Bedhaya Hagoromo is a combination of two classical artforms: the Javanese Bedhaya dance and Japanese Noh dance-theatre. Formulation of the work was formed when Didik found a similar story in these two classical artforms, the story of Jaka Tarub. With Richard Emmert and Akira Matsui, this work attempts to stitch the aesthetic of Bedhaya and Noh to show both the interconnection and uniqueness of each culture. The melding of these two classical artforms also emerge through the musical interplay of Jogjakarta-Solo influenced traditional Gamelan and Noh instrumentalizations, Bedhaya costume with Noh masks and fans, and other aesthetic elements. Through deep experience and references from the three collaborators, Bedhaya Hagoromo offers a rooted contemporary dance form that bridges the uniqueness of classical artforms surpassing boundaries.
Credits:
Choreographer: Didik Nini Thowok
Master Noh: Richard Emmert, Akira Matsui, John Ogleeve
Composer: Alex Dea
Choreography Consultant: B.R.Ay Yudonegoro
Didik Nini Thowok
One of Indonesia’s most renowned dance maestros, cultural icon, and comedian. He grew up learning cross-gender dances and studied under many Indonesian dance maestros. He has also studied Nihon Buyo drama and Noh in Japan, Bharatanatyam in India, and Flamenco in Spain. He is also the founder of LPK Natya Lakshita (1980) and Didik Nini Thowok Entertainment.
Akira Matsui
Akira Matsui is a master actor-teacher of the Kita School of classical noh. Born in 1946 in Wakayama, at the age of 7 he began studying noh and took on numerous child roles. At age 12, he went to Tokyo to become a “live-in apprentice” to Kita Minoru, the 15th generation head of the Kita School and returned to his hometown at age 21 where he is now based. He has been active for 45 years teaching and performing in over 25 countries.
Richard Emmert
Richard Emmert is professor of Asian Performance at Musashino University and a certified Kita school noh instructor. Born in the USA, he has studied, taught and performed classical noh drama in Japan since 1973, and led a Noh Training Project in Bloomsburg (US) for 20 years. Emmert has led noh performance projects around the world and composed/directed/performed in eleven English noh plays, including Jannette Cheong’s Pagoda (2009, 2011). He is founder and artistic director of Theatre Nohgaku.
John Ogleeve
Theatre artist engaged in noh as a practitioner and researcher. He is currently a PhD candidate at the University of Hawaii where he is researching nohgaku performers outside the noh world and on international stages. He is a founding member and current Development Director of Theatre Nohgaku, for whom he has worked extensively both onstage and off.
