Combining Music, Dance, And Fashion, The Sabang Merauke IForte Show Shows Indonesia's Cultural Wealth

Sabang-Merauke iForte Performance (Photo: Ist)

JAKARTA - Watching the Sabang Merauke iForte Performance seemed to invite the audience back to our big house, Indonesia. A beautiful house that is often forgotten because it is busy looking for flaws. In fact, Indonesia has a beautiful cultural wealth.

The Sabang Merauke Performance - Premiere With Live Performance presents 21 folk songs and one national song which are arranged in harmony. To achieve this, the performance involved five national singers, 46 traditional and modern musicians, and 135 professional dancers. Before the show starts, the audience will be greeted by the Betawi Palang Pintu procession which is a symbol of Jakarta as the host.

Regional songs that are sung in a medley combined with dances and clothes that are specially designed with the richness of fabrics from the same area. Watching this show for one hour seemed to invite the audience to circle Indonesia from the west to the east in succession.

Indonesia is a country that has thousands of different tribes and languages spread over more than 17,000 islands from Sabang to Merauke. With a geographical area of 1,811,570 km2, Indonesia also has a wealth of art and culture that is so vast and sublime. These various treasures, ranging from music, songs, dances, traditional clothing, to various intangible cultural heritages, are invaluable national treasures.

This performance actually premiered live at the Prambanan Temple Courtyard, Yogyakarta, on March 26, 2022. At that time, the Sabang – Merauke Performance successfully captivated the audience through performances of various elements of regional art that were beautifully presented on stage with the spectacular Prambanan Temple as the backdrop.

In line with the determination of PT iForte Solusi Infotek or better known as iForte to connect Indonesia, the documentation for the performance at Prambanan was repackaged into the Sabang Merauke Performance - Premiere with Live Performance. This performance will be held for three days, from 3 – 5 June 2022, at the Djakarta Theater, Central Jakarta.

"In line with the atmosphere and spirit of commemorating the Birthday of Pancasila on June 1, we hope that the Sabang - Merauke Performance can contribute to preserving and introducing the nation's cultural arts wealth to all levels of Indonesian society," said Protelindo Group CEO Aming Santoso after a limited performance on Thursday, June 2nd.

“The Sabang – Merauke Performance is a collaborative work of great Indonesian artists from various elements ranging from singers, musicians, dancers, and so on. All of this will be combined through harmonization of ethnic music, folk songs, to traditional dances complete with traditional clothing. We hope that this performance can inspire people to love the arts and culture of the nation even more,” said the director of the Sabang – Merauke Performance, Rusmedi Agus.

Rusmedi explained that in the choreography line, a number of traditional and modern dance stylists were involved, including Sandidhea Cahyo Narpati, Pulung Jati, Dian Bokir, and Rizky Dafin. Meanwhile, former Cokelat vocalist Kikan Namara was lined up as music director as well as lead vocalist along with other well-known singers such as Mirabeth Sonia, Christine Tambunan, Taufan Purbo and Alsant Nababan. The regional ethnic nuance will also be felt even more intense thanks to Kidung & the team in the traditional music department and the support from Ava Victoria & the Orchestra Team.

Carrying out a double task, Kikan Namara admitted that he was motivated to present his best work at the Sabang – Merauke Performance. This beautiful voiced singer and his colleagues will perform a series of folk songs ranging from Bungong Jeumpa from Aceh to Yamko Rambe Yamko from Papua. They have undergone various preparations and a series of exercises for maximum results on stage.

“This Sabang – Merauke performance has a very unique and different concept from what I have experienced in performing arts. We strive to present various elements of art from all over Indonesia as a unit that is not only entertaining, but also we hope to create a sense of pride in the nation's culture," said Music Director and Lead Vocal Performance Sabang, Merauke Kikan Namara.

Meanwhile, iForte's Vice President Director of Marketing & Sales Silvi Liswanda said, in addition to the Sabang – Merauke Performance, visitors could also explore the various beauty of Indonesian culture through the cultural fair which took place outside the performance area.

There is also a selected UKM festival held in the theater yard to raise the spirit of pride in the products of the nation's children. This SME festival involves various #banggalokal SMEs assisted by BCA as well as SMEs representing the iFortepreneur program, the Digital Business Plan Competititon program for SMEs from iForte.

Silvi added that the Sabang – Merauke Performance could be realized thanks to the hard work of all parties involved, including the music and dance artists, event organizers, and all art workers. “Thank you to all parties involved in the Sabang – Merauke Performance. We all have the same passion, to spread the spirit and love for the culture of the country, especially the younger generation as the hope of the nation's successors to love and be proud of Indonesia's cultural richness, "said Silvi.

Not only can it be enjoyed live at the Djakarta Theater, the Sabang - Merauke Performance can also be watched via the iForte Infotek Solutions Youtube account starting Monday, June 6, 2022.