing-masing tangan tidak bersentuhan dengan bahagian tubuh penari saingan, kedua-kedua penari
seolah-olah kelihatan bersefahaman dalam perlaksanaaan gerak dalam tari. Kejaguhan penari lelaki terletak kepada
gaya kelakuan yang megah dan jantan dan tidak yang meniru keayuan gemulai wanita. … Langkah dan lengangan
tangan penari lelaki sentiasa menguak dengan membuka lebar-lebar kedua tangan ke samping tubuh beserta hayunan
seolah-olah mengepung ruang tarinya dari di cerebohi oleh lawan…” (33)
This is definitely a complex conundrum. I bring up the issue of
cross-dressing because it is an act which entails the embodying of
a character/movement style of the opposite sex (male dancer
embodying a female character/mannerism or female dancer
embodying a male character/mannerism). Indonesia and Malaysia
have produced male personalities who are known for their
cross-gender and/or effeminate dance acts: Didik Nini Thowok;
Rianto; and Rosnan Abdul Rahman.
After the intensive residency, I had time to think about the research
materials I have acquired for this investigation. I critically reflected
on why I am very focus on the Lenggang, especially when in
solo-dancing, it is not pertinent for me to employ the movement
phrase when I am improvising. I realized soon after that I was using
the Lenggang as an object of analysis to think through what it
means for the Queer body to embody rigid gender
roles/performance and how the nature of the Queer body may
challenge these boundaries. I see the learning of the Lenggang as
foundational knowledge taught to amateur dancers and in the
learning of the movement phrase, the transmission process is filled
with knowledge about the gender norms in the dance.
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