President Jokowi Welcomes Indonesian Artist Butet Kartaredjasa at Merdeka Palace

President Jokowi, accompanied by Minister of State Secretary Pratikno, welcomes Indonesian artist Butet Kartaredjasa at Merdeka Palace in Jakarta, Thursday (08/03) (Photo by: BPMI of Presidential Secretariat)

President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo, accompanied by Minister of State Secretary Pratikno, Thursday (08/03) welcomed Indonesian artist Butet Kartaredjasa at Merdeka Palace in Jakarta.

On that occasion, Butet presented a dance made by the Bagong Kusudiardjo art workshop in Yogyakarta that reflects cultural diversity in the Nusantara Capital (IKN).

“The dance’s name is Nusantara Etam meaning that Our Nusantara,” he said in his statement after meeting with the President.

Butet said that people who will reside in the IKN come from diverse ethnic groups, including Dayak, Kutai, Javanese, Malay, Bugis, and others. Therefore, the dance was made to reflect the IKN’s cultural diversity.

“The dance also reflects a spirit to prove that Indonesia’s diversity, if united, will be magnificent,” he added.

Butet went on to say that President Jokowi expressed his appreciation to the six-minute-long dance named Nusantara Etam, while underscoring that the dance will be performed to the public.

Furthermore, Butet said that the purpose of creating the concept of the dance is to establish cultural roots in the IKN.

“It aims to build cultural roots considering that the IKN was originally a forest, empty with only trees, and the Government’s current focus is on developing physical infrastructure. In the future, the IKN will be inhabited by people—humans who can interact with each other. In order to achieve [good interaction among people], they need to have cultural roots, a sense of cultural cohesion,” he remarked. (BPMI of Presidential Secretariat/UN) (AP/MUR)