The Story of Anting Lambangsih, a LIDA Graduate Who Earned a Master's Degree, Expressing the Desire to Become an Educator While Continuing to Pursue the Arts

After completing her undergraduate degree, Anting immediately continued her education at the master's level. However, she chose a different field of study from her undergraduate degree. It is known that Anting studied at the Faculty of Performing Arts, Major in Karawitan at IS Yogyakarta.

Anting is pursuing a degree in Art Education at the Faculty of Language, Arts, and Culture at UNY. In an interview with KapanLagi.com, the owner of the full name Anting Retno Windhari Widodo mentioned the reason why she chose this master's program.

"Actually, I really want to become an educator; that is one of my dreams as a form of contribution and proof of my concern for the world of education. Therefore, I chose a different path, shifting from pure art to art education," said Anting.

Anting wants to complete her master's degree faster than the average, which is 1.5 years. However, the death of her mother became the biggest reason for Anting to bury that ambition. Fortunately, Anting, who was initially devastated, was able to rise again and complete her master's degree on time.

"God called my mother at the age of 49 just when I had my final semester exam. At that moment, I felt a loss of spirit; every time I wanted to rise again, it felt like there was nothing left to make me happy, and in the end, I tried to rise again and finally found a point of acceptance in the fourth semester as the semester that determined whether I would graduate on time or late," she said.

It is known that Anting reached the top 6 in LIDA 2021. Although she did not achieve the highest accolades, Anting's performances often received praise from both the judges and netizens.

After performing at LIDA, the girl who is now 26 years old continues to create in the field of art. Anting is known to have the ability to be both a singer and a pesinden equally well. Anting also mentioned that she enjoys both equally.

"I like both, sis. Being a pesinden is my way to introduce Indonesian culture to the world along with its beautiful kebaya, while dangdut serves as a way to make the Javanese language a popular language, which may still be known around Indonesia but I hope Javanese can become an interesting language for people abroad to learn," said Anting.

When she eventually becomes an educator or lecturer, Anting admits that she will continue her career in the art world as a singer or pesinden. She wants both to coexist.

"I hope to achieve my dream (to become an educator). Of course, I will continue my career in music, perhaps as an actor or as a creativity project, being part of the arts industry, because for me, art can be a form of self-healing. When I am on a stage performing to entertain many people with art and culture, (I am happy) to see their smiles, to see their satisfaction," concluded Anting.