MOVING java
Encounter places of power and sacred sites of Central Java
through dance and meditation
December 22, 2016 – January 6, 2017
through dance and meditation
December 22, 2016 – January 6, 2017
Concept
We will visit Java's historic heartlands to get to know its soul and discover the island's artistic and cultural heritage. We will attempt to communicate with Java's innermost dimension not only through visiting sacred places, watching traditional performances and talking to locals, but also through practicing ancient meditation and dances. This trip is designed for anyone interested in discovering faraway exotic lands as well as in developing awareness through body- and mind-oriented practices.
16 days
Spend 16 days immersed in the life of Java island, a unique mix of centuries-old tradition and fast-changing realities of the modern world
3 meditation techniques
Study and practice ancient Javanese meditations: Vipassana, Sumarah, and the sacred tradition of sun and water meditation
1 week of dance and movement
Spend a week with Javanese mystic Suprapto Suryodarmo, and learn fundamental principles of his Joged Amerta dance and movement practice
What is it about?
The highlights of the journey are Surakarta and Yogyakarta, striking cultural capitals of Java, and their surroundings: remote black and white beaches, mystic mountains, mighty volcanoes, meditation caves, tropical jungle, enigmatic Hindu and Buddhist temples, and traditional villages.
During the tour we will take part in village trance rituals and meditative palace dance traditions, watch shadow puppet theater wayang kulit and listen to sublime sounds of gamelan. We will not only watch and get inspired, but also practice. Every day we will do mind- and body-centering practices at sacred sites with famous Javanese dance and meditation teachers.
The main focus of the trip is a week with world-famous Javanese dance and movement master Suprapto Suryodarmo. We will stay at his garden-school studying his unique movement system Joged Amerta. In the course of the study we will create a group dance and perform it on New Year's Eve at a Hindu temple. During the first week we will also visit three meditation centers, and practice traditional Buddhist and Javanese meditations. During the second part of the journey we will continue our exploration of the island and go deeper into the practices that we've learnt.
During the tour we will take part in village trance rituals and meditative palace dance traditions, watch shadow puppet theater wayang kulit and listen to sublime sounds of gamelan. We will not only watch and get inspired, but also practice. Every day we will do mind- and body-centering practices at sacred sites with famous Javanese dance and meditation teachers.
The main focus of the trip is a week with world-famous Javanese dance and movement master Suprapto Suryodarmo. We will stay at his garden-school studying his unique movement system Joged Amerta. In the course of the study we will create a group dance and perform it on New Year's Eve at a Hindu temple. During the first week we will also visit three meditation centers, and practice traditional Buddhist and Javanese meditations. During the second part of the journey we will continue our exploration of the island and go deeper into the practices that we've learnt.
Join us for an unforgettable adventure and full immersion into authentic Javanese culture!
Joged Amerta Dance and Movement
Joged Amerta name comes from "Joged" – the Javanese word for dance, and "Amerta" – the Sacred Elixir of Life in Javanese mythology. Joged Amerta is a form of non-stylized movement practice that draws on free movement, the practice of Vipassana, Javanese Sumarah meditation and Javanese Theravada Buddhism. Its free-form approach is exploratory rather than therapeutic, though it is frequently used by therapists as a way of enabling the client to learn more about his own life patterns through movement.
Suryodarmo's Amerta movement work draws on his perception of our relationship with the environment and the natural world, focusing on the body moving in the environment. From its Buddhist roots, Amerta movement teaches ways to lessen our sense of self-identification. It suggests that the 'moving self' is, in fact, a multiplicity of changing selves in a constantly changing environment – an idea that has been recently developed in the Eco-somatics theory. According to Suryodarmo, through movement we can reintegrate parts of our self and become a part of our environment.
Being more than just an approach to improvisation, Amerta movement is a practice that cultivates an inner attitude towards life. Suryodarmo uses body movement as a means of sensing or diagnosing what is emerging in person's life and relationship, or in interactions between people.
Joged Amerta movement is studied in Java, Europe, Australasia and the Americas by dancers, musicians, psychotherapists, art/music/drama therapists, artists, filmmakers and teachers.
Suryodarmo's Amerta movement work draws on his perception of our relationship with the environment and the natural world, focusing on the body moving in the environment. From its Buddhist roots, Amerta movement teaches ways to lessen our sense of self-identification. It suggests that the 'moving self' is, in fact, a multiplicity of changing selves in a constantly changing environment – an idea that has been recently developed in the Eco-somatics theory. According to Suryodarmo, through movement we can reintegrate parts of our self and become a part of our environment.
Being more than just an approach to improvisation, Amerta movement is a practice that cultivates an inner attitude towards life. Suryodarmo uses body movement as a means of sensing or diagnosing what is emerging in person's life and relationship, or in interactions between people.
Joged Amerta movement is studied in Java, Europe, Australasia and the Americas by dancers, musicians, psychotherapists, art/music/drama therapists, artists, filmmakers and teachers.
This video shows Suprapto Suryodarmo performing Joged Amerta Dance
Dates
December 22, 2016 – January 6, 2017
* 16 days
* Participants are expected to arrive for the beginning of the program to Yogyakarta Adisucipto International Airport on December 22, 2016 and depart from the same airport on January 6, 2017. You may arrive to Indonesia earlier and/or depart later, but you will be on your own for food, lodging, transport, etc. We would be happy to help with hotel and itinerary ideas for your period of stay outside of the program.
* 16 days
* Participants are expected to arrive for the beginning of the program to Yogyakarta Adisucipto International Airport on December 22, 2016 and depart from the same airport on January 6, 2017. You may arrive to Indonesia earlier and/or depart later, but you will be on your own for food, lodging, transport, etc. We would be happy to help with hotel and itinerary ideas for your period of stay outside of the program.
Route
Itinerary
Day 1-2: Borobudur
We start our journey with the unforgettable highlight. Borobudur is not only the largest Buddhist monument in the world, but also one of the most stunning architectural masterpieces you have ever seen. Here we will meet the main monk of the Buddhist monastery for the introduction class to Vipassana meditation.
Day 3-7: Surakarta
This week we will have an intense program. Every day after breakfast we will have movement practice with Suprapto Suryodarmo, in the afternoon – unique meditation practices taught by very few teachers in Indonesia. In the evening we will visit traditional dance and music performances.
Day 8: Sukuh Hindu temple
At Sukuh Hindu temple we will work on a performance for the New Year festival that Suprapto Suryodarmo has been organizing for the last 9 years.
Day 9: Cetho Hindu temple
After morning rehearsals, we will trek through traditional villages and farms to a beautiful waterfall and visit another Hindu temple high up in the mountains among tea plantations.
Day 10: New Year's Eve Festival at the Sukuh temple
On New Year's Eve we will participate in a very special festival. Many local and international artists, performers, dancers and musicians gather at the Sukuh temple to celebrate art. We will show our group performance, the result of the week work with Suprapto Suryodarmo.
Day 11: Mountain Lawu trekking
After some rest we will trek to the top of the Lawu mountain. It takes about 4 hours of walking through the jungle and pilgrimage sites to reach the mountaintop, where we will camp overnight.
Day 12-13: Indian Ocean beaches
The morning starts with sunrise above the clouds, meditation and movement practices. After that we trek down and head to the Indian Ocean. These isolated beaches are great to relax and ponder over the magic that happened to us during last week.
Day 14-16: Yogyakarta
Small Yogya is a unique blend of ancient and contemporary culture. We will visit the Sultan palace, water palace, bird market, contemporary art galleries and trendy cafes. There is one more surprise awaiting us before we head back home. At Yogyakarta our hostess will teach us how to cook a delicious Indonesian traditional breakfast, so back home we could share the sweet taste of Java. On the way to the airport we will stop at the market to buy fresh spices, mangoes and papayas for those waiting for us back home.
Team
Guide-Interpreter: Yana K.M
Yana holds a Master's Degree in Fine Arts. She has taught photography at the State University of New York, organized art workshops for children and adults, and taken part in numerous exhibitions and festivals worldwide.
Over the last 15 years, Yana has visited more than 50 countries, and fell in love with Indonesia, where she spent two years studying traditional arts and discovering the hidden beauty of the islands. She speaks fluent Russian, English, French and Indonesian.
Yana holds a Master's Degree in Fine Arts. She has taught photography at the State University of New York, organized art workshops for children and adults, and taken part in numerous exhibitions and festivals worldwide.
Over the last 15 years, Yana has visited more than 50 countries, and fell in love with Indonesia, where she spent two years studying traditional arts and discovering the hidden beauty of the islands. She speaks fluent Russian, English, French and Indonesian.
Joged Amerta Master: Suprapto Suryodarmo
Suprapto is a creator of a world-renowned somatic and performative practice, known as "Joged Amerta". Over the last 35 years his life has been one of constant travel and intercultural exchange, with thousands of students taking intensive Joged Amerta workshops in Europe, Australia, USA and India. Hundreds of people travel to Indonesia to study at Suprapto's interdisciplinary arts center Padepokan Lemah Putih, which he established in Surakarta.
Suprapto is a creator of a world-renowned somatic and performative practice, known as "Joged Amerta". Over the last 35 years his life has been one of constant travel and intercultural exchange, with thousands of students taking intensive Joged Amerta workshops in Europe, Australia, USA and India. Hundreds of people travel to Indonesia to study at Suprapto's interdisciplinary arts center Padepokan Lemah Putih, which he established in Surakarta.
Testimonials
If you are not looking for a conventional camping trip or usual tourism, but drawn to a deeper encounter with old traditions and untrodden paths, if you want an immersion into Javanese culture, then you are ready for a Living Myth trip with Yana! If you are already familiar with the taste of meditation, or your inner child wants you to let go of everything and dance together, then Yana will lead you to places where tourists do not venture. You will meditate immersed in water at night, or in a cave where sultans practice, surrounded by the sounds of crashing waves, you will experience Sumara – a little-known Javanese meditation practice, meet famous performance masters, and gain an insight into blending traditional dance, movement exercises and meditation into a seamless whole leading you deeply into yourself. Being myself an avid traveler and having visited 55 countries, I really like Yana's approach to designing trips. So don't miss this unique opportunity! And beside that, Yana is not only a warm-hearted organiser, but also a wonderful person!
Peter
international economist
Moscow, Russia
Moscow, Russia
This trip has made an absolutely fantastic impression on me: so much has happened in such a short time! I liked very much the non-touristy places, especially an evening spent in a village of painters, where people danced and sang not for tourists, but for themselves and each other. We participated in a local university actor's party, where actors made fun of everything in a close circle of friends. We met many interesting people. I enjoyed an opportunity to hear Suprapto's daughter Melati, who was a student of Marina Abramovic, and also some of Suprapto's teachers: a head of a local religious community, and Laura – an Italian woman who teaches traditional Javanese meditation.
Suprapto's classes is a separate incredible story. I liked everything about them: Suprapto's soft, attentive style, our traveling to different places, and that in the end we had to put together a performance despite many difficulties. It was a very deep work, free of senseless movements and small talk. It was improvisation that took many forms under various circumstances.
Suprapto's classes is a separate incredible story. I liked everything about them: Suprapto's soft, attentive style, our traveling to different places, and that in the end we had to put together a performance despite many difficulties. It was a very deep work, free of senseless movements and small talk. It was improvisation that took many forms under various circumstances.
Elena
Butoh dancer
Moscow, Russia
Moscow, Russia
Photo Album
