Ayuka

 Ayu Permata Sari (Lampung, Indonesia)

Ayaka Nakama (Kobe, Japan)

AYUKA

(collaborative work, work in progress)

Photo by Hironari Sakashita

Ayu and Ayaka are two choreographers and dancers brought together by Dance Box (Kobe) and Paradance (Yogyakarta) to get to know and understand each other's processes. With the platform's theme and intention of "artist introductions", Ayu and Ayaka shared about their dance process, lifestyle, family, culture, attitudes, beliefs, perspectives as women in dance, and decisions in their lives.

This process was done very casually without any tendency other than to get acquainted and establish friendship, as well as a relationship between two women who work as dance artists. The process began in early 2022 with online introductions and sending packages between countries. Face-to-face meetings took place in late 2022 and early 2023 with visits to each other's countries, cities and families.

Ayu and Ayaka realized that they had some things in common (such as being a dancer, choreographer, age, female and human), as well as many things that were different. The process of reading, listening, understanding, adaptation, tolerance and empathy when meeting and communicating happens naturally. The deeper process, when Ayu reads, understands and listens to Ayaka's way of thinking, Ayaka as a Japanese citizen, with the culture and environment in Kobe makes Ayaka indirectly explain her country, culture and environment from her own perspective and experience, and vice versa. So that indirectly the identity, beliefs, ecosystem, behavior and character of the state participate in coloring the process of Ayu and Ayaka.

The meeting and process that Ayu and Ayaka go through is quite random, relaxed, intimate and at the same time distant (distant and unfamiliar) in understanding each other. However, when it comes to "relationships", the nature, feeling, and attitude of attraction, weight, distance, tension and a stable position are common in relationships between humans, nature and God. Speaking of differences and distance in this process, Ayu and Ayaka understand that they "grow" from different "places". The differences between Ayu and Ayaka make the process of recognizing and understanding each other quite close, even beyond the boundaries of professional work itself. Ayu and Ayaka feel that this process is a process of becoming sisters, and this kind of closeness is common in Indonesia and even in some Asian countries, where family values are still highly valued. So the concept of "distance" between Ayu and Ayaka became the main focus in this process.

Ayu and Ayaka try to reflect back on the meeting that has occurred by using the materials encountered and used in the process of previous meetings such as clothing, food, photos, videos, sound, family, language and movement. Ayu and Ayaka agreed to unpack and deepen each moment they shared with each other to be re-critiqued. Deepening the moments that have been shared and experienced together is an attempt to read the concept of distance between these two women dance artists (Ayu and Ayaka), as well as to reinterpret the meaning of a "relationship" in each other's lives.

Ayuka is a combination of the names Ayu and Ayaka, Ayuka is a representation of the distance relationship between Ayu and Ayaka that occurs during this process. Ayuka is also a method for Ayu and Ayaka to continue connecting as dance artists in a work of art.