In this 2-day workshops, participants begin the first day with a lecture understanding the origins and explore the history of some of Indonesia’s most prominent dance forms. They chat with incredible Master Artists who will give insight on the journey of these dances, the story behind the costumes, and where these dances are today. On the second day, we get physical and work with Saung Budaya Founder, Amalia Suryani, for a dance workshop in which we learn the movements of the dance we learned about the previous day.

In May, Wiwiek Sipala takes participants on a Journey of Pakarena Dance from South Sulawesi. This dance expresses the elegance of the Makassar ethnic woman sybolizing their politeness, loyalty, and respect. South Sulawesi is a province in the southern peninsula of Sulawesi. The economy of the province is based on agriculture, fishing, and mining of gold, magnesium, iron and other metals. The pinisi, a traditional Indonesian two-masted sailing ship, is still used widely by the Buginese and Makassarese, mostly for inter-insular transportation, cargo, and fishing purposes within the Indonesian archipelago. During the golden era of the spice trade, from the 15th to 19th centuries, South Sulawesi served as the gateway to the Maluku Islands. There were a number of small kingdoms, including two prominent ones, the Kingdom of Gowa near Makassar and the Bugis kingdom located in Bone.

Wiwiek Sipala was born in Muna, South Sulawesi. She is one of the most renowned choreographers who devoted her art in South Sulawesi dance, particularly Pakarena dance. Numerous grants had sent her to study in many International Dance Schools and Companies, such as NYU, Alwin Nikolais Modern Dance School, Marth Graham, Summer School at Duke University and many more. Her pieces includes Daeng Marewa, Citra, Pakarena Assombala, A Gellu, and others.

The registration cost is $5. Click here for more information and here to purchase tickets.