Surviving more than 30 years in the world of dance is not a short time. But because of his love, Bimo Wiwohatmo has always been faithful in the tail world. Until now dozens of choreographic works have been staged. Actually, what spirit made him willing to fall up and down in the world of dance choreography? "Since I was little, I have wanted to be an artist. And I have been dancing Javanese since I was 10 years old." That childhood experience opened her career as a dancer and choreographer to reach the international level.
Bimo Wiwohatmo was born on May 12, 1957, he never received formal education in the field of dance, he instead entered SSRI to study
art in Yogyakarta. Then in 1978 he studied at Bagong Kussudiarjo. For almost 13 years he joined the Bagong hermitage. Until finally decided to go out and make their own works. Even though while at Padepokan Bagong he had created a dance piece which was very popular among children, "Blek Dit dot". It's not easy to make a solo show, but it's a choice and must be implemented. Bimo's first dance work was "Komposi Zero" and continued with "Kubus-Kubus" in 1985. His choreography offered new innovations, because he was very fond of experimenting with the visual side of the stage. His educational background in Fine Arts did not just disappear, on the contrary strengthens his choreographic works. "In creating his work, a choreographer has his own concoction. Even though there are terms of laban notation, such as music musical notes, choreographers still don't have to follow those rules. I myself usually start from stage inspiration and lighting, and then together with the dancers create motion. Then the composition is sketched and plotted. Because often the dancers forget their movements," said Bimo.
For Bimo, tad is not only talking about technical matters of the body. In the creative process, the first thing to do is explore and find ideas and build imagination based on those ideas. Every element, be it sound, color, light, costumes, props and others can give a boost to the imagination in the creation process. That is why he is more concerned with contemporary art, because he finds space for unlimited creativity, not bound by anything. Freedom of expression and the absence of any ties is the dream of an artist, without any judgment of right and wrong. According to Bimo, the biggest challenge for a contemporary tad choreographer is to create a dance that has never been done by anyone else. Originality and authenticity are very important. Then the idea factor becomes the main backbone in the creation process.
After going through a long creative process and spending a lot of money, in 1991 he received an invitation from the People's Association, Singapore, to give a dance creativity workshop for the Malay dance community for 3 months. He then took up modern dance. In his meeting with Izumi Nagano --a Japanese dancer and music composer-- Bimo created the experimental Banta' dance. A year later he founded the Bimo Dance Theater (1993) to accommodate and provide channels for artistic creativity to those who believe in freedom of expression, particularly in the field of dance.
Bimo Wiwohatmo's creativity was not in vain, after his name soared in the world of international tad, he began to move to hold an international tad festival in Yogyakarta. Thus was born "Interaction: Asian Modern Dance" in 1998, which involved choreographers from Japan. Singapore, Malaysia, and will expand its network by involving Canadian and German dancers. This was the only international tad event in Yogyakarta at that time. In the same year, Bimo held a Movement Exploration Workshop and lived in Singapore for over dad]. month. After that Bimo did more artistic activities in several countries such as Singapore, Malaysia and Japan.
Since 2005 Bimo has been involved in the Asia Tri Project, a performing arts festival platform jointly initiated by Korean and Japanese artists. Until now, he continues to produce works, both independently and in collaboration. Collaborated several times with senior choreographer Takeshi Watanabe from Kyoto Japan, as well as being the main choreographer for the World Culture Forum in Bali in 2016.
Bimo Wiwohatmo has given birth to masterpieces and held various dance events at home and abroad. He has proven that the art world continues to grow dynamically, despite problems with funding and facilities. Tad will continue to move to find his own way.
Some of his dance works: The Garden of The Sun (collaboration with Takashi Watanabe, Jogja -Kyoto, 2018); Lotus (collaboration with Takashi Watanabe, Jogja - Kyoto, 2014); Jiwa (collaboration with Takashi Watanabe, Jogja - Kyoto, 2008); Eight Repertoire (performed in Yogyakarta 1998), Events (GKJ, 1997), S