South Korean
boyband and girlband now are like virus infecting people in Indonesia. They
come with easy listening songs, attractive choreography, and of course
eye-cathcing faces. Almost all Indonesian teenagers are excited to sing the songs
and learn the choreography. But, no matter how big the infection is, some teenagers
in my hometown Solo, just don’t care about it. To them the best music is always
Dangdut. Don’t need to buy expensive tickets to watch the show like those
boyband or girlband show. All they need is just come in early morning at 6:00
AM every Sunday in Manahan Stadium, there will always be free Dangdut show held
by motorcycle dealer company for 3 hours.
In 6 or 7 years
ago Dangdut was not so popular for teenagers. But now Dangdut comes with more
easy listening lyrics and also more attractive singers, most of them are girls.
Maybe that’s the reason teenagers begin to give attention to Dangdut. So then,
some teenagers decide to make a dance group and start to practice their own
choreography. The group usually has one captain to lead the choreography. Their
movement is totally different from any boyband movement we know, it’s unique
and some kind of strange. For example, there’s one move I know. First put your
hands up then wave your shoulders from right to left, it goes for 5 times before
it changes to another move.
Some people say they are crazy and shameful, dancing with ridiculous moves in front of many people with no benefit at all. Of course it’s no benefit, but to them it’s better than wasting money buying expensive tickets to watch once a year show only. And most of the shows are always in capital city, Jakarta. You need to waste more money for accommodation and transportation. Unlike Dangdut, it is free and they can dance too, just like boyband or girlband.
Photographs by Ian Tri Hananto
© 2015 Ian Tri Hananto
