Indonesian Dance Festival (IDF) acts as a laboratory within Indonesia’s contemporary dance ecosystem. The biennial festival provides space for local choreographers to develop their potentials, and facilitate their encounters with global dance figures. In three decades, IDF has organized over 270 performances, involved over 330 choreographers, and produced 43 commissioned and reconstruction works. As the longest-running festival in South East Asia, IDF has collaborated with local and international curators and a wide range of dance communities in different countries.
With a vision to make dance as part of daily life, IDF organizes a wide range of festival programs that are accessible to the public. The pandemic period between 2020 and 2021 has pushed the IDF team to work harder to meet the publik. It is amid such tough situation that IDF has birthed online initiatives that have not only been enjoyed by audience from across Indonesia, but dance enthusiasts from around the world.
In 2022, IDF celebrates its 30th anniversary with a range of online and offline programs. The festival week events take place in October, and consist of performances, symposia, discussions, workshops, and masterclasses. The edition also marks the festival’s return to its first home – Taman Ismail Marzuki (TIM).
TIM, which is Indonesia’s first modern cultural center, has witnessed the birth of IDF, initiated by a few notable figures in Indonesia’s contemporary dance scene affiliated with Institut Kesenian Jakarta. They realized the urgent need for an incubation platform for Indonesia’s dance talents. Up to date, IDF has regularly organized education and grant programs for young choreographers through a range of initiatives including Kampana and Layar Terkembang. Kampana is a meeting place for young choreographers with many dance figures, in an effort to facilitate them to create a dance work. Meanwhile, Layar Terkembang (Billowing Sails) invites young choreographers from outside Jakarta/Java to produce dance films on local stories from their hometowns.
In its journey, IDF has opened collaboration opportunities among different disciplines, including dance, visual art, digital, technology, literature, science, and education. The festival has also played a role in the international careers of Indonesian dance artists, including Eko Supriyanto, Rianto, Darlane Litaay, Ayu Permata Sari, Alisa Soelaeman, and Hari Ghulur. In an effort to document the history of Indonesian contemporary dance. IDF has dedicated itself to archiving efforts. As an ever-growing initiative, IDF consistently attempts to keep an open eye and respond to societal changes, as well as involving different stakeholders in growing Indonesia’s dance ecosystem.