AWAL / BEGINNING
AWAL / BEGINNING
A PERFORMANCE INSTALLATION OF DANCE WITH LIVE MUSIC ABOUT STARTING OVER AND CONTINUING ON
How can we regain hope in the face of personal loss and existential threat? Where do we find new sources of joy and promise for the future? We fall down and pick ourselves back up over and over again. What is this perpetual motion that drives us ever forward?
rubarb dance & art explores these questions through dance, music, and visual art, drawing inspiration from traditional Indonesian music and dance. Working in international collaboration, the ensemble transforms the House of Indonesian Cultures in Berlin into a laboratory of synergies in which visual and sensory experiences overlap. The performance installation unfolds within diverse spaces, opening up new perspectives and auditory experiences.
A Phantasmagoric Gamelan Frenzy / Richard Pettifer
In “AWAL / BEGINNING” created by choreographer Ruben Reniers and collaborators at the Rumah Budaya Indonesia Berlin,
an explosion of performative pedagogy blends traditional and contemporary choreography in a
phantasmagoric performance event taking place over three days from 16 to 18 December 2022.
PREMIERE
Dec 16, 2022, 7.30 pm
MORE PERFORMANCES Dec 17 & 18, 2022, 7.30 pm
FREE ADMISSION
Donations are welcome via Paypal
VENUE
Rumah Budaya Indonesia
Haus der Indonesischen Kulturen
Theodor-Francke-Str. 11
12099 Berlin
CONCEPT, ARTISTIC DIRECTION,CHOREOGRAPHY
Ruben Reniers
DANCE, PERFORMANCE
Nora Vladiguerov,Yuya Fujinami, Chia-Ying Chiang, Ruben Reniers
COMPOSITION, LIVE MUSIC
Konstantin Heuer, Bilawa Ade Respati
PAPER ART, PERFORMANCE
Barbara Steinitz
COSTUME
Juliane Längin
LIGHT DESIGN
Emese Csornai
DRAMATURGY ADVICE
Monika Radl
OPEN CALL PARTICIPANTS
ARI ERSANDI
with his dance video submission "Tomorrow" @ariersandi
MEKRATINGRUM HAPSARI
with her dance video submission
"Satu Garis Menurun / One Line Downhill" @mingkeh_
WILLYDAY NAMALI
with his music composition "Gênthèng Lêmâh" @willyday_namali
CAHWATI SUGIARTO
with her music composition "Koma Music" @cahwatisugiarto
GRAPHIC DESIGN
Studio Workshop
PHOTOGRAPHY
Carlos Collado
VIDEO DOCUMENTATION
Marco Baass
SINTA x DAHANA
after the success of their groundbreaking dance productions (AWAL and REQUIEM | MANGONGKAL HOLI), choreographer-dancer Ruben Reniers reunites with composer-performer Bilawa Ade Respati for a bold new creation, inspired by Sinta’s Trial by Fire from the Ramayana.
Fire is both a force of destruction and purification. As a storyteller, fire speaks of its deep connection to humanity through rituals, reflecting human emotions—passion, vigor, humor, and joy. In times when “darkness” predominates, fire has been a source of truth. Nowadays, in a "brighter" world, the extraction of energy translates to "power," whether in a capital, scientific, or political sense. This "power" challenges traditional notions of "truth." In such a world, can fire still reveal the “truth”? How do we measure the weight of our actions in a world beyond the gods and noble teachers?
SINTA x DAHANA ignites a dialogue that transcends boundaries between tradition and modernity, as well as between movement and sound. A visual experience that burns bright.
Premiere 06. June 2025 at DOCK11 in BERLIN
Part of - HIDUADREI - A Triple Bill Evening of Time, Fire, and Distance
Ruben Reniers: Choreography & Dance
Bilawa Ade Respati: Music Composition & Live Music
Photo: Carlos Collado
in Cooperation with:
DOCK 11 / ART
Haus der Indonesischen Kulturen Berlin
Theaterhaus Mitte
Tanzscouts Berlin
Special Thanx: Gideon E. Jessaijan
