The Creation of “LAKU” Multimedia Dance

Abstract

Every dance pattern was a symbol or parable which expressed certain meanings. In traditional dances the meaning expressed was not far from the relationship between humans and other humans, humans and nature, and humans with God. Javanese society believed that happiness in life would be obtained when humans could establish good relations among the three. As Javanese people believed, every human being had the same purpose in life that was to achieve bliss. To achieve bliss, every human being had their own laku. Every laku was driven by desire; every human being had their own desires, the desire to be in power, the desire to control wealth, and other desires. Laku dance creation showed the process that humans underwent in finding a way and living a life with the behavior they chose. Like the process that humans lived in achieving maturity, the journey to the perfection of life was also accompanied by challenges, obstacles, failures, and successes. In Laku dance work, the selection of motion was also based on harmony in the Javanese way of life. This work used the basic motions of traditional Javanese dance as described in Serat Wedhataya. This dance was created with a contemporary approach. Motion material used Javanese traditional dance but was juxtaposed with various visual installations and media technology. In this work, the role of multimedia was important. Multimedia was presented in the form of a video mapping that would blend with the dance choreography. The use of multimedia in this dance work, apart from being an expression requirement, was also intended to make this dance work accepted by today's audiences. Multimedia played a role as an intermediary so that traditional arts could stay connected with contemporary variations. In the end, art must be able to become a bridge in unifying differences and reducing gaps. Various artistic choices and media technology in this dance work were also placed on their respective laku. Various artistic elements presented were interwoven in one harmony.

Keywords: dance, laku, Java, multimedia