Malang, (malangkota.go.id) –Malang, (malangkota.go.id) – The implementation of the commemoration of the 77th Anniversary of the Independence of the Republic of Indonesia was also enlivened by representatives of high school students (SMA) in Malang City.
The students were divided into several performers, including poetry readers, poetry musical accompaniment, and also a choir team. Appearing as national poetry readers were Atanasius Ganang Widyatama and Naswa Yasmin Pramesti. Both came from SMA Negeri 8 Malang City, and Joan Sabrina Aulia from SMA Negeri Taruna Nala East Java.
The three students successfully passed the selection process conducted by the Youth, Sports and Tourism Agency (Disporapar) of Malang City for dozens of students in all high schools in Malang City.
"We were initially included in the selection for poetry readers at the city hall. The process was that we made a video of a poem that had been performed before, then we made a video by rereading the poem," explained Atan, Atanasius' nickname, when asked about the process of being selected as this year's national poetry reader at the Malang City Hall, Wednesday (18/8/2022).
After being selected, the three students underwent a training process for approximately 1,5 months with direct guidance from the Malang City Disporapar. During the training, the students were not only trained to read poetry, but also to appreciate and understand the meaning of the poetry they read.
"If you count from the selection to the practice, it took us about a month and a half to practice reading poetry, getting to know the poetry, its meaning and adjusting the poetry to the music, because this is a musicalization of poetry," said Joan.
After going through an intensive training process for 1,5 months, these three students performed stunningly in turns in front of hundreds of guests and the public who attended the ceremony this morning.
Atan himself appeared at the beginning by reading two poems accompanying the songs Hari Merdeka and Api Kemerdekaan. Then Naswa appeared by reading a poem accompanying the song Tanah Air, and followed by a poetry reading performance from Joan accompanying the song Indonesia Jiwaku.
When asked about her impressions of being one of the performers of the independence event in Malang City, Joan admitted that she was very happy and proud. For her, the implementation of the August 17th ceremony this year felt so special. Not only because she could take part in the excitement, but also because of the feeling of relief after not being able to do the same thing for the previous two years.
According to him, this is also one way to give meaning to this year's Independence Day. After experiencing various restrictions for two years due to the Covid-19 pandemic, now everything can gradually be done again. For him, this is like a second independence for the Indonesian nation.
"If in the past we were limited by the colonizers, now we are limited by Covid. We know how it feels to not do the things we used to do routinely. So this is like we are getting a second independence. So this is the time for us to rise and start over," he concluded.
Sending a musical performance of poetry from the three students, also appearing as a violinist, a student of SMP Santa Maria 2 Malang City, Michelle. For Michelle. This is her second appearance at Malang City Hall after previously appearing on the same occasion three years ago. Meanwhile, the students of SMA Negeri 7 Malang City performed perfectly as a choir, by performing several national compulsory songs for aubade and serenade. (ayu/ram)
