#ComeAlive International Women’s Day Celebration 2022
Written by Howard Affandi
There’s no question that women have always and continue to play an integral role in our society. Yet, even in 2022, many women are still often underappreciated and misrepresented. Despite the inequalities they face, women continue to rise as a beacon of light in this world – advancing our society across various avenues.
Gigi Art of Dance took part in the worldwide celebration of International Women’s Day 2022 by launching a series of events highlighting the passion and drive of the women who inspire us. We began with three special episodes of G TALK streamed live through our Instagram page on March 8 to March 10. G-Crew workshops were held on March 11, followed by GAOD On-Show Volume 49 on March 12 and special international workshops on March 13.
Our guests on March 8 were Paulina Pungky, Kinaryosih, Cisca Becker, Swastika Nohara, and Dian Hartiningsih. Mbak Pungky has been a part of our community for some time, contributing as a teacher and as a student, while our four other guests are the parents of our students. Moderator Ms. Gigi spoke to these women about the importance of passion and about the things we could do to reignite our enthusiasm for the things we love. Mbak Pungky said “passion itu kaya lampu jiwa” (“passion is like the light of the soul.”); similarly, for Cisca Becker, “passion bisa menjadi kaya bensin untuk memotivasi kita.” (“passion can become the fuel that motivates us.”)
The March 9 episode of G TALK: International Women’s Day Edition featured funky kebaya designer Lenny Agustin in conversation with moderator Ms. Gigi, showcasing Mba Lenny’s work through the help of GAOD dancers Prita Hutagalung and Anjani Aisha.
On March 10, Founder of Yayasan Kanker Anak Indonesia Sally Sorongan and cancer survivor Zai Rahman from Singapore joined Ms. Gigi to talk about the fight against cancer, and they shared their stories of finding hope and healing through discovering passion. Afterwards, GAOD dancer Kyra Rumamby shared a K-Pop class with child cancer survivor Naira, to encourage and support fellow child cancer fighters and survivors to dance freely.
The following day, four of our G-Crew members: Priyanka, Alula, Rana, and Kana shared an online Choreography workshop as part of the “Young Choreographers” workshop series. The “Young Choreographers” series offers a platform for rising student choreographers to create and to share their work. Priyanka and Alula worked with one group of participants in the afternoon whilst Rana and Kana worked with another group in the evening.
GAOD On-Show Volume 49, staged and streamed live on March 12, included the celebration of the graduation of our CSTD Class. CSTD is an international standardized dance certification program whose Contemporary and Modern Jazz syllabuses we have adapted for many years. Originally from Australia, the program (which includes 13 different grades across a variety of syllabuses) held their online exam in our studio last December. For GAOD On-Show Volume 49, 38 classes performed across two shows, with 13 of them being graduation performances. We also featured performances from our G-Crew groups: G-Troupe, Naye G, Lil G.O., G.O., and G-Star!
We rounded off the International Women’s Day celebration with workshops in collaboration with Rocio for Heels and Ladybird for Soul. The workshops, held online on March 13. These classes are rarely found in Indonesia, and instructors Rocio and Lady Bird are internationally acknowledged dancers as well as teachers, with Rocio winning the first Ball in Singapore and Lady Bird often collaborating with international dance companies.
“Sometimes life has to shake things around to get you where you need to be.” spoke Zai Rahman, cancer survivor and one of the incredible guests of G TALK: International Women’s Day Edition. Her words reminded us that despite the difficult years we have had, perhaps it was just the right amount of disturbance to help us to #ComeAlive to a better place.
Watch the livestream of our showcase here!
Show One: https://youtube.com/live/e0_BqW9iyg0?feature=share
Show Two: https://youtube.com/live/kjZ4INpCwvs?feature=share