Dwipantara Creative, as a representative of Conseil International des Organisations de Festivals de Folklore et dArts Traditionnels (CIOFF) Indonesia, will make an appearance at the opening event of the Cultures Croises en le-de-France 2016 at the UNESCO building, which will be attended by Indonesian delegate to UNESCO Professor Fauzi Soelaiman.
Indonesias Ambassador to UNESCO Fauzi informed Antara in London on Monday that he felt pride that Indonesia, with its strong culture, was contributing to the festivities.
Through this event, Fauzi hoped that French citizens, along with the audience from across the globe, will be encouraged to visit Indonesia, by witnessing the various cultures in person. He was also optimistic that the event would help to increase foreign tourist arrivals in Indonesia in line with the governments program to boost the countrys tourism sector.
The Croises en le-de-France Association annually holds various traditional dance and music festivals at cultural and art centers in Paris and its surrounding areas.
CIOFF, an association established to serve as a platform for cultural and art exchanges, performs traditional art shows from several countries in the world as well as holds cross-cultural dialog, all in the spirit of promoting world peace.
The Indonesian Arts Mission will also participate in the festival in Guadeloupe City in the Caribbean Islands, which is a part of the French territory, despite its location outside the metropolitan area. The Cultures Croises en le-de-France Festival is currently being held as it was opened on July 2 and will end on July 15 in Paris and Anjou, France.
Several countries are participating in the Cultures Croises en le-de-France 2016 festival to showcase their folk dances and music. Various forms of arts and crafts are also on display and for sale, which go hand in hand as part of the cultural exchange between the participants.
Dwipantara Creative will perform eight traditional Indonesian dances accompanied by live Indonesian music. They will also be bringing unique Indonesian arts as souvenirs to be showcased at the festival.
Indonesia is home to hundreds of traditional dances and has a rich cultural heritage, bearing in mind its ethnic diversity. For instance, the "Gending Sriwijaya" dance form from Palembang, which was performed for the Kings of the Sriwijaya Kingdom during their rule. The dance is usually performed by women in odd numbers, and it could be five, seven, or nine dancers. Randai Badantian is a blend of Randai Dance and Piring (plate) Dance from Minangkabau, West Sumatra.
Cultures Croises en le-de-France is an association incorporated in the CIOFF, an international organization working with the UNESCO based in Confolens, France.
Since 1970, CIOFF has been making steady efforts as well as promoting traditional arts in cooperation with 110 countries and more than 300 traditional art festivals across the globe. CIOFF also supports world peace and anti-violence campaigns by promoting cultural exchange between countries through dance, music, rituals, and customs.
Since 1981, CIOFF Indonesia had sent its teams to several countries. Apart for the peace efforts, CIOFF Indonesia acts as a bridge to improve Indonesias bilateral relationship with other countries. This year, CIOFF Indonesia has sent Dwipantara Creative to represent the country at the Cultures Croises en le-de-France 2016 Festival alongside several nations from around the world.
(Reported by Zeynita Gibbons/Uu.KR-ARC/INE/KR-BSR/H-YH)
Editor: Priyambodo RH
Copyright © ANTARA 2016
