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Thousands of Students Dance For Gandrung Sewu Festival 2024
WINDONESIA November 5, 2024
Thousands of students in Banyuwangi Regency, East Java dance together at the Gandrung Sewu Festival on Oct. 26, 2024. (Beritasatu.com/Rizky Hidayatullah)
Thousands of students in Banyuwangi Regency, East Java Province, danced together for the Gandrung Sewu Festival 2024 at Marina Boom Beach on Oct. 26, 2024,. There were 1,350 gandrung dancers who successfully presented a world-class colossal art performance.
The 1,350 dancers were students from elementary to high school levels from all over Banyuwangi Regency who passed the gandrung sewu selection.
The event has "Payung Agung The Diversity of Culture" as its theme, signifying protection and togetherness in the diversity of Indonesian culture that coexists harmoniously in Banyuwangi Regency.
Andini Masayu, one of the Gandrung Sewu dancers, said that this year is her fourth appearance at the annual festival.
''I have participated in Gandrung Sewu four times since 2018, I have to participate in this event every year,'' Andini said.
Andini admitted that although her practice for the dance was quite tiring, she was happy to be able to perform at the 2024 Gandrung Sewu event.
"I am very happy, because this is my hobby since I was little, especially since my mother is also a dancer. My entire family are art lovers,'' she said.
She also hopes that she and other participants could contribute to preserving and promoting the culture of Banyuwangi through the event.
"We could preserve the local characteristic culture of Banyuwangi with the event. Moreover, we could also promote gandrung to the whole world,'' said Andini.
Meanwhile, Tourism and Creative Economy/Agency (Baparekraf) Domestic Tourism Marketing Director Dwi Marhen Yono gave his appreciation for the colossal gandrung sewu dance performance. He added that the event could be held for both cultural consolidation and as an effort to preserve and foster gandrung as an art.
"This gandrung sewu [event] cannot be separated from the annual innovation and improvement in the quality of implementation that made it a leading event and attraction for domestic and foreign tourists," he said.
Dwi noted that the event is an example of how cross-sector collaboration and synergy can drive the regional economy by involving various elements of society.
"From artists, tourism industry players, to micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs)," he added.
The Banyuwangi Gandrung Sewu Festival is also included in the Tourism Ministry's Karisma Event Nusantara (KEN) program, a collaborative strategy between the ministry, local governments, and all tourism stakeholders to improve the image of Indonesian tourism and bolster the tourism and creative economy sectors.
Source: www.beritasatu.com