tor tor dance indonesia traditional dance

Thousands of Students Break Record with Traditional Tortor Hata Sopisik Dance

Share:

The 2024 Aquabike Jetski World Championship made history by breaking the MURI Record in the category of “The Most Hata Sopisik Tortor Dance.”

On Sunday, November 17, 2024, 1,431 students from elementary to high school levels in Samosir Regency performed the typical Batak dance simultaneously along the Zone 2 to Zone 4 area of Waterfront Stage Apung.

 

Lihat postingan ini di Instagram

 

Sebuah kiriman dibagikan oleh AHQUOTE (@ahquote)

The mesmerizing performance was part of the Opening Ceremony series on the fifth day, which also presented the national anthem, Indonesia Raya, performed by Indra Sinaga, one of the local sons.

The MURI record carved the pride of the Samosir community while emphasizing the commitment to preserving local culture, which is entitled #UnitedSpiritofLakeToba.

This is a manifestation of the spirit of togetherness and love for the country that is carried in the Aquabike Jetski World Championship 2024.

Indonesian Dance, Hata Sopisik Tortor Dance

indonesia dance batak tor tor dance
Source: Kompas

The Tor Tor dance comes from the Batak tribe in North Sumatra. The Batak tribe in North Sumatra use the Tor Tor dance for traditional ceremonies of marriage and death, welcoming guests, and parties.

The history of tor tor dance art from the Batak region of North Sumatra is quite exciting to learn because this dance is one of the arts that has existed for hundreds of years.

The artists believe the name tor tor comes from the stomping of the dancers’ feet, which sounds like #tor# #tor# because they hit their feet on the floor of the house.

As we all know, the traditional house of the Batak people is a house with a wooden floor.

Through this traditional dance, the people of Batak land convey all their prayers and hopes to God Almighty.

The demonstration of attitudes and feelings through this tor tor dance is considered to describe natural situations and conditions. Therefore, people consider this dance sacred.

The tor tor dancers will use costumes made of ulos cloth. Ulos itself is one of the traditional fabrics typical of Batak.

The colours of this ulos fabric are generally black, red, and white, with woven decorations from threads made of silver or gold.

In the beginning, the use of ulos cloth was quite limited. Only certain traditional ceremonies use that shawl.

However, with tourism development and increasing tourist numbers in North Sumatra, people began using this fabric as a typical Batak souvenir.

What is the Aquabike Jetski World Championship

Aquabike Jetski World Championship
Source: Kemenparekraf

The Aquabike Jetski World Championship 2024 is a world-scale water sports event held on Lake Toba from November 13 to 17 and attended by hundreds of racers and crews from 30 countries.

The 2024 Aquabike Jetski World Championship includes various activities, including jetski racing, art and cultural performances, and music concerts.

Minister of Youth and Sports Dito Ariotedjo expressed his appreciation for implementing the Aquabike Jetski World Championship on Lake Toba this year.

“This event is very good and is able to provide a forum for Indonesian jetski racers to compete in the endurance cup. Previously, we had included them in the National Jetski Championship. Indonesian athletes have shown tremendous improvement, as evidenced by this event, and they have entered the top 10 in the endurance cup. Of course, we will continue to improve this,” he said.

Find this article helpful? Check out our other articles from Social Expat:

Related News

A two-year-old male orangutan named Roy was officially handed over to the Central Kalimantan Natural Resources Conservation Agency (BKSDA) on Tuesday, following more than a year of being raised by a resident in Palangka Raya. The handover took place at a house on Jalan Merdeka Km 10 and was marked by a quiet but emotional […]

Indonesian authorities have uncovered a cross-border baby smuggling network that trafficked at least 15 Indonesian infants to Singapore throughout 2025. The operation was exposed following an investigation by the West Java Regional Police into illegal adoption practices involving forged population documents and international travel. The babies were flown from Soekarno-Hatta International Airport in Jakarta to […]

President Prabowo Subianto met with King Charles III in London, where the two leaders agreed on cooperation between Indonesia and the United Kingdom in ecosystem restoration and environmental preservation, particularly in Indonesia’s national parks. The meeting took place on Wednesday, January 21, 2026, at Lancaster House in London. Cabinet Secretary Teddy Indra Wijaya said the […]

A Romanian citizen listed as an Interpol red notice fugitive has been arrested in Bali following a joint operation by Indonesian authorities. The suspect, Costinel Cosmin Zuleam (33), was detained in Denpasar on January 15, 2026, after his location was detected through activity on his Facebook account. Zuleam was arrested by a joint team involving […]

Expat Events

Indonesia Visas

Expat Event

Business Networking
150,000
Casa Cuomo Ristorante & Lounge

Indonesia Guide

Just For Fun

Write For Us

Exclusive Promotions

Event Gallery