Every January, Sydney Festival enlivens and transforms Sydney with a bold cultural celebration based on the highest quality art and big ideas. The program is kaleidoscopic in its diversity, from burlesque, cheeky cabaret and Canadian circus, to high energy jazz, indie rock and Russian theatre; from contemporary dance to family programs to traditional Indigenous arts practice. This year, the festival proposes us traditional movement and contemporary dance from Indonesia by renowned choreographer Eko Supriyanto with Cry Jailolo.

The remote Indonesian town of Jailolo is home to some of the world’s most spectacular coral seascapes, and choreographer Eko Supriyanto spent two years diving with 350 local youth to understand their relationship with this ancient ecology. During his work on a major festival to promote tourism in the town, Eko began to see the communities and underwater diving worlds as something much more than a tourism campaign. He became deeply invested in the community, working with youth from disadvantaged regions and homes. Profoundly affected by these relationships and the experience of the underwater world Eko began to develop a contemporary dance work with a selection of committed young males, this became Cry Jailolo, a work of “silent tourism”. Cry Jailolo gives voice to the remote community of West Halmahera through performance, through the capacities and dedication of these young males.

Performed by 7 non-trained youth from Jailolo, the work is a powerful expression of hope and optimism that the destruction of the coral reefs in the ocean will stop, that the fish will return once again to the coral and that the silence in the ocean and the soul of the water be restored. This is an hour of constant motion in a shimmering halo of hope, driven by the relentless rhythms of the ocean and the life that teems within, drawing on both contemporary performance and traditional ritual in the service of a work unlike any other. Beneath its playful and dynamic physicality, it carries a strong ecological message.

Regularly hailed as Indonesia’s most exciting choreographer, Eko Supriyanto joins forces with renowned Belgian choreographer Arco Renz in this powerful work. Inspired by the ‘Legu Salai’ dance of the Sahu Tribe and the ‘Soya-Soya’ dance from North Maluku, Cry Jailolo resonates with a spirit and optimism that is all its own. Founder and artistic director for EkosDance Company and Solo Dance Studio in Surakarta Indonesia, Eko Supriyanto is the leading Indonesian dancer and choreographer of his generation. Trained in Javanese court dances and the Indonesian martial arts of Pencak Silat since the age of seven, Supriyanto’s performance career spans major works and tours throughout Indonesia, Europe, America and the Asia Pacific. After touring the entire world, Sydneysiders will finally get the chance to discover Eko Supriyanto’s masterpiece.

What: Cry Jailolo by Eko Supriyanto

When: From 7-10 January 2017

Where: Carriageworks

To find out more CLICK HERE.