Depok-The Student Activity Unit (UKM) contingent of the Liga Tari Mahasiswa Universitas Indonesia (UI) Krida Budaya successfully won 1st place in the dance competition category of the Pekan Seni Mahasiswa Daerah (Peksimida) XVII DKI Jakarta. The Liga Tari UI team consists of 19 students, including six dancer students, seven musician students, one choreographer student, one project officer, one choreographer supervisor, and three professional musicians.
The competition held on Wednesday July 10, 2024 was held at UI and participated by 14 universities in the Jakarta area. The Liga Tari UI that won first place will represent DKI Jakarta as a contingent for the National Student Arts Week in early September.
(Photo: Nyambang dance performance performed by UKM Liga Tari UI)
In the competition, the Liga Tari UI performed the Nyambang Dance, a creative dance created specifically for this competition by Muhammad Rasyid Taufiqul Hafidz, a choreographer and student of the UI Faculty of Psychology. The Nyambang Dance tells the story of a love affair between a migrant from the Lampung area who wants to fall in love with a Betawi girl. However, the young man’s love is not immediately approved by the girl’s father. The young man must prove his worthiness to propose to the woman of his heart.
One of the members of the Liga Tari UI, Anisya Nur’aini, a student of the Public Relations study program, UI Vocational Education Program, said “In line with the competition theme ‘Knitting Local Wisdom in the Global Era’, we are trying to convey a story of love across ethnicities that has been rampant since globalization occurred. The Betawi background was taken because we represent the DKI Jakarta contingent. Meanwhile, the Lampung ethnic identity was taken from the background of Rasyid, our choreographer, who was born and raised in the City of Tapis Berseri.”
The competition process was conducted through auditions since February. Then, Liga Tari UI conducted routine training from March to June or around four months. Nisya revealed that intensive training was a challenge for her to divide her time between lectures and training.
(Photo: Liga Tari UI contingent participating in the competition)
“We learned to be flexible in dividing our time between practice, organization, and lectures. Especially for me who is a UI Vocational student with various activities up to practical exams. The peak was when I had to divide my time between practice and the final exam for the creation of the 2024 VokHumFest event. I managed to get through it all and got very satisfying results,” said Nisya.
Besides Nisya, three other UI Vocational students who are also part of the Liga Tari UI team are Triana Olivia (Occupational Therapy study program student); Daniel Valent Marcello Marhaen (Hospital Administration study program student); and Marlinda Vidya Rosa (Tax Administration study program student). For this achievement, the Director of the UI Vocational Education Program, Padang Wicaksono, S.E., Ph.D, appreciated the success achieved by Nisya, Triana, Daniel, and Marlinda, as well as the UKM Liga Tari UI.
“I am very proud of the students who continue to strive to preserve Indonesian cultural traditions. This strategic step is not only a learning medium for them, but also a forum to introduce Indonesian culture to the general public. I am sure that the struggle of UI students to become cultural ambassadors for the Indonesian nation can continue to soar to the international stage and further introduce culture through dance to today’s young generation,” said Padang.
