It has been a while since my last visit to Taman Ismail Marzuki. Last time I went there, perhaps 3-4 years ago, I watched drama musical of Laskar Pelangi. It was great and fascinating! I am always amazed by how hard the artists need to exercise. Speaking of Taman Ismail Marzuki (or in short is TIM), this place is a must visit in Jakarta if you are a big fan of art and culture.

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TIM front entranceTeater Jakarta TIM

As an art and cultural center in Jakarta, TIM hosts a lot of art performances. The one I watched, on December 11, was a dance-opera called “Gandari”. Gandari is based on a poetry written by Indonesian writer Goenawan Mohamad. The art performance combined the literary arts, contemporary music and dance. This dance-opera held by Yayasan Taut Seni and fully supported by Djarum Apresiasi Budaya.

The show was really amazing. I was captured by the beauty of motion presented by the three dancers from Indonesia and the three dancers from Japan accompanied by music created by renowned composer, Tony Prabowo. The contemporary art performance was accompanied by the orchestra Asko | Schönberg and musicians Slagwerk Den Haag from Netherlands. It was a great and interesting collaboration between famous artists from Indonesia, Japan and Europe.

The costumes were also remarkable. Who else could have designed it other than the smart and creative Chitra Subiyakto. I adore her so much. Here I would love to share some of pictures that I took during the show. I hope you enjoy them as much as I enjoyed the Gandari dance-opera.

Katrien Baerts Gandari SoloistGandari performersGandari Dancer by Chitra SubiyaktoGandari dance opera show DecemberGandari Tony Prabowoending gandari show

TIM is definitely a favourite place for art and cultural wanders. If you are really into theater, opera, dance and such, these are several accounts that you can stalk for any art and cultural related activities in Jakarta:

– Taman Ismail Marzuki twitter and website
– Salihara community twitter and website
– Kine Forum twitter and website
– JakCulture curated by Aiko Widhidana website

gandari team

Taman Ismail Marzuki
Jalan Cikini Raya No.73
Jakarta Pusat, Daerah Khusus Ibukota Jakarta 10330

Do you have any favourite art and cultural centers in your town? Have you ever been to watch any art performance at Taman Ismail Marzuki, Jakarta? How was it? Share with me.

 
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