RISING FROM THE RUINS

Abstract

In the aftermath of a devastating earthquake in the royal Javanese city of Yogyakarta in Indonesia in May 2006, the badly damaged royal residence of Pujakusuman was selected by a private economic institution for reconstruction because it was home to two classical dance schools. Voices of various interests needed to be listened to and most of the problems during negotiations revolved around residential rights to Pujakusuman of the immediate family not actively involved in dance education and performance, versus the rights of usage to the physical space by extended relatives who were cultural bearers. Complicating these issues was the traditional aristocratic aversion to overt commercialisation of and profiteering from court dance, which is considered as high and noble. While the earthquake put an end to these performances, it was also a wake-up call to assess new needs and priorities that arose over the previous 25 years. After nearly a year of negotiations work started in May 2007 and was completed by the end of the year. This report examines how Javanese classical dance in this particular setting came to be viewed as a cultural commodity for possibly supporting different groups, sometimes with conflicting values and interests.