Devi Dja
Devi Dja | |
---|---|
![]() Dja, c 1938 | |
Born | Misri Dja 1 August 1914 |
Died | 19 January 1989 Los Angeles, California, U.S. | (aged 74)
Citizenship | Indonesian; United States |
Occupation | Javanese dancer |
Devi Dja (1914–1989), known as Miss Dja, was an Indonesian dancer, playwright and film actor in the 1940s. A member of the Dardanella Opera group, founded by her husband, Willy A. Piedro (Willy Klimanoff), which toured the Dutch East Indies, she moved with her husband to the US around 1940, remaining there for the rest of her life as a professional entertainer and taking on American citizenship.
Early life
Misri Dja was born in
Early career
When she was 16, Dja was asked to appear in a play, replacing the lead actress who had fallen ill. By 1931 she was appearing prominently in theatrical posters as "Miss Dja: Dardanella’s Sweet Seventeen". By this time the Dardanella was booming, with the troupe having 150 members, and it made its first trip outside Indonesia, to
The remaining players were on the last voyage of the SS Rotterdam out of the Netherlands in 1939. In New York City they changed their name to "Devi Dja's Bali and Java Cultural Dancers", performing in restaurants in the city. Following the outbreak of World War II and the occupation of Indonesia by Japanese troops, they were unable to return home and were effectively stuck in the US. At the end of the war, she and her husband opened a nightclub in Chicago, called the Sarong Room, but it burned down in 1946. Klimanoff died in Chicago in 1952.[1][3][4]
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/2/28/Dr_Samsi_advertisement%2C_Doenia_Film_October_1931_p14.jpg/220px-Dr_Samsi_advertisement%2C_Doenia_Film_October_1931_p14.jpg)
American citizenship
In 1947, Dja met Sutan Sjahrir who, as prime minister, was leading the Indonesian delegation to the United Nations in New York to fight for international recognition of Indonesia's independence. He introduced her to the American public as an ambassador for Indonesian culture, resulting in her name becoming increasingly known in the US. In 1951, she became an American citizen, believed to be the first Indonesian woman to be naturalized. This might have been done in order to protect her from possible deportation in light of her friendship with the Indonesian communist, Lari Bogk, who had been in the US supporting Indonesian seamen and port workers who were refusing to load supplies destined for the Dutch East Indies colonial government. After her husband's death she still performed, together with the few remaining Dardanella group members.[1][3][5]
She married
Dja continued to work in California, performing and teaching Indonesian dancing, for a time having her own dance school in the Vermont area of Los Angeles. She was represented by the agent Raymond D. Bowman who specialized in “world music” and jazz performers. When the first Indonesia president, Sukarno, visited the US she met with him and on a visit to Indonesia she was received by him at the State Palace. He tried to persuade her to give up her US citizenship, but this would have made work in the US difficult. In 1960 she teamed up with modern dance pioneer, Ruth St. Denis, to present the first Balinese shadow puppet play in the United States.[1][2]
Death
Dja died of cancer in Los Angeles on 19 January 1989 and was buried in Forest Lawn Memorial Park (Hollywood Hills). Two books have been written about her: Gelombang Hidupku: Dewi Dja dari Dardanella (My Life’s Wave: Devi Dja of Dardanella) by Ramadhan Karta Hadimadja, and Standing Ovations: Devi Dja, Woman of Java by Leona Merrin. Both biographies are based on interviews with Dja.[3][5]
References
- ^ a b c d e f "Devi Dja". Encyclopedia Jakarta. Retrieved 17 June 2022.
- ^ a b c Anderson, R. Christian. "Devi Dja Biography". IMDb. Retrieved 17 June 2022.
- ^ ISBN 9780230309005. Retrieved 17 June 2022.
- ^ "_Old Ladies from Bali". Time. 6 November 1939. Retrieved 17 June 2022.
- ^ a b "Devi Dja Dies; Directed Asian Dance Troupes". Los Angeles Times. 24 January 1989. Retrieved 17 June 2022.
Further reading
- Merrin, Leona (1990). Standing Ovations... Devi Dja! Woman of Java. Lee & Lee Publishers. ISBN 978-0962412004.