Organizer: Asia Society and Museum; AICEF

Type/Location: In Person / New York, NY

Prehistoric Body Theater

Description:

This performance also takes place on Sunday, June 29th, 3 p.m.

In this performance by the Prehistoric Body Theater ensemble, Indonesian dancers channel prehistoric dinosaurs as they explore themes of mass extinction, climate crisis, and evolutionary ancestry through movement. Praised as “an innovative form of global public outreach for paleontology” (Oxford University Press), the company fuses animal movement with traditional dance and experimental Javanese percussion. Co-created with Indigenous Indonesian performing artists, Prehistoric Body Theater collaborates with international scientists to craft performances informed by cutting-edge paleontology—uniting art, science, and a deep commitment to nature conservation.

About the Performance:

66 million years ago, a massive asteroid struck Earth with the force of a billion atomic bombs. The resulting apocalyptic extinction, which ended the 150-million-year reign of dinosaurs, is preserved in the fossils of Montana’s Hell Creek Formation. In this prehistoric world, the feathered raptor Acheroraptor prowled with elegance and grace before its annihilation in the fires of mass extinction. Yet amidst the devastation, a miracle emerged: humanity’s earliest primate ancestor, Purgatorius, survived the chaos and thrived on the first fruits of a reborn world.

For Prehistoric Body Theater's debut tour to the United States, Stone Garuda brings this prehistoric drama to life in a special touring edition of their large-scale production Ghosts of Hell Creek. The performance features the company's iconic biomimetic animal movement infused with the performers' deep backgrounds in Indonesian traditional dance, sculpted by their distinctive costume aesthetic of full-body textured clay makeup and iconic prosthetic enhancements, creating a portal to Earth's prehistoric past.

Stone Garuda celebrates the elegant mating rituals of Acheroraptor, brought vividly to life through the phenomenon of lekking—a biological ritual where males display their feathers, calls, and dances, while females hold ultimate power through their choice of mate. Fusing these ancient behaviors with inspirations from East Java's romantic Gandrung courtship dance tradition, accompanied by an original gamelan score by Hangsun Gandrung, Stone Garuda creates an unforgettable encounter with our evolutionary past—where dinosaurs dance on the edge of extinction while the seeds of our own ancestry take root.

About Prehistoric Body Theater:

Prehistoric Body Theater (PBT) is an experimental art-science performance company based at the “Nest,” their collective jungle studio in Central Java, Indonesia. The ensemble consists of indigenous Indonesian dancers and performing artists, all steeped in traditional and ritual dance lineages from across the archipelago. Together, the ensemble is united by a shared passion for nature conservation, creative egalitarian community building, and adventure into the unknown.

Prehistoric Body Theater's work is a synthesis of traditional dance techniques and cultural practices, cutting-edge experimental stagecraft, and ongoing collaborative research. They work closely with an international panel of mentor scientists, who help craft dance characters and narratives deeply informed by the latest paleontological theory and evidence.

The initial concept for PBT was conceived by Ari Dharminalan Rudenko, executive and artistic director. Ari launched the project in 2017 at the Indonesian Institute for the Arts Surakarta with the first cohort of dancers. As the PBT creative family expands, Ari continues to develop PBT while pursuing a Ph.D. in Dance Creation Studies at the Art Institute, writing a bilingual dissertation on our interdisciplinary methodology and first flagship project Ghosts of Hell Creek. 

Registration:

To attend the event in person, please purchase tickets here.