#KartiniDalamLelaki: Didik Nini Thowok, a Masculine Female Dancer

Kapanlagi.com - Who doesn't know Didik Nini Thowok? He is an Indonesian dance maestro. One of the dancers who is a pride of Indonesia. His consistency in art and career has made him known internationally.

Not only in Indonesia, he is also widely known internationally. In every performance, Didik always manages to showcase new uniqueness. As for his agility in dancing? It doesn't need to be doubted anymore. He always presents charm and mesmerizes the audience.

The uniqueness of Didik Nini Thowok's dance lies in each movement that creates an extraordinary admiration. He always tries to present a dance with a high artistic taste. On stage, he performs as a woman, wearing kebaya, wearing a bun, and wearing full makeup.

And one more characteristic of his is that he often wears a mask as one of his dance instruments. He wears the mask behind his head. It's as if in the dance, there are two figures. He gracefully sways and then turns to show another figure through the mask. He has even mastered several types of dances in Indonesia.

When it comes to awards or forms of appreciation, there is certainly no end to it. Being a maestro certainly has its ups and downs in life. Therefore, awards often flood him.

Starting from domestic awards such as the Original Rekor Indonesia Award for his achievements as a dance artist, Soedarpo Award, and Cultural Award Governor of Indonesia. He also received awards from abroad such as the Indonesian Consulate of Kobe and Sultan Haji Hassanal Bolkiah Brunei. However, these awards are just a glimpse of all the awards he has received.

That's a glimpse of Didik Nini Thowok's story when performing on stage. What about everything outside of that? What is the life of the man whose real name is Didik Hadiprayitno? Is he as flamboyant as when he is dancing on stage? Actually not.

Like most artists, he remains in his circle of passion. Whether on stage or outside of it, in his daily life he still engages with dance. He truly loves dance and it is a part of his life, flowing through his veins.

What's even more amazing is that he can balance himself and how he presents himself on stage and in his daily life. Of course, in his daily life, he will appear as he is. Without makeup, without a bun, and without wearing a costume, of course.

Indeed, he leads a simple life. He is also friendly towards others. His humorous nature makes him easy to get along with people he just met.

Outside of the stage, he is a dance instructor, a speaker at seminars, and participates in various social actions. He also has his own dance studio called Sanggar Tari Natya Lakshita, which was founded on February 2, 1980.

The studio has developed, not only as a regular studio but also as an educational and training institution (LPK). Besides dancing, there are also choreography classes, make-up classes, and performance management.

He has shown his interest since childhood. At the age of 12, he started learning dance. Especially in his childhood, his grandmother had a great influence on his life. His grandmother taught him how to teach skills to other women, such as sewing, embroidery, and other crafts.

He prefers to dance as a woman because he realizes that he is destined to do so. His childhood dance teacher also said that he is more suitable for dancing as a woman. Because of his attitude, he became the subject of ridicule by his friends. He just let the mockery go without responding.

Over time, this graduate of ASTI (Indonesian Dance Academy) started to believe in himself. From stage to stage, from performance to performance, self-confidence formed and he began to dare to perform in front of the public. Because experience speaks.

Being a man who is also a dancer is not a bad thing. Especially for figures like Didik Nini Thowok or even others, they are a bridge.

They balance tradition, when others have left the existing tradition and follow the rapid modernization. People like them understand. Because tradition is Indonesian culture. Greetings to culture!

(kpl/gen)