Mugiyono Kasido
Contemporary Dance
Mugiyono
Kasido
was born in 1967 in Klaten/Central Java, grew up in a family
performing puppet shows and Javanese masked dance, and went on to explore
various forms of traditional dance and ritual movement. He received his
formal training in Dance and Theatre at the Indonesia College of Arts
(1988-93) and with dance masters Rono Suripto and Suprapto Suryodarmo. His
first engagement was with Sardono Kusumo, one of Indonesia's outstanding
performers. Mugiyono Kasido created "Mati Suri", his first
piece, in 1992; since then he has developed 23 works.
"Bagaspati - From the sun's soul" and "Kabar Kabur -
Rumours"
According to the Indonesian dancer and choreographer
Mugiyono Kasido,
"A country is like a body, made up of various elements, each with
their own function and position. They should be kept in harmony, otherwise
the body will go wrong, become sick and, in the end, die in misery" -
a clear statement on Mugiyono's beliefs in the metaphorical power of
dance.
In these two very different choreographic works, Mugiyono embraces the entire spectrum of an Indonesian reality located in the gap between a strongly spiritual tradition and the everyday battle to survive. In "Bagaspati" (From the sun's soul) he employs slow, graceful movements and traditional mask dance to create a mystical atmosphere, gradually yet irresistibly drawing the audience under its spell.
"Kabar Kabur" (Rumours), though, is a complete
contrast. Dressed only in a white T-shirt and khaki shorts, Mugiyono
stages his performance on a miniscule stage, no larger than a table, his
initially simple gestures slowly becoming transformed, twisted and
knotted, as he fights against his own body in his T-shirt in a struggle
symbolising the turmoil permeating Indonesia's complex reality. Located
somewhere between serious comment and irony, Mugiyono presents an image of
Indonesian society, an economic, political and social complex where
everything is topsy-turvy, everything is inverted, and nothing seems to
function - and every piece of information is just a rumour, leading to
problems, misunderstandings, and misinterpretations.
Mugiyono Kasido grew up in a world of puppet shows. In Indonesia he
became a choreographer and dancer of the highest distinction. Several of
his works, such as Kabar Kabur, Bagaspati, Kosong and Amorpheus, have been
shown at various festivals in Europe. They reveal a cross of cultures,
since he has worked with the choreographers Denise Reyes (Philippines),
Waguri (Japan), Osama (Japan), Ria Haggler (Netherlands) and Lane Savador
(USA).
The dancer and choreographer Mugiyono Kasido's delivers a subtle
criticism of his home country Indonesia with his disguised and distorted
moovements.
Mygiyono Kasido says about his piece
'Kabar Kabur':
"A country is just like our body, it has some element, which have
their own function and position. They should be kept in harmony, otherwise
the body will go wrong, sick, and at last die in misery".
'Kabar Kabur' is an expression generated from observing the social,
economic, political situation in my homeland, which in fact runs
disorderly, upside down and uncertainly. Everything sounds like 'rumours',
that are dubious, vague and hazy which one could not obviously understand.
They are frequently wrongly comprehended and mistakenly interpreted.
During the performance Kabar Kabur the elastic and equilibristic Mugiyono
Kasido fights against his own body indside his T-shirt.
Born in 1967 in a family of mask puppeteers in Java, Indonesia.
Attended different art, dance and theatre schools for 12 years.
During his studies at the Indonesian College of Arts in the Surakarta and
the Mangkunegaran Palace, he became familiar with traditional dance and
ritual movements.
In 1992 he started his dance career with own choreographies.