Indonesian Silat Traditional Dance & Theater ~ A Study in Traditional Silat

Indonesian Silat Traditional Dance & Theater ~ A Study in Traditional Silat Manoa’s Kennedy Theatre hosted Luck and Loss: Manadin’s Gamble, a traditional Indonesian Randai in English in January and February 2006. ’ This West Sumatran folk play featured martial arts, dance, singing, music and pants-slapping percussion. Luck and Loss: Manadin’s Gamble is a coming-of-age story about love, gambling and adventure. It is a tale of romance, mischief and combat that is encased in percussive and energetic dance sequences. This film showcases the Randai theater of the Minangkabau of West Sumatra, one of over 250 different ethnic groups in the Indonesian archipelago. Randai is a folk tradition which incorporates music, singing, dance, drama and the silat martial art. Randai is usually performed for traditional ceremonies and festivals, and complex stories may span a number of nights. It is performed as a theatre-in-the-round to achieve an equality and unity between audience members and t