TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - The art performance titled International Rain Festival (IRF) 2026 will be held at Sanggar Mugi Dance, Dusun II, Pucangan Village, Kartasura District, Sukoharjo Regency, Central Java, Indonesia, on Saturday, January 17, 2026. In this performance, artists from various regions in Indonesia will collaborate with several international dancers.
To kick off the IRF 2026 event series, the organizing committee held a pre-event that took place on Car Free Day (CFD) Kartasura on Sunday morning, January 11, 2026. On that occasion, three international female dancers performed spectacularly and became the center of attention for thousands of residents who filled Jalan Slamet Riyadi, Kartasura.
The three international dance artists were Kanae Asakawa from Japan, as well as Huang Yen Jen and Lu Chih Wei or Lusy Lu from Taiwan. They performed a street dance with a longmarch concept, dancing while walking to the accompaniment of ethnic music such as bende, bel, and other traditional instruments.
The Program Director of IRF 2026, Nuri Aryati, stated that the performance at CFD Kartasura was the official opening of the series of events leading up to the main IRF 2026 event held at Sanggar Mugi Dance.
"This is the pre-event for the International Rain Festival 2026. We did a long march from Benteng Kartasura while dancing towards the stage in front of BPR Kartasura Makmur," said Nuri to reporters on Sunday, January 11, 2026.
Nuri explained that Kanae Asakawa presented the traditional Japanese dance Kashigaya Bon Odori and invited CFD visitors to dance along. Direct interaction with the community made the CFD atmosphere more lively and cheerful.
In addition to the collaborative performances, there were also performances of "Gugur Gunung" from students of Studio Mugidance and the dance "Minak Jinggo" performed directly by the festival director, Magnum Arkan Nala. "This pre-event is intended to bring the community closer to the arts, to the IRF, and to develop tolerance for cultural differences," said Arkan.
These performances were also interspersed with interactions with the audience as well as the distribution of plants, namely Lidah Mertua, a pollution-fighting plant. "Koshigaya Bon Odori," a traditional/folk dance from Koshigaya, Japan, was the closing performance at CFD.
Kanae, who hails from Japan, expressed her joy at the community's response to Japanese culture. "I highly appreciate it," she said.
The peak of the International Rain Festival 2026 will be held on Saturday, January 17, 2026, at Sanggar Mugi Dance, Dusun II, Pucangan, Kartasura. The event will take place from the afternoon to the evening, featuring 10 groups from within and outside the country, including international collaborations between Indonesia, Japan, and Taiwan, as well as an exhibition showcasing the 50-year journey of Mugi Dance in the arts.
Read: International Dance Day Celebrated in Bali with Thousands of Dancers
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