Art & Culture
Jaipongan Dance Art
Jaipongan is a genre of art that was born from creativity of a Bandung artist, that is Gugum Gembira. His attention in the people's art which one of them is Ketuk Tilu made a person like Gugum Gembira know and recognize the value of the movement pattern of available tradition dance Kiliningan/Bajidoran or the Tilu Beat. The movements of the aperture, Pencugan, nibakeun and several styles of the movement minced from some art above is enough to have the inspiration to develop the dance or art that currently is known by the name of Jaipongan.
However before such form of art emerged there had been the influence that background this association. In West Java for example, the social dance is the influence from Ball Room, that usually in showing social dances is not free from the Ronggeng existence and Pamogoran. Ronggeng in the social dance does not function as ceremony activity, but for entertainment or socializing method. The Ronggeng existence in art shows the attraction that invited the sympathy of the group pamogoran.
For example in the Tilu Beat dance that is known by the Sundanese community, it was estimated this art popular around 1916. As art shows the people, this art is only supported by simple elements, like waditra that covered the rebab, kendang, two kulanter, three bang beats goong.
Likewise with the movements of the dance that do not have pattern of the standard movement the dancer's costume is simple as the populist reflection.
Together with the fading or such artistic performance, former pamogorar (the spectator who played an active role in art of Beat of Tilu/Doper/Tayub), changed his attention in art performance of Kiliningan, that in the area of the North West Javanese Coast (Karawang, Purwakarta, Bekasi, Indramayu and Subang) is known with the Kiliningar term, Bajidoran which its ibing movement and the incident of the show has the resemblance with the previous art (Ketuk Tilu/Doger/Tayub). The existence of Topeng Banjet is enjoyable enough, especially in Karawang, where several movement pattern of Bajidoran are taken from Topeng dance. This Banjet, choreographically still shows the pattern of tradition (Ketuk Tilu) where exists opening movements, pencugan, nibakeun and several variation of minced movements which in turn becomes the base of jaipongan dance creation. Several basic movements of Jaipongan dance beside Ketuk Tilu, Ibing Bajidor and Topeng Banjet are Tayuban and Pencak Silat.
The emergence of dance created by Gugum Gumbira was at first called Ketuk Tilu as the development came from Ketuk Tilu. The first work of Gugum Gumbira is still strong of the color of ibing Ketuk Tilu, both choreographically as well as the harmony which later become popular with Jaipongan.
The first Jaipongan work that was known by the community was Pufus Keser Bojong leaves dance and the Rendeng Bojong dance, both of them were the paired female dances (the son and the daughter). From the dance emerged several names of the dancer Jaipongan that was competent like Tati Pious, Yeti Mamat, Eli Somali and Pepen Dedi Kurnaedi. The beginning of this dance emergence could become discussions, where rumours of its centre were the erotic movement and vulgar. However from exposure of several printed medias, the name Gugum Gumbira began to be known by the community, everything after the Jaipongan Dance during 1980 was staged in TVRI the Jakarta central station. The impact of this popularity was even more increased by the frequency showed, both in the television media, hajatan and celebrations that were held by private enterprise's side and the government.
The presence of the Jaipongan Dance gave the contribution that was quite big against the artist of dance art to be active again in the kind of the people's dance that was inattentive before. With the Jaipongan dance emergence, it was made use by the instigators of dance art to held Jaipongan dance courses and was made use also by night pubs businessmen to attract invitation, where the further development of the efforts of such opportunity was formed by the instigators of dance art as an effort to strengthen the economics by the name of the Tan Studio or groups in several areas of the West Javanese territory, for example in Subang with Jaipongan style of kaleran.
The typical Jaipongan characteristics of kaleran style, namely purity, eroticism, the humorist, the spirit, spontaneity and simplicity (natural/the way it is). It is reflected in the pattern of the dance presentation during performance, there are also those who are given the pattern (Pattern of Ibing) like in Jaipongan art available in Bandung, there are also dances that without any pattern (Ibing Saka), for example in Art jaipongan Subang and Karawang. This term could be experienced by us in Jaipongan the Kaleran style, especially in the Subang area. In its presentation, Jaipongan style of kaleran is as follows: 1) Tatalu; 2) the Gadung Flower 3) Kawung Gopar; 4) the Opening Dance (Ibing the Pattern), usually brought by single dancer or Sinde Tatandakan (a person of Sinden but not singing but dancing the song of sinden/juru kawih); 5) Jeblokan and Jabanan, is a part of the show when the audience (Bajidor) scatter money (Jabanan) while doing salam. The term Jeblokan is interpreted as the couple staying between sinden and the audience (bajidor).
The next development of the Jaipongan happened in the year 1980-1990s, where Gugum Gumbira created other dance like Toka-toka, Setra the Main Point, Sonteng, Pencug, Kuntul Mangut, Iring-iring Daun Puring, Rawayan and the Dance of Kawung Anten. From such dances emerge several Jaipongan dancers who were competent including Iceu Effendi, Yumiati Mandiri, Miming Mintarsih, Nani, Erna, Mira Tejaningrum, Ine Dinar, Ega, Nuni, Cepi, Agah, Aa Suryabrata and Asep Safaat. Today the Jaipongan Dance might be acknowledged as one of the identities of West Javanese art, this is visible through several important events that in connection with the guest from foreign country that comes to West Java, then it is welcomed by Jaipongan Dance.
Likewise with artistic missions to foreign countries always have been supplemented with the Jaipongan Dance. The Jaipongan dance often influencs other arts available in the West Javanese community, either in the puppet performance art, degung, genjring/terebangan, kacapi jaipong and almost all public performances as well as modern dangdut music are collaborated with Jaipong to become the art of Pong-Dut.