Dramaturgy Notes
"Krakatoa: Boom, Homecoming, Cycle Chaos."
– Taufik Darwis
“Krakatoa: Boom, Homecoming, Cycle Chaos” is a result of a collective creation involving residency artists and local communities in an artistic research focused on ecological interaction and the body. This work acts as an alchemical kitchen, where the vibrations of Krakatoa, with all its complexity, are transformed into artistic forms that channel cosmic rhythms and tensions. Using the metaphor of cooking in a magma kitchen, the piece explores and nurtures eco-empathetic relationships, opening space for relational bodies to reveal new forms and sensations as a renewal of sensibilities. As a manifestation of a community of sense, this performance rejects rigid representations and instead delves into the potential of shapelessness, voids, and vulnerability to create an experience that touches the essence of coexistence within the ecological network. At its core, the work aims to transcend conventional representations of the body (dance), celebrating diversity through vibrations that connect humans and non-human entities in a cycle of resonance.
According to oral tradition, the name “Krakatoa” comes from the sound made by birds flying around the mountain, sounding like “krakkakraktau… krakkakraktau.” The day before Krakatoa erupted in 1883, thousands of birds left the mountain. For the people of Sebesi Island, the absence of birds was seen as a warning of danger. Conversely, the arrival of many birds signaled the arrival of a fertile season, as it meant there were plenty of fish in the sea. Learning from and connecting with birds relationally helps humans navigate and mitigate their lives.
The massive eruption of Ancient Krakatoa in 535 AD created the Sunda Strait and led to the decline of the Pasemah Lampung and Salakanagara Banten civilizations for several decades. Krakatoa then unleashed a cataclysmic eruption on the world in 1883. This eruption drew global attention to natural disasters and also altered the dynamics of artistic movement worldwide. The ecological vibrations caused by the eruption’s magma chamber crossed geographical locations, becoming sources of inspiration, imagination, and reflection that transcended its physical boundaries. Krakatoa remained calm from February 1884 until June 1927. Eventually, a basaltic magma eruption occurred at the center of the Krakatoa complex on June 11, 1930, marking the birth of Anak Krakatoa, which continues to grow every second, with each heartbeat.
Learning from Krakatoa’s eruption, which affected all aspects of life—social, economic, political, botanical, and artistic—gives it a broader meaning than just a geographical location. Krakatoa is not only a narrative of chaos caused by disaster but also a source of regenerative knowledge for the world’s future. It reflects our existence as humans, prompting a spiritual journey, evolution, and transformation to become part of the vibrations of coexistence within a complex ecological network. For centuries, humans have considered themselves the center of the world but remain powerless when faced with the impacts of their extractive actions on the nature/environment. At the same time, the nature/environment regenerates itself with secret recipes without human intervention.
Instead of creating works about ecology and falling into the trap of ‘greenwashing,’ how can we work together with and within ecology? Instead of lamenting the ecological crisis, human vulnerability, and striving to master the tools of power that create the ecological crisis, what forms of struggle and practice can we undertake to regain our relational identity and the possibilities of shared joy and pleasure with other humans and entities that cannot be owned or experienced alone?
The dance work “Krakatoa: Boom, Homecoming, Cycle Chaos” grows from the effort to care for the relational body—a body with many centers, continuously seeking form, connecting, and rearranging itself within the history of the universe’s evolution. Caring for the relational body means positioning the body to reveal other forms of existence or vibrations within it, rather than treating the body as representational, a mere technical body, an anatomical body, or a self-centered sovereign body.
A self-sovereign body is a singular body imposed on us. However, there are always layers of mystery above our heads and beneath the stones, gravel, and dust we tread on, even within our own bodies. We need to release and multiply ourselves again, distorting our singular body and inhabiting a multiple self that continues to grow, pursuing different things and occupying different times, like deep time, which operates within Anak Krakatoa, where the tectonic layers of the volcano continue to vibrate, move, and connect with other volcanic mountains.
How do we experience different times simultaneously? (Our ancestors once did it.) This dance work is configured from how each dancer returns to ancestral knowledge that can see through many eyes, hear through many ears, and experience multiple selves. The multiple selves are created by releasing stereotypical dance representations embodied within each dancer. Releasing oneself creates spaces and different kinds of vibrations within the body, activating powers that are usually unseen, revealing unusual qualities and strengths in the performance.
Birds perched and swaying on organic or inorganic waste in the sea around Krakatoa appear calm, their strength hidden. Birds that hide their strength can rise, fly, and soar at any moment. Rather than appearing relaxed, birds are concentrating their energy in every cavity within their bodies. Someone must step aside to move forward. Thus, in imagining multiple selves, we need to consider what birds teach us about strength. What does Anak Krakatoa teach us about strength?
For this work, it is crucial to let something else touch and move through us, creating sensations, activating the body’s sensorium, and distancing us from selfishness. This returns to how we release ourselves to the frequency of vibrations from what might be considered inanimate—stones, concrete pillars, tree stumps, soil, gravel, dust, and more. Additionally, we need (at least to imagine) to learn from the little red insects (ladybugs) that one performer found atop Anak Krakatoa. The red ladybugs have learned the vibrations from Anak Krakatoa, and in turn, we learn those vibrations from the ladybugs transmitted through our bodies.
Even though the work involves artists and several choreographers from diverse cultural backgrounds and nations, it is not an intercultural performance. It does not highlight identity politics or claim universality over cultural diversity. Instead, the work focuses on how we can enhance each creator’s movement capacity to give and share resources. This movement can bring the creation process into a place of vibrations and reverence, leading everyone to a transformation born from overcoming oneself through the sensory ethical practice of care and acknowledgment of interdependence.
At a certain point, this work believes that the quality of relational energy vibrations nurtured in the process will also allow the audience to feel the same vibrations, opening space, evacuating ourselves from times that hold us back, embracing ourselves, and weaving ourselves into differences. As an initiative of the Tubaba cultural movement’s vision to “Return/Back to the Future,” this work is envisioned to be a catalyst for promoting sustainable, respectful, responsible, and reciprocal cultural processes that can radically reconnect humans with each other and with other visible and invisible entities.
Tim produksi:
Production:
Sekolah Seni Tubaba
Performers/Dancers:
Ahmad Faizal
Hakiki Darojat Saputra
John Heryanto
Kiki Windarti
Khusnul Khotimah
Naya Isnaini
Nina Nailatul Muna
Nirvana Ratu Vatunisa
Nur Rohman
Choreographers:
Isvhara Devati (Indonesia)
Jump Tassakorn (Thailand)
Kitamari (Japan)
Wen-Di Wu (China)
Dramaturg:
Taufik Darwis
Sound Composer/Designer:
Kurt D. Peterson (USA)
Musicians:
Lawe Samagaha
Edythia Rio Wirawan
Sanggar Pakem
Costume Designer:
Widi Asari
Tailor:
Sugeng Sentosa
Videographers:
Aufaris and team
Stage Manager:
Pahrul Gunawan
English 
Bahasa Indonesia