The Journey of Ratoh Jaroe Dance - Aceh
A Saung Budaya Dance Master Artist Dance Series
With special guest: Yusri “Dekgam” Saleh

In celebration of Saung Budaya’s 15 year anniversary, we are delighted to present to you our Master Artist Dance Series!

In these 2-day workshops, we begin the first day with a lecture understanding the origins and explore the history of some of Indonesia’s most prominent dance forms. We chat with incredible Master Artists who will give insight on the journey of these dances, the story behind the costumes, and where these dances are today. 
On the second day, we get physical and work with Saung Budaya Founder, Amalia Suryani, for a dance workshop in which we learn the movements of the dance we learned about the previous day. 

In March, we invite Yusri Saleh to take us on a Journey of Ratoh Jaroe Dance. The dance originated from Aceh, Indonesia, - the western most province in Indonesia, where majority of the population is Muslim. The Ratoh Jaroe dance is meant to be interpreted as praising god while sitting. The movements are accompanied by singing, reflecting the harmony of the Acehnese people.

Yusri Saleh, also known as DekGam, has the title of The King of Ratoh Jaroe. Born in Aceh in 1977, he is the man behind the glorified dance of Ratoh Jaroe in Jakarta. DekGam moved to Jakarta in the 90’s and since then has been actively promoting, teaching, and choreographing Ratoh Jaroe which made this dance a big hit amongst youths. His promotion of this dance goes beyond Jakarta, as he has also toured in many countries throughout Europe and Asia.

Find more information on the Saung Budaya website and purchase tickets here.