Panjat Hujan - Climbing the Rain

Panjat Hujan, a performance borne between Asian-Australian artist Tony Yap and Bugis trance shaman, farmer, and artist Adriansyah Anwar (Anca), in relation to an ancient practice or the Bugis people in South Sulawesi.

Translating to ‘Climbing the Rain’ in Bugis, Panjat Hujan embodies the absence of the word ‘impossible’ from their vocabulary. The ‘bissu’, a fifth-gendered Bugis shaman, are central to this work. It explores symbolic rituals that refracts time and space, drawing from the practice from a different era yet still relevant today.

Panjat Hujan features dance choreography and performance by Tony Yap and Melbourne dancer Jack Riley, accompanied by music by Australian musician Reuben Lewis. Lewis explores sonic relations to dissociated dance states, creating an abstract framework that merges the ancient Bissu trance ritual with contemporary dance theatre. This collaboration creates an abstract framework that explores the dynamic combination of traditional and contemporary elements within a specific ‘trance zone.’

Premiering at The Unconformity 2025