I
MERISIOS
KYRIX PATRON
(daily
newspaper)
26
August 2004
CULTURAL
OLYMPIAD
The
Stage Bus from Indonesia ‘invades’ the Peloponese
For
three weeks, the Peloponese will be under the joyful invasion of an exotic
troupe from faraway Indonesia, carrying with it a whole stage on wheels.
It
is the traveling show ‘Stage Bus’, which, starting yesterday (25/8)
and until the 14th of September, will be traveling
around the seven Peloponnesian prefectures, performing songs, music,
dance, shadow theatre and video projections. This multi-coloured
tour is brought to us by the Indonesian Embassy and the Greek Culture
Promotion Organisation.
A
specially transformed multi-purpose bus, fully equipped for performances
(with a theatre stage, video projectors and screens, grand piano, drums,
etc.) is taking the Indonesian artists to towns like Nafplion (Platia
Kapodistria, yesterday at 9.00 p.m.) Argos (Aghios Petros Square,
tonight), Lerna (tomorrow at Kiveri beach) and Tripoli, Sparti, Gytheio,
Kalamata, Ancient Olympia and other places, giving performances a-la-carte
wherever the space or the need warrants changes.
Music,
singing, dance, Indonesian traditional shadow theatre and video
projections, all in a performance on the moving theatre of the Stage Bus
of the JakArt cultural organization, supported by the national committee
for the Cultural Olympiad. The Indonesian government, responding to the
invitation by the Greek government and under the auspices of the Ministry
of Tourism and Culture of Indonesia and the Cultural Olympiad, supports
this effort. It is also supported by the Embassy of Indonesia in Greece
and the Greek Embassy in Jakarta.
The
purpose of this unique trip in culture, which is taking place in the
spirit of the Olympics and Paralympics in Athens 2004, is the deeper
understanding among nations and civilizations as it is presented through
the diversity and the variety both of the Indonesian culture and of the
multicultural-multinational aspect of the means of expression.
The
‘Stage Bus’ was constructed in Holland in 1994 based on the design by
visual artist Aart Marcus and the Helsdingen Trio team. Since then, it has
traveled and given performances in the whole of Europe, the USA, Australia
and, naturally, Indonesia, the latter having also funded the project.
This
moving theatre is no less than a 12-metre long vehicle, whose side unfolds
and forms a stage on which all the action takes place.
The
‘Stage Bus’ has its own audio systems, lighting systems and musical
instruments, the most impressive being a grand piano.