JIS DANCE RECAP

It was 1:15 pm and the seats were filled. The crowd waited with a sense of excitement. This was the mood before the dance performance by the students of Jakarta Intercultural School. The performance started promptly at 1:20 pm with the coach introducing the dance piece, which comprised of three sections. The theme of the performance was “Letters to Deliver”.

The dance started with a narration where the first section was explained as based on Operation Refuge Smile. The first section comprised of some of the dancers carrying letters in bags which were then passed on to other dancers who to represented Refugees. It ended with three of the dancers holding a banner which offered words of hope and peace. The effect was immediate on the audience. The viewers started clapping and the banner seemed to create a hopeful mood in the audience.

The second section had one dancer lying on a bench, while the others where dancing with letters. The dancer on the bench seemed to signify a person who had lost hope and the others were trying to portray that the world cared through letters. With each new letter received, the dancer seemed to gain more hope. This section seemed to leave the audience with a sense of hope and eagerness to watch the third section.

The third section was based on the JIS community, as described by the coach. It represented the case of Neil Bantleman and the other six accused. In this section, most of the dancers wore blue clothes to represent JIS. One of the dancers was shown to be in a prison setting. The other dancers lit blue lanterns and flew origami cranes which symbolize happiness and long life. With each new lantern, each new crane, the dancer shown to be in prison gained more hope. The performance ended with banners offering words of hope and the portrayal of the supportive nature of the JIS community.

It was a truly moving performance. Many members of the audience especially the members of the JIS community were in tears by the end of the performance. The performance left a very powerful message and the dancers gained a well deserved standing ovation.

Article by Kirtana Devaraj