The
phenomenon raised in Mandaya Munjung's
dance work is the Kuningan Sapi
ritual in Ngetos Village, Nganjuk Regency, which is not well explored and
promoted. The Kuningan Sapi Ritual is
a traditional procession that aims to pray for cattle to get blessings and be
kept away from the calamity of cow death. This is because cows are one of the
workers who help farmers to facilitate their work in supporting the life and
needs of their families. The community's belief in the efficacy of prayer in
the Kuningan Sapi ritual makes the
village community never absent in the implementation of the ritual which is
carried out every 6 months. These facts make the choreographer special
attraction which is then used as a reference and material to be made into a
dance work by paying attention to the emotion or atmosphere that is
highlighted. In addition, the important thing is to convey the message in order
to maintain and preserve the culture that is characteristic of the region. In Mandaya Munjung's work, there are two
focuses, namely the focus of the content of the enthusiasm of the community in performing
the brass cow ritual as a form of rejection of the calamity of the death of a
cow, and the focus of form, namely the type of dramatic dance.
In
the process of creating the choreographer using several theories that are used
as a foothold in creating the Mandaya
Munjung dance work. The theories used in the creation and writing of works
include the theory of expression by Benedetto Croce, theory of choreography by
Sal Murgianto, construction method 1, dramatic theory by Jacquelin Smith, and
theory of environmental choreography by Hendro Martono. In addition, the
results of the creation of previous works also become a reference on concepts,
techniques and the use of space to show evidence of the originality of each
work.
Mandaya Munjung's
dance work uses the approach method of Jacquelin Smith, namely the construction
method 1, which consists of the initial stimulation stages, determining the
type of dance, the method of presentation, improvisation, evaluation and
improvisation, selection and refinement, and motifs. The next step is to
determine the concept in Mandaya
Munjung's work which consists of the theme of community enthusiasm in
performing rituals and then given the title Mandaya
Munjung . In this work there are 5 scenes or plots, namely scene 1 (introduction),
scene 2, scene 3, scene 4 (climax), scene 5 (decrease and ending). This type of
work is a type of dramatic dance with a symbolic representation mode of
presentation using body techniques and traditional dance movements of the East
Javanese Mataraman style that have been developed, and staged with the concept
of environmental choreography. The supporting elements in this work include
make-up and clothing, stage technique, props, and dance accompaniment. The next
step after planning is the creation process which includes initial stimulation,
exploration and studio work, improvisation, evaluation, selection and
refinement, and delivery techniques.
The
analysis of the first Mandaya Munjung
dance work on the storyline which consists of emotional or mood climbs in each
scene. The styles and techniques used in this dance use traditional East
Javanese dance movements that were developed and combined with bodybuilding
techniques. This dance work is performed by 5 female dancers with simple
make-up, using brown eyeshadow to emphasize facial lines. The clothes used also
reflect the village community, which consists of a new kebaya and wearing a
brown skirt. This dance work is performed in an environment that is adapted to
the concept of each scene to support the atmosphere that will be displayed. Mandaya Munjung's dance accompaniment
uses traditional-contemporary digital music consisting of keyboard, siter,
gender, fiddle, percussion, pekingese, and flute. While the property used is
iker or a place to put an offering or offering at the Kuningan Sapi ritual made from banana stems.
Mandaya Munjung's
dance work has a theme of enthusiasm. This dance work has two focuses, namely
the focus of the content of the enthusiasm of the community in carrying out the
Kuningan Sapi ritual as a starting point for the calamity of the death of a
cow, and the focus of a dramatic dance form which does not merely tell a story
but emphasizes the emotions in each scene. The enthusiasm referred to in this
dance work is the spirit of the Ngetos Village community to carry out the Kuningan Sapi ritual, besides that deep
belief in the efficacy of prayer in this ritual is strongly believed by the
local community to this day the Kuningan
Sapi ritual is still preserved and implemented. This dance work is danced
by 5 dancers using the new flea kebaya with the subordinates wearing skirts.
The property used is an iker or a container for placing ritual offerings made
from banana fronds. The Mandaya Munjung
dance is staged with the concept of environmental choreography where the
environment becomes the inspiration in the creation process. The environment
used as the venue for the show is the punden, the field and the cowshed.
Keywords :
Kuningan Sapi , enthusiasm, dramatic,
ritual, expression