Japanese Uki and Indonesian dance By Indra Harsaputra
Publisher:The Jakarta Post - Publication Date: 21-07-2007

While appreciation for traditional Indonesian culture seems to be declining in the homeland, Japanese dancer Uki Naka, 37, is busy vigorously promoting the archipelago's arts to her countrymen.
In recognition of her efforts to promote Indonesian culture, Surabaya Mayor Bambang Dwi Hartono presented a sampur (a long scarf worn by a female dancer) to Uki Naka last week during the opening of the 2007 Surabaya Dance Festival, which was held from July 12 to 14.
Uki spoke to The Jakarta Post after a rehearsal for the Jejer Jaran Dawuk dance, which was performed at the festival.
When asked about her marital status, Uki said: "I'm still single, sir. I don't have a chance to think about that (getting married), I spend my time on dance in Tokyo."
Uki said Indonesian dance, especially Balinese dance, was much loved by Japanese society. There are many small studios that teach Balinese dance in Japan, but Uki prefers Javanese dance.
"I've opened a special Javanese studio," she said. "I have six Japanese students and they are all very talented".
Uki said she has introduced Javanese dances, such as the Remo and Jejer, in cultural performances in Japan.
"I've long been interested in the Jejer dance," she said. "The dance is very traditional and has charming movements. That dance has its own soul, as a ritual dance."
The movements and characters in the Banyuwangi Jejer dance symbolise Dewi Sri, who is also known as the goddess of rice and fertility. The dance is usually performed during traditional ceremonies before and after rice harvests.
Sadly, this dance is seldom seen these days, even when the people of Banyuwangi stage traditional ceremonies. The dance costumes are also difficult to come by.
Uki said she had original Jejer dance costumes in Japan but hadn't brought them to Surabaya, wrongly assuming the costumes would be available locally.
"I was forced to wear whatever was available," she said. "Even though I was on the stage and allowed my picture to be taken by journalists, I really wanted to wear the original costume."
Uki was born in Tokyo on June 3, 1970. Her father, Yuichi Naka, worked for a television station in Japan.
She said she never planned to be an artist. But when she was in high school she became very drawn to gamelan music.
Uki spent a lot of her time in her school library listening to recordings of gamelan music and songs from Indonesia.
"I love the sounds of the gamelan," she said. "The music is very calming and comforting, particularly in a big crowded city like Tokyo."
Getting closer to gamelan became her burning ambition. It wasn't until she met Japanese dancer Izume Nagano, who had studied traditional art in Indonesia, that her dreams were realised.
Uki said Izume advised her to study at the Padepokan Bagong Kusudiarja in Kembaran Village, Taman Tirto, Bantul, Yogyakarta. In 1995, Uki left Tokyo--armed with an Indonesian dictionary.
"I had not previously studied the Indonesian language," she said. "Pak Bagong taught me to speak Indonesian and Javanese."
Uki spent two years learning Indonesian dances at Padepokan Bagong. She then studied choreography at the Indonesian Arts Institute (ISI) in Yogyakarta, until 2001. A year later, Uki was back in Tokyo, where she began teaching Indonesian dance.
"I wanted to share Indonesian culture with the Japanese public," she said. "Many Japanese people are familiar with Bali and its culture, but they know very little about the rest of the country and its traditional arts."
"In the near future I want to learn the Cirebon Mask dance and some traditional Kalimantan dances," she said.
Uki is one of a handful of foreigners who have fallen in love with Indonesian culture and who are actively promoting it both here and overseas.
Karen Elizabeth Sekararum, an American citizen who lives in Tumpang, near Malang, is helping preserve mask dancing, which is slowly being abandoned by local people.
The presence of these outsiders has helped introduce Indonesian culture to the world stage, and has urged Indonesians to take an interest in their own culture.