Surabaya as the Capital City of East Java, known as the City of Heroes, and the second largest city in Indonesia. The total population of the city is more than 2.9 million and have diverse cultures. With the culture diversity character of the city, the Government and the Department of Culture and Tourism of Surabaya held a cultural exchange festival called Surabaya Cross Culture since 11 years ago. Before, groups participated in the festival were only the sister countries of Surabaya. In 2016, the Government of Surabaya organized a slightly different event and changed the name of the festival into Surabaya Cross Culture International Folk and Art Festival 2016 (SSIFAF 2016).

This year was the first year of cooperations between the Government of Surabaya and CIOFF Indonesia in support of the management of Surabaya Cross Culture International Folk and Art Festival 2016. (SCCIFAF 2016). The aim of the festival was to promote Indonesia espescially East Java Province and Surabaya, and also to promote “Visit Surabaya 2016”. The particiapants of the festival this year were International Groups from CIOFF Indonesia, Surabaya’s Sister Cities like Wuxi, Guangzhou, and Xiamen (China) and a group from Seoul, South Korea. Besides that, the festival also attended by participants from Sleman, Balikpapan, North Borneo, and Surabaya’s local group.

CIOFF Indonesia sent three of its members, Ghina Aulia Megaputri, Chika Nur Rachma K. Wasitova, and Rosmala Sari Dewi as executor and help during the festival. CIOFF Indonesia, lead by Said Rachmat invited several international delegates to participate in the festival. The groups are American Footworks Folk Dance Ensemble (IDAHO USA), Ansamblul Folkloric Studentesc “Martisorul” (ROMANIA), Polonia Ensemble (POLAND), Leigarid Folklore Society Group (ESTONIA), and Yang Ju Byul San Dae & Kin Hei Kyung Dance (SOUTH KOREA).

Surabaya Cross Culture International Folk and Art Festival (SCCIFAF) 2016 held at 14-16th of August 2016. The delegates participated in activities that surely caught Surabayans eyes. On the first day, all international delegates followed a parade and had the chance to ride a decorated Becak as a traditional transportation of Indonesia. Opened by Mrs. Risma, the Mayor of Surabaya, the parade started from Taman Bungkul, to Darmo street, Urip Sumoharjo street and Jalan Panglima Sudirman street, and ended in the Town Hall of Surabaya. After the parade, the delegates also got the chance to perform on a Street Performance activity at Tugu Bambu. The event then continued to a Press Conference of Surabaya Cross Culture International Folk and Art Festival (SCCIFAF) 2016 at town hall, and also followed by lunch. Mrs. Risma as the Mayor of Surabaya hosted the lunch and presented the delegates with various traditional cuisines, so that the delegates had the chance to taste Indonesian food.

    Performance stages in SCCIFAF 2016 were divided in several venues such as, Taman Jayengrono, Taman Bungkul, Tunjungan Plaza Mall, Royal Plaza Mall, and Ciputra Mall, and Gwalk. Besides that, the delegates also did an opening performance at Town Hall, and closing ceremony at Cultural Hall Building. Apart from traditional dance and music, the delegates also had the chance to present about the philosophy and descriptions of their culture at a workshop in Surabaya Museum Gallery. The students around the city of Surabaya also got the chance to learn the dance moves of the participants’ countries.



Besides introducing their culture, the international delegates also had the opportunity to get to know the face of Surabaya. They did a tour to Sungai Kalimas and cruising down with a boat, and did some souvenir shopping at Mirota, participated in “Malam Tirakatan” by visiting Plampitan Village, Maspati Village, Peneleh Village, and Ketandan Village. Surabaya is also known as the city of 1000 museums, so the delegates also visited Health Museum (Museum Kesehatan), Museum of Bank of Indonesia (Museum Bank Indonesia), and Monument of Heroes (Tugu Pahlawan).

Surabaya Cross Culture International Folk and Art Festival (SCCIFAF) 2016 captured the local and international media’s attention where the event was stated to be a successful event for cultural exchange. Happiness, pride, and friendships were established between Indonesia and participating delegates. The presence of SCCIFAF in years to come will surely be an event to be awaited by the locals.

Written by : Ghina Aulia Megaputri

Edited and published by : Gayatri Larasati & Ghina Aulia Megaputri

Pasir Putih USACE is a traditional art and culture community under the auspices of Padjajaran University. In 2016, Pasir Putih is in cooperation with CIOFF Indonesia to participate in a festival in Poland called Vistula Folk Festival. The members of Pasir Putih departed to the city of  Płock, Poland with 9 female dancers, 3 female musicians, and 3 male musicians, together with 1 CIOFF representative, Yunita Hardiyanti Gunawan.

Vistula Folk Festival 2016 was held on 23rd of August until 28th of August 2016. Several countries participated in the festival were Indonesia, Basque Country (Spain), Slovakia, Ukraine, and Poland. All five participating countries done some acquainting at the Town Hall, wearing their traditional costumes and brought their attributes and national flag. All the delegates socializing by taking pictures together, introducing their traditional games, and also playing music together to entertain the audience. After that, all participants gathered at the North Park to rehearse their performance.

The Opening Concert was held on Wednesday, 24th of September 2016, in the afternoon at the North Park. Opened by speech from the Artistic Director of the festival, Piotr Andrzey Onyszko, and started with a desflle of the delegates with the name board and the national flag of each country. Indonesia presented Greget Jawara and Topeng dance. The ceremony was closed with a final dance presented by all of the participants of the festival. The activities during the festival were quite busy but also fun. Pasir Putih USACE also had the opportunity to entertain children at an orphanage.

The Gala Concert was the highlight of Vistula Folk Festival 2016. The event was held at the Amphitheatre. All of the participating countries presented the dances they had not presented before during the festival to share their culture. Indonesia presented Enggang and Balian dance which then followed by Saman dance as the closing. The performance received great appreciation from the audience in the city of Płock.

Written by : Yunita Hardiyanti Gunawan

Edited and published by : Gayatri Larasati & Ghina Aulia Megaputri

Sasikirana team from Prasetiya Mulya departed to Kołobrzeg, Poland to bring pride for Indonesia in XXV Międzynarodowe Spotkania Folklorem Interfolk 2016 festival. The festival was held at 16-20th of August 2016. To be able to introduce Indonesian culture, the team from Prasetiya Mulya has prepare themselves for about 4 months of rehearsals. They brought around 8 performances to be presented on the event which includes Yapong dance, Greget Jawara dance, Enggang dance, Mandau dance, Balian dance, Topeng dance, Ginjring dance, and Saman dance. Sasikirana team itself was divided into three sub-teams, which are dancer sub-team A and B, and musician sub-team.

Sasikiran team departed on 13th of August 2016 and arrived in Warsaw the day after. In every performances the cultural mission team from Prasetiya Mulya showed their best and the audiences always give loud applause. Not even rain can stop the audience to enjoy the performance of the Indonesian team. In such awe, the locals passing by the performance stage stopped to enjoy Indonesian traditional music. Even the audience were able to memorize the typical Batak moves of Sinanggar Tulo song.

Not just adolescents or adults enjoying the performances from Sasikirana team, but also children of Kołobrzeg, Poland. They were very enthusiast to learn the Indonesian dances. They looked really happy to follow every step of the dance. The peoples interest also reflected by their enthusiasm to get traditional Indonesian souvenirs given by the team. Great job, Prasetiya Mulya!


Written by : Ravanya Parawangsa
Edited and published by : Ghina Aulia Megaputri

On July 11th 2016, Labschool Kebayoran Highschool held an Inauguration ceremony for their cultural mission to Brusy, Poland. This year will be the 11th time for Labschool Kebayoran Highschool to participate in cultural mission together with CIOFF Indonesia. The team is consisted of 20 students as musicians and dancers, 2 teacher companions, and 2 officials from CIOFF Indonesia acting as representative (Nadia Vijanti) and choreographer (Roro Nuraini Prastuti).

On the Inauguration ceremony, the team opened up the event with a contemporary music by the musicians and then followed by Topeng dance, which originated from West Java.

Mrs. Ulya as the Headmaster of Labschool Kebayoran Highschool then gave her speech regarding the group’s preparations for the mission. Mrs. Ulya stated about how the students have worked hard to keep their academic studies and non-academic activities balanced, and also the cooperation between CIOFF Indonesia and Labschool Kebayoran highschool has brought positive knowledge and experiences to the students. She also stated her hopes for the students to be able to introduce and preserve Indonesian culture, and also for the mission to succeed.

The last performance by the team was a medley contemporary music and Piring dance from West Sumatra. After that, the inauguration procession was symbolized by handing over the team’s jackets from school representatives to Faza (Head of musicians) and Kayra (Head of dancers), as representatives from the team. Then the inauguration process was closed with the team members giving out flowers for their parents as a token of appreciation for their endless support.

Kembang Tanjung Dance Workshop is the 7th cooperative event between CIOFF Indonesia and Indonesia Gallery Kaya. This event took place on the 2nd week of August, from 8 to 12 August 2016. The event lasted for 6 days, 5 days of Kembang Tanjung dance practice and on the 6th day, participants will perform at the opening of the event organized by Galeri Indonesia Kaya. Kembang Tanjung dance is one of the branches of Jaipong dance. Jaipong dance were created by an artist from Bandung from around 1960’s. The music of Jaipong dance was derived from folk art traditions of West Java. Jaipong Kembang Tanjung is performed by a group of beautiful dancers called “ronggeng.” The dance movements were quick yet beautiful.

Participants who attend the Creative Space: Kembang Tanjung Dance Workshop were 29 people and it was increased everyday. As in the prior-previous workshop, the workshop was divided into two sessions and each session lasts for 2 hours. Session 1 runs from 4:00 p.m. to 6:00 pm and the session 2 runs from 7:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m.

Kembang Tanjung dance has a rapid movement, and at the beginning of the workshop many participants found it difficult to follow the movement. This is because many of the participants did not have basic dancing knowledge. This workshop is their first dancing experience. In general, participants find it difficult to follow the basic movements of dance. However, the participants were very cooperative and easy to work with so the teaching of each movement became easier. This is certainly also supported by the skills and patience of CIOFF Indonesia coach when teaching the participants. The participants were given five days to memorize every detail of every movement including the movement and formation dance. However, the participants were able to show a very beautiful performance. The workshop participants fill the stage of Galeri Indonesia Kaya and lighten the event with typical Jaipong movement of the participants. With only 5 days of practice they were able to show a great performance. This proves the CIOFF Indonesian totality in preparing and organize an activity. 

This activity is covered by the Galeri Indonesia Kaya. They interviewed the choreographer of CIOFF Indonesia, Rosmala Sari Dewi as well as covering the process from training to the stage of Kembang Tanjung dance workshop.

Al-Azhar 19 Cibubur JHS will be represented Indonesia on 15th Gangneung International Junior Art Festival 2016. This festival is gonna be held from July 29th until Aug 1st in Gangneung, South Korea. The group itself has 23 members that consisted of 20 students as dancers and musicians, 2 teachers companions, and 1 official from CIOFF Indonesia (Ms. De Rembulan Ayundhasurya) acted as representative. After several month of practice, Al-Azhar Cibubur JHS is finally ready to participated in this cultural mission.

Right before their departure, Al-Azhar 19 Cibubur JHS held inaugurations as a oficial ceremony. The event was held at their school and they will be perform in front of their family and teacher to show what they achieved. All the dancer and musician entering the room with some parade singing some Indonesian song.  Continued by some speech by President of CIOF Indonesia, Mr. Said Rachmat. Then they perfomed Greget Jawara dance, Yapong dance, and Saman dance. As a simbolic, two representative of the student will be dressed by cultural mission team jacket by their teacher. The event was closed by praying and took a photo together. Good luck Al-Azhar 10 Cibubur! :)