Indonesian Dances Enliven Cultural Diversity Festival in Qatar

TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - The Cultural Diversity Festival that include arts performances and culture of Indonesia had grab the public attention at Katara Amphitheater in Doha, Qatar. The event is a collaboration between Cultural Village Foundation-Katara and The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). 27 countries participated on the festival which took place from October 4 until November 11, 2017, Indonesia with Slovakia will appear on 27 and 28 October 2017.

According to the Indonesian Ambassador to Qatar, Muhammad Basri Sidehabi, an artistic cultural performance is an effective effort to promote tourism to bring Indonesia's name in Qatar. "This festival is part of multi-track diplomacy to enhance Indonesia-Qatar relations especially since the visit of Emir Qatar, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani to Indonesia on 17-18 October 2017", said the former member of this House.

The art and cultural performance begins with the Kicir-kicir dance from Betawi culture. There were also various other dances performed such as Tor-tor from North Sumatra, Piring from West Sumatra, Lancang Kuning from Riau, Singge Pemunten from Lampung, Pendet from Bali, Angin Memiri from Sulawesi, Sajojo from Papua and the last was Gebyar-Gebyar.

The Dance plate, typical of West Sumatra, was full of dynamic rhythmic movements with boisterous music and stomping that stunned the audience. The dance was performed by dance and traditional music studio of Miss Asri Indonesia by showing 20 dancers. Indonesian dancers perform with a variety of traditional clothes with striking colors which add to the festivities of the festival.

Puspa Kinarya (PQ), art studio of Indonesian diaspora in Qatar, who often won various festivals of international art and culture in Qatar, also helped enliven the festival.

"Our performance at this international festival is an honor, we can showcase the culture and identity of Indonesia," said Amanah Asri, Msi, chairman of Nona Asri Indonesia studio. "Participation at this festival brings its own memories," said the woman who is actively promoting the arts of Indonesian culture in foreign countries. "The audience is very enthusiastic," said Chairman of the Dharma Wanita Persatuan (DWP) of the Indonesian Embassy in Doha, Andi Una who attended the festival.

According to Minister Counselor Embassy of Doha, Boy Dharmawan, this festival is a great opportunity to promote cultural diversity of each country which is part of UNESCO program to protect the world cultural heritage. Although this was the first time for Indonesia performing their dances and culture at this festival but their performances was highly anticipated by the audience. He said that the festival is very effective for promoting tourism because it gets coverage from various print and electronic print media in Qatar.

TEMPO