Klojen (malangkota.go.id) – 100 students of St. Maria I Catholic Middle School Malang performed the Grebeg Sabrang Mask Dance at the 116th National Awakening Day Commemoration in Malang City which was held in the front yard of Malang City Hall, Monday (20/5/2024).
Grebeg Sabrang Mask Dance is a dance that has a gallant nature shown through large volume movements. This dance has the meaning of grebeg/garebeg, which is accompanied by bala akeh or accompanied by many soldiers. Depicting a line of soldiers who depart to carry out the King's command, the dancers leave the Paseban towards the Alun-alun. The red mask and costume are symbols that the Sabrang character has a brave and mysterious nature.
Deputy Principal for Public Relations (Waka Humas) of SMPK St. Maria 1, Galuh Triatmojo, S.Pd said that this dance is also one of the Pancasila Student Profile Strengthening Projects (P5) in the Merdeka Curriculum which raises the theme of local wisdom to be used as a foundation for education. "The hope is to be able to present a situation so that students are closer to their environment so that a sense of belonging and preserving local cultural values grows," he explained.
Furthermore, Galuh said that the process of learning this dance is not just about knowing and practicing the choreography, but also accompanied by an in-depth study of the history and meaning to making dance costume accessories. "The process of activities starts from approximately three months by learning the history, then the basic movements, then making jamang (head accessories), painting the masks, and making ronce. All of this is done by the children themselves during P5 learning hours," he explained.
The mass dance performance involved 93 8th grade students and seven 7th grade students who participated in the traditional dance extracurricular activity. "Of course they are very proud of what they showed earlier, especially since most of them are children who do not have a background as dancers. They looked happy to be able to complete the challenge for themselves," he concluded. (ari/yon)
