Mugiyono Kasido

Rooted in the classical Javanese dance tradition, Mugiyono creates movement that brings together heritage, poetry, and contemporary life. His work has captivated audiences around the world, and this afternoon you can experience one of Indonesia’s most acclaimed performing artists under the open sky in the garden next to turkis.

Mugiyono Kasido is one of Indonesia's most celebrated contemporary choreographers and performers, and the founder of Mugiyono Dance Company, based in Solo (Surakarta), Central Java — one of the historic centers of Javanese classical dance culture.

Mugiyono's work draws deeply on classical Javanese movement philosophy while engaging boldly with contemporary performance, social critique, and intercultural exchange. His solo work The Rumors (Kabar Kabur), created in the aftermath of the fall of the Suharto regime, uses the body as a site of political reckoning — examining the chaos and moral disorder of post-authoritarian Indonesian society. His work Searching for the Eye of the Temple, inspired by the carved reliefs of the Prambanan temple, was praised at the Gothenburg Festival for "injecting the vitality of modern dance into ancient art."

Mugiyono has presented work at Lincoln Center Festival, the Walker Arts Center, the Hong Kong Arts Festival, Centre National de la danse in Paris, the Dublin Dance Festival, and dozens of international venues across Asia, Europe, North America, and Africa. His extensive record of cross-cultural collaboration — with artists from Thailand, South Korea, Japan, Sweden, Ecuador, and the United States — makes him one of contemporary dance's most recognized global voices.