Ronggeng Practice as Choreomusicological Research

The dance and music coordinators led workshops to experiment and discuss about the various components of Ronggeng, in particular to elucidate about the choreomusicological function and interdependence of Ronggeng’s music & dance.

We acknowledge that these practice as research endeavours are only preliminary but it has given us an entry point to think deeply about our related practices. We will present it here in two parts, the first will be the notes from our dance coordinators and subsequently, the music coordinator.

Dance Notes

• Joget’s double-step which is a shuffling motion of the feet in double time is a necessary technique that requires attention and awareness of the body. It involves the quick shifting of weight from one feet to the other and, depending on the technique of double-step, will also affect the quality of the main body. For example, one such technique is a double step that is initiated with the front of feet and toes: this would produce a springy motion.

• We felt the “kick” technique gives the closest choreomusicological related movement wherein the kick in the joget technique coincides in relation to the base gendang (drum) before the gong. This makes dancers more aware of their movement and understand the fast tempo joget music better. At the same time, dancers will not take for granted the specific instruments that are necessary in the joget, such as the gong, drum and a melodic instrument which can be the accordion, flute or violin.

• There needs to be better communication with musicians and also the awareness of different versions of songs which can be shorter or longer. Dancers who are focused on melody could be in a disadvantage and if there is better listening and understanding of the drum’s percussive pattern, dancers are able to determine if a music is ending on time or is the version with the longer coda.

• Understands the importance observing gender mannerisms when dancing with partner of opposite sex. The gendered movement of the ronggeng repertoire serves the purpose of the Ronggeng and also provides further insights on maintaining healthy boundaries between dancers since the convention of Malay dance does not allow contact between sexes.

Music Notes

• Both dancers and musicians need to understand the importance of the dynamics and tempo in every song genre. This will be helpful for each art form so that they can see the direct relation between dance and music. Slow tempo music affects the pace of the dance that it is associated with. Dynamics of a music should also be reflected well with the dance because if this is not synced it might look misplaced.

• Learning to understand the difference between Asli Senandung and Asli Langgam would help dancers understand the different structures of the music and also the function of the two genres. The dependence on melody might be confusing and causes the dancers to lose count.

• Realising that the musicians understand the Asli to be in counts of 16 and dancers tend to count in eights. Finding a way to speak each other’s languages

• The learning of musical instruments evolution could also help to understand how it may affect dancer’s interpretation of movements

• Patterns of accents and articulation between rebana player and dancer could be better understood so that one does not exist just as mere accompaniment but as collaborator in performance.