Karya Tari Pichet Klunchun, Jeritan Dalam Api Sinta Obong

Pichet Klunchun, koreografer asal Thailand, menjadi penyaji kedua dalam pertunjukan tari kolaborasi Fire Fire Fire yang digelar di Teater Besar ISI Surakarta (02/02/13). Koreografer yang pernah meraih penghargaan dari European Cultural Foundation atas keikutsertaannya dalam memerangi ketakutan dan sikap tidak menghormati sesama ini menampilkan karya yang terilhami dari epik Ramayana.

Sama seperti dua koreografer lainnya, Sophiline Cheam Shapiro dan Eko Supriyanto, Pichet Klunchun juga membuat karyanya dari epik yang sama namun dengan pendekatan dan sisi pandang berbeda dan tentunya menghasilkan karya yang berbeda pula.

Dalam karya Sinta Obong, berbeda dengan koreografer lainnya Pichet Klunchun ikut tampil bersama beberapa penarinya. Mereka semua tampil dengan mengenakan pakaian putih panjang dengan motif bergaris bada bagian dada hingga ke bawah.

Sentuhan kontemporer dalam karya koreografer yang terkenal dinegaranya setelah “meng-kontemporer-kan” kesenian Khon (sejenis sendratari mirip wayang orang) ini sangat tampak dalam tiap bagian yang dipertunjukan. Dari mulai awal hingga akhir pertunjukan penonton disuguhi gagasan-gagasan baru Pichet mengenai Sinta yang ingin membakar diri.

Pada awal penampilannya, Pichet Klunchun menari dengan dikelilingi penari yang membentuk lingkaran. Dari gerakan yang dibuat dan iringan yang digunakan tampak para penari sedang terbakar sedangkan iringan musik yang mengiringi disisipi suara ramai orang dan juga suara jeritan.

Pada adegan selanjutnya koreografer dan penari ini membuat formasi berbeda dimana dia menari di depan para penari yang mengibas-ngibaskan pakaian mereka sehingga menyerupai kobaran api. Pichet Klunchun yang berprestasi dan juga baru saja mendapatkan penghargaan dari Kementrian Budaya Prancis ini ternyata terilhami oleh sosok koreografer ballet terkemuka asal Rusia, Vaslav Nijinsky.

Hal itu seperti apa yang dilaporkan dalam blog tanzconnexions, dimana Pichet menggunakan potongan musik komposisi Igor Stravinsky yang dijadikan iringan musik pada koreografi ballet karya Nijinsky berjudul The Rite of Spring. Dia juga menambahkan bahwa dalam karya Nijinsky yang pertama kali dipentaskan pada tahun 1913 tersebut teknik gerak Asia sudah digunakan.

Dari situ dia kemudian menemukan bahwa “kontemporer” sebenarnya telah terjadi bahkan pada ratusan tahun yang lalu di Asia. Setelah itu baru Pichet mencoba menempatkan dirinya dalam cara berpikir Nijinsky untuk menghasilkan karya kontemporer-lama-nya yang dibawakan dalam pertunjukan tari persembahan Goethe Institut itu.

Pichet Klunchun is a successful choreographer in Thailand as well as in South East Asia. One of his success stories was when he received “Routes” ECF Princess Margriet Award for Cultural Diversity from European Cultural Foundation in 2008.

In 2012 he received another award from French Minister of Culture for his contribution to the influence of culture in all over the world. In the same year, Goethe Institut named Pichet and two others choreographer, Sophiline Cheam Shapiro and Eko Supriyanto, as three most notable choreographers in South East Asia.

For his goals and achievements Goethe Institut selected Pichet to be one of three choreographers that was involved in the dance project entitled “Fire Fire Fire”. In the project Pichet performed his piece that was presented in Phnom Penh, Bangkok, Jakarta, and Solo.

Like the other two choreographers, Pichet created his choreography by adapting a story from the epic of Ramayana, Sita’s trial by fire. In his choreography he used six dancers, including himself. All of the dancers wore white long lined dresses.

The sense of contemporary in his piece could be found in the entire performance. His new ideas about Sita’s trial by fire could be seen from the start until the end of his performance. It was started when the dancers created a circle. While they danced in circle, a man stood in the middle of it. They were burnt and the man in the middle was crying for help.

The circling dancers moved and created movements which looked like burning men. Their costumes added the flammable effect. Pichet also used grim music in this session. Audiences could hear the sound of talking people and screaming people and at the same time the man in the middle was crying for help.

The arrangement changed in the last minutes of his choreography. The circling dancers moved and made a two lined pose. They played their long lined dresses to make flammable effect. The burning dancer in the middle was moving in front of them. It seemed that they performed a chasing scene, the burning man was chased by the fire.

The Sita’s trial by fire by Pichet was inspired by the works of Russian choreographer, Vaslav Nijinsky, as it was reported in tanzconnexions blog. He also used a theme of Stravinsky’s piece of music The Rite of Spring.

In his research he found that Nijinsky has used Asian techniques to create The Rite of Spring. Later on, he used what he found in the research to create the new version of Sita’s trial by fire. In another way, instead of trying to be contemporary, Pichet used the old techniques from Nijinsky that has already been contemporary to be contemporary.