Sajojo is a welcome dance and often played in various occasions such as reception of important guest, reception of foreign tourists, and at traditional ceremonies. This dance can be danced by anyone. The dance movements prioritize the movement of the hands and feet. On 19-23 September 2016, CIOFF Indonesia in collaboration with Galeri Indonesia Kaya held the Creative Space: Sajojo Dance Workshop.
Sajojo Dance Workshop was attended by 14 participants divided into two sessions. Each session lasts for two hours, the first session runs from 4:00 to 6:00 pm and the second session runs from 7:00 to 9:00 pm. At the end of the workshop, all participants were joined together to perform at the opening of the event organized by Galeri Indonesia Kaya.

At the beginnning of workshop, there are 17 peopeles who attend this program, but over time, participants were reduced to total of 14 people. There were some participants who attend this workshop learn and practice the dance but couldn’t join the stage perfromance.

At the beginning of the training, participants were taught basic movement, so they could be famliar with the shapes and movements of the dance. Then, the participants were taught the dance movements, ranging from the less complicated to complex movement. Participants not only learn the movement, but also the details of each movement, blocking and configuration. At first, the participants experienced difficulties and a bit of stress because they have to memorize a lot of material and did it properly in a short time. However, because Sajojo dance has a carefree nuance in its movement, it made the participants felt cheerful and motivated. The workshop athmosphere were fun despite the amount of material to be learned in Sajojo dance. The participants practiced with passion and enjoy every process. On the last day of the practice, the participants trained a little harder than the previous days because on the last day, they have to run through the dance repeatedly in order to perform the dance perfectly.

Saturday morning, 10am, the participants had gathered at Galeri Indonesia Kaya and begin their preparations. The participants started apply their faces with makeup such as lipstick, eyeshadow and blush and don’t forget the final touch, the Papua facepaint. The participants were nervous. Before their performance, they tried to calm down and gather strength and self-confidence. At 2 pm, the audience began to arrive and the show was ready to begin. The Sajojo dance will be the opening of a mini concert of an indie band, Banda Naira. The performance was running smoothly. Perseverance, hard work, passion and discipline of the participants came to fruition. They display the Sajojo dance nicely and energetic.
This activity is covered by Galeri Indonesia Kaya. Galeri Indonesia Kaya staffs cover the rehearsal, tutorials movement and the short interview about Sajojo with choreographers, named Saul. The workshop was also covered by Berta Satu. Berita Satu was covering the situation during the workshop and also conductied interviews.

Written by : Alvita Rassya

Edited and published by : Galih Sadhira & Ghina Aulia Megaputri