Ayu Permata Sari

Dangdut – a popular Indonesian musical genre which combines beats from Malay and Indian pop music with Arabic melodies – is associated with the swaying hip movements exhibited by the singers, who are, for the most part, young women. Ayu Permata Sari, though, directs her observational gaze away from the stage towards the movements of the audience in the local Dangdut clubs, predominantly read as male. She takes on the role of a male spectator in her performance, dancing in front of the stage, being watched by the audience. A setting that inverts the male gaze perspective that she often encounters in Dangdut clubs. By appropriating and exploring the body movements as well as the behaviour of male-read fans, Ayu Permata Sari attempts to examine their Dangdut grooves that appear to be expressions of relaxation and sensual experience.

Tubuh Dang Tubuh Dut is the result of a long research process. For this work, Ayu Permata Sari spent long periods of time in Central Javan Dangdut clubs, talking to numerous people who frequented those clubs. She was fascinated by the enjoyment the audiences felt while totally immersing themselves in the music. Dangdut parties serve as a catalyst and as a space of liberation. People dance there to escape the monotony of work, home, and everyday life. The audience steps into a transit space when entering the club – an opportunity to evade mundane problems. Ayu Permata Sari noticed the fans’ everyday work informing their body movements. So, she, for example, observed a construction worker dancing, seemingly oblivious to the fact that his dance gestures resembled the hammering in of nails. Physical experiences that are part of everyday life often appear amid the dance movements.

Duration: 30 min.

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