Saman Dancers
(Gayo Lues, Aceh - Indonesia)
Visited: 17 October, 2017
The busiest week ever!
Record breaking I had visitors in Mons.
During this week, lots of people visiting from my home country.
From a small village of Gayo Lues to small town of Mons.
This group of 15 dancers (and 1 coordinator) came from a regency (home
of the famous Gayo coffee) in the special region of Indonesia on the island of
Sumatra.
Their visit was part of Europalia arts festival and organized by Jeunesses Musicales Wallonie-Bruxelles.
They came for the Opening Night of
Europalia attended by the Vice President of Indonesia also King and Queen of
Belgium on October 10, 2017 .
Then they were busy touring around
Brussels, Wallonia region and Germany, introducing Saman, "the dance of thousand
hands". One of the most popular dances in Indonesia.
The dance is characterized by its fast-paced
rhythm and common harmony between dancers without any additional music instruments.
On November 24, 2011, UNESCO officially recognized this traditional dance as a Masterpiece of Oral and Intangible Heritage of
Humanity.
This is a really long day for the
group at Collège Saint-Stanislas. Starting from 9 in the morning they have to do a 20-minute performance,
q&a session and workshop -- for four times, until school was finished around 3.30 pm (with only about 10 minutes break each part).
Though few days ago they were worried how this day would be tiring, at
the end of the day they’re all happy and smiling :)
