More Than 8,000 Participants #Dancinginmall Simultaneously in 11 Cities in Indonesia

The enthusiasm of thousands of dance lovers finally came to fruition in the Indonesia Menari 2025 event, which officially kicked off simultaneously today in 11 cities across Indonesia. A total of over 8,000 participants took part in this annual event. To further expand access to cultural participation for the community, Indonesia Menari 2025 returns to six major cities: Jakarta, Bandung, Semarang, Medan, Makassar, and Palembang, and for the first time visits five new cities: Surabaya, Balikpapan, Manado, Bekasi, and Karawang. The addition of this city reflects the spirit of engaging more dance enthusiasts from various regions.

The participants in Indonesia Menari 2025 come from diverse backgrounds, ranging from millennials, dance studios, dance enthusiast communities, to representatives from schools and universities across Indonesia. They showcased their best dancing skills together in an effort to compete for a total prize of tens of millions of rupiah offered by Indonesia Kaya. This event was not only a competition but also a celebration that revived the richness of Indonesian performing arts thru a modern and interactive approach.

Registration for Indonesia Menari 2025 officially closed on September 26th. We are grateful for the high level of attention and response from the Indonesian public in participating in this activity. Overall, the total number of applicants reached 35,000 people, with the 25-35 age group being the largest at 42%. Generally, there were no significant differences in the demographic composition of applicants compared to previous years. The most notable differences were in the total number of applicants and the widening age range, from 5 to 70 years old. This increase in the number of applicants was influenced by the growing number of host cities year after year and because many people were eagerly awaiting the return of the Indonesia Menari event," explained Billy Gamaliel, Program Manager of Indonesia Kaya.

The young age group, 16 to 24 years old, also showed strong participation at 30%, followed by participants under 15 years old at 20%. Meanwhile, Indonesia Menari 2025 was attended by approximately 8% of participants over 36 years old. In terms of gender, registration was dominated by women, accounting for 77%, far exceeding the number of male applicants, which was only 23%. Surabaya had the highest number of applicants, reaching nearly 9,000 people. Among the 11 cities, Palembang had the largest participant quota, reaching 1,200 people.

Entering its 10th year, Indonesia Menari is even more special this year as it coincides with the 12th anniversary celebration of Galeri Indonesia Kaya. Since its inception in 2012, Indonesia Menari has consistently served as a platform for appreciating Nusantara dance, presented in a modern, fresh, and inclusive format.

This year, Indonesia Menari is presented as a group dance consisting of a minimum of five and a maximum of seven people, open to anyone regardless of age or background. All participants are required to wear modern ethnic-themed costumes and perform the dance choreography without any changes, but the floor patterns and composition within the choreography can be developed by the participants.

Indonesia Menari 2025 features a special choreography by Bathara Saverigadi Dewandoro, a dancer, choreographer, and director of wayang drama. He is a young figure in the art of dance who won first place in Indonesia's Got Talent and earned Gold Medals in the Traditional Dance Sport category at the 2024 PON. He is also the Art Director at Swargaloka Art. In his work, Bathara highlights the distinctive hand movement details from various regions in Indonesia.

The choreography was accompanied by a medley of 8 regional songs, modernly arranged by Alffy Rev, including Sinanggar Tulo from North Sumatra; Kicir-Kicir from DKI Jakarta; Cing Cangkeling from West Java; Anging Mamiri from South Sulawesi; Rek Ayo Rek from East Java; Indung-Indung from East Kalimantan; Si Patokaan from North Sulawesi; and Rasa Sayange from Maluku, creating a unique harmony between tradition and contemporary music.

Following the format in all cities, all participants will dance simultaneously for two rounds precisely at 13:00 WIB. After the simultaneous dance, the field judges will select the best group in each zone to advance as finalists, where they will perform the dance again on the main stage. The winner will be determined by the main judges, namely representatives from Indonesia Kaya and the artists who have kept the Indonesian dance scene alive. The judges evaluated based on cohesion, creativity in floor patterns and choreographic composition, and the collective spirit of the participants.

Here is a breakdown of the city, event location, judges, and number of participants:

No	City	Event Place	Judges	Number of Participants
1	Medan	Sun Plaza	Hartati Indonesian Contemporary Choreographer and Dance Director	700 participants
2	Palembang	PTC Mall Palembang	Reza Muhammad Choreographer and General Chairman of Atraksi Indonesia	1.200 participants
3	Karawang	Resinda Park Mall	Nungki Kusumastuti Artists, Dancers, and Choreographers   Ufa Sofura Contemporary Dancer, Choreographer, and Dance Instructor	1.000 participants
4	Bekasi	Pakuwon Mall	Takako Leen Dance Instructor and Choreographer	750 participants
5	Jakarta	Grand Indonesia	Rianto Lengger Dance Master	600 participants
6	Bandung	23 Paskal Shopping Centre	Gianti Giadi Choreographer and Founder of Gigi Art of Dance	700 participants
7	Semarang	The Park Mall	Rosmala Sari Dewi Professional Choreographers and Indonesian Traditional Dancers	750 participants
8	Surabaya	Ciputra World	Bathara Saverigadi Dewandoro Indonesian Dancers and Choreographers Perform	1.000 participants
9	Balikpapan	Pentacity Mall	Maria Darmaningsih Development of Indonesian Contemporary Choreography	540 participants
10	Makassar	Trans Studio Mall	Eko Supriyanto Contemporary Dancers and Choreographers	750 participants
11	Manado	Manado Town Square	Didik Nini Thowok Maestro of Tari Indonesia	500 participants

After going thru the selection and evaluation process, here are the winners in Jakarta:

1st Place: Elpro Art Dance team Chira (received a development grant of Rp 15,000,000)

2nd Place: Kujang Kendana Budaya Dance Art (received a development grant of Rp 12,500,000)

3rd Place: Lantara SMAN 90 (received a development grant of Rp 10,000,000)

 

In addition, one winning group will be selected for the favorite costume category in each city, which will be announced on October 21, 2025 via the Instagram account @indonesia_kaya. The organization of Indonesia Menari 2025 is also supported by Savoria, Wings Group Indonesia, Dermaster, and Derma Express. High appreciation is also given to media colleagues who served as a bridge to disseminate information about this event, as well as dance enthusiasts throughout Indonesia.

Thru #MenaridiMall, we're not just showcasing dance, but celebrating diversity by moving together. We congratulate the winners and express our deepest appreciation to all participants who have demonstrated their enthusiasm, creativity, and love for Indonesian culture. "Hopefully, Indonesia Menari will continue to be an inspiration for current and future generations to preserve the Nusantara heritage," concluded Billy.