The Gondwana Choir and Suara Indonesia Dance—performing the traditional Acehnese dance Ratueh Duek, recently returned from a tour of Malaysia and Singapore. What did the tour preparation and process entail? How did audiences in these two neighboring countries respond?
Alfira O’Sullivan is the artistic director, founder, and a dancer with Suara Indonesia Dance, while Murtala serves as co-director, choreographer, and dancer. Hailing from Aceh, Murtala is considered a guardian of cultural heritage, specializing in body percussion and traditional Acehnese seated dance.
Touring internationally is nothing new for Suara Indonesia Dance. However, their performances of the traditional Acehnese dance *Ratueh Duek* in Singapore and Malaysia this July truly underscored Murtala’s role—through his protégés—as an ambassador of cultural diplomacy, while simultaneously solidifying the status of *Ratueh Duek* as a traditional Acehnese dance.
Beyond the highly appreciative audience response, Murtala—who accompanied the young Australian dancers—felt proud and heartened by his students' performances. In their interview with SBS Indonesian, Murtala and Alfira O’Sullivan described the preparations for and execution of the tour. Murtala, in particular, could clearly see how that discipline had instilled a sense of responsibility, cultural understanding, and pride in each of the students.
