Jecko Siompo (Indonesia)

Jecko Siompo is unique for his choreographic style that embraces his deep aboriginal roots and love of hip-hop. A native of Papua in Irian Jaya, he believes traditional Papuan dance and hip-hop share something in common – they both draw their strength from the earth. Jecko began learning traditional dance at a young age and further trained at IKJ (Jakarta Institute for the Arts). He went on to learn hip-hop in the USA and spent some time at Folkwang Tanz Studio in Germany. He has received several accolades for youth achievement, as well as awards for choreography, including for Best Choreographer from the Jakarta Office for Culture in 2000. His works have been performed mostly in Asia. His recent work, Terima Kost, featured at the Singapore Arts Festival 2009, was lauded as “a force to be reckoned with” by The Straits Times.

http://jeckosdance.com