Two dance events attended by tens of thousands of participants were held in Jakarta and other cities. Apart from promoting the upcoming 2018 Asian Games and celebrate Independence Day, the events also aimed to break a Guinness World Record.
It was just 6 a.m. on Sunday (5/8/2018), but the National Monument (Monas) square had turned into a sea of people. Among the huge crowd was Henri Jonathan, 17, a 12th-grader at SMAN 106 Jakarta state high school. Along with thousands of people wearing colorful ethnic costumes, Henri wished to be part of the Largest Poco-Poco Dance Guinness World Records (GWR) event, an attempt to set a world record with the largest number of participants doing the poco-poco dance.
Henri said he could do the dance well when he’s on his own. However, doing it synchronized with thousands of other people would not be easy. After two tries, Henri and the other dancers could dance in sync and relatively smoothly.
“Making everyone dance in sync is harder than memorizing the dance,” he said.
Dinongpermai aerobics team member Aris, 50, said he and his teammates, who were from Karawaci, Tangerang, had practiced the dance twice a week since May.
Dharma Pertiwi group member Dedy Muhibah said his group had practiced for the event for two months, which they did not think was enough, but they used the time well to practice the dance. In the event, police and military personnel, civil servants, students and representatives of various religious groups danced together joyfully.
State officials also immersed themselves in joy on Sunday morning. President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo, Vice President Jusuf Kalla and several ministers also participated in the dance.
“Have a good poco-poco! May we all be healthy, for healthy people make a strong country,” the President told the audience.
Jakarta Governor Anies Baswedan said the practice and hard work of tens of thousands of participants paid off in the event. He added that it was a milestone in the global promotion of Indonesian cultures.
The event’s head of program, Lily Greta Karmel, said 65,000 people participated in the dance, filling up the streets from Jl. Jenderal Sudirman to Jl. MH Thamrin in downtown Jakarta. Some 25,000 military and police personnel filled Monas square and 40,000 lined up on the streets between Dukuh Atas and Semanggi.
Lily said each group of 50 dancers in the event had practiced with one trainer, selected by the organizing committee through an audition process.
“The event is rich with Nusantara [the nation’s] culture. The dances include an Acehnese dance at the opening and Papuan dance for the closing. In the middle, we included dance moves from other regions, such as Bali and Kalimantan,” she said.
“Poco-Poco” is an Ambonese song written by Arie Sapulette and popularized by singer Yopie Latul in the 2000s. It is often accompanied by a dance, famed for its lively beat and dynamic moves.
The plan to book a poco-poco record was reportedly first proposed by First Lady Iriana Joko Widodo in 2015. However, preparations only began in June this year.
Harmoni Indonesia
Not only the poco-poco dance shook Jakarta on Sunday morning. Since dawn, people had flocked to Parkir Timur Senayan in red-and-white clothes to participate in the 2018 Harmoni Indonesia event. When President Jokowi came and stood on the stage, everyone clapped and cheered.
Led by composer Addie MS, around 2,500 participants in the event sang national songs together. After the national anthem of “Indonesia Raya”, the participants sang “Satu Nusa Satu Bangsa” (One Land One Nation), “Garuda Pancasila”, “Rayuan Pulau Kelapa” (Charms of the Coconut Island) and “Bagimu Negeri” (For You My Homeland).
“I arrived here at 4 a.m. My son was so enthusiastic in joining the singing,” said Dina, who brought his son Dimas, a fifth-grader.
Rini Budi, who came with her husband and children, said she was happy to be able to come there and sing with other people.
“I bring my children here as I want to foster their nationalist spirit,” she said.
President Jokowi said he hoped the event would nurture people’s spirit of unity, harmony and nationalism. Nationalism and harmony are among the nation’s two largest assets, he added.
Harmoni Indonesia national committee chair Firdaus Ali said the event was important to maintain Indonesians’ sense of unity and nationalism (E18/E16/INA/E07/E06)