In 2011, we began collaborating with Indonesian dancers Agus Margiyanto, Sandhidea Cahyo Narpati, and Boby Ari Setiawan. Together, we created many projects for the theater and on location in Europe and Indonesia, including GhostTrack and LIGHT, which toured extensively in Europe, Indonesia, and Singapore.
As part of our next collaboration, Farewell Future Welcome World (2026), we recently wrote the following letter to them.
Hi Boby, Sandhi and Agus,
How are you doing?
After seven years, we’ll finally meet again. Life has moved on — you got married, had children, developed your own careers; we’re still busy creating performances, now with a new generation of dancers.
Am I right in thinking that this is also a fresh encounter for you — a reunion for the three of you? And with Iwan? Or have you stayed in touch or even collaborated over the past years? It was wonderful to hear your enthusiastic and unreservedly positive response to our invitation to reconnect.
The memory of our previous projects remains vivid, and the collaboration has profoundly influenced the way we think and work. It has given us hope during these difficult years, in which far-right politicians have gained power across Europe, declaring war on anything that comes from far.
Mutual respect, curiosity, openness, dedication, and generosity have made our encounters such a joy. That might sound a bit ‘politically correct’ — perhaps even dull — since conflict and tension are often said to lie at the heart of great art. Yet, in our view, creative controversy presupposes an ethical realm of equality — or, as you put it: Same but Different.
Looking ahead to our upcoming meeting and collaboration for Farewell Future Welcome World, we are eager to learn more about your individual artistic paths and quests: how your views and careers have evolved, how you see the role of art in society, what you believe it can contribute to the future, and what steps you’re taking to make that happen. Is art, for you, a cornerstone of culture or a luxury? How does it relate to contemporary technologies? Is it a personal spiritual journey, a space for humour and social connection, a way to generate energy or provoke reflection?
That kind of considerations.
What we all share is a curiosity about what tradition and history can offer the art of today and tomorrow. Which encounters and developments have had a major influence on your artistic evolution? I’m thinking of exchanges like ours — with colleagues in Asia, Europe, or the U.S. — as well as new developments such as digital media and Artificial Intelligence.
And there is one more quality I would like to add to the realm of equality: honesty. Are we always honest in what we tell the other, even when it is unpolite or improper? Which leads to the question: Do we know when we are sincere and honest? Can we be fully transparent to ourselves?
Many questions, please give it a moment to think about and maybe you can already send me a response, be it written or a video message. Or a dance!
Warm regards, also from Mbak Andrea,
Harijono
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A video response from Sandhidea to the letter.
