Another night, another show...

Last night it rained so hard I thought I was going to get sucked into a drain and spat out somewhere in India. But before that, I had a wonderful night at Puri Agung Peliatan Palace, watching a superb performance by Gunung Sari.


Their orchestra are the guys that took Gamelan to the world- performing at the Expo in Paris in 1931 (of which Debussy was very taken by, using the pentatonic scale and Balinese motifs in most of his piano preludes from there on in, e.g. Girl with the Flaxen Hair). (N.B. that half finished B.Mus has come in handy). Anyway, they were tight- together, attentive, alive, present. They accompanied all the dancing for the evening. This is the groupd Ibu Ayu performs with (one of our dance teachers) pictured here....

The evening started with the Kapiraja (The Overture).

Then the first dance of the evening: the Pendet (Welcome Dance). Originally a dance dedicated to temple ceremonies. There were five women, each dancing in unison. They were beautiful. An explosion of colour (their costumes were reels and reels of Balinese printed fabric in gold, yellow, pink, orange) and movement (so much articulation in the fingers, eyes, and feet).

Then came the Baris (dance of the young soldier). A boy of maybe 14 or 15, he demonstrated passion and aggression, and yet a soft boyishness, almost a quality of nervousness. He would shimmy and make all the little gold fringes on his head piece shiver and sway.

The thrid dance was the most interesting: the Kebyar Terompong (also known as Kebyar Duduk). It was a male dancer, dressed and dancing in imitation of a woman. In effect, Balinese drag. It was FABULOUS. He came out with a whirl, did a little routine, then pulled out some mallets and played the trompong. At one stage, he dropped one of the mallets, went down to pick it up, and when he re-emerged was holding a fan instead.

I can see where Gareth Farr might be influenced not only by the music of Bali but the dance performance culture as well (I'm thinking Drumdrag and Lilith LaCroix, incase the reference is lost).

I had no idea there were exchanges of gender in Balinese dance (although Friday night’s Kecak performance saw Rama being played by a woman). On further reading, this dance was developed by an I Nyoman Mario, pictured in 1940 here, perhaps Bali's first Drag queen?...

It was first performed in 1925, although to picture him here 15 years later doesn't add up. You can read more about the dance here...

The centre piece of the show (for my money) was Legong Lasem (the story of King Lasem). It is too complicated to retell the narrative, but it started with a solo female dancer. She was fierce- sharp, fluid, fast- her eyes like darts.

She was then joined by two others, the three of them dancing their butts off (that’s when the Gamelan really stepped it up).

She later came back with golden wings (transforming herself into a protection bird) and flew around the stage, like a crazy hummingbird. It was pretty intense.

After another music interlude (Gambang Suling), came Oleg Tambulilingan (Dance of the Courtship for Bees). This was danced by Ibu Ayu. She had a real maturity to her dancing- grace, charm, sensuality. She doesn’t look a day over 16 (although she is in her late 20’s with three kids under 9!).

She was then joined by Mr Bali 2012. The pas de deux’d up a storm (without the Torvil and Dean overhead lifts).

The sky started to make some noise, so the last part of the program went speedily. It was the Barong’s turn! It’s like a forest dwelling holy animal. A cross between a snuffaluffagus...

...a Chinese Lion Dance...

...and a pantomime horse (a Balinese panto horse, that is)....

He double took, shook his wee head, and snapped his mouth at the audience. Then he sat down for a rest, and a monkey came out.

Now, you know I love monkeys as much as the next guy, but because I have high expectations, this monkey just didn’t cut it. He was too modern and lazy, not athletic and stylized like I usually like my monkeys. Hah, you only need to take a stroll through Monkey Forest in Ubud to see the likeness, considering all the monkeys there make a living off stealing tourist’s shit and exchanging it for food. So perhaps it was a clever comment on society. Anyway. He did eat a couple of bananas on stage though, and played a fun game with the Barong.

Then out came the Rangda (a sea dwelling witch). Pretty scary dude, a scraggy white mane, massive bulging eyes, and long red fingers. Looks like this...

Opps, I mean this...

I didn’t get a decent picture because it started to pour as he came out. Barong and Rangda always work together, in duality (left and right, strong and weak). Good and Evil might I stress, not Good and Bad (the Balinese system does not acknowledge Good as good and Evil as bad. It just is).

By the time they did their thing, the heavens opened up, and I got drenched. It was well worth it though. The show was like a variety concert of sorts, very polished, attractive, and well worth the 100,000 IRP ($14 NZD).

Kecak, round two (and Robbie's double...)

Last night I went to another Kecak Ramayana and Fire performance, this time performed by Taman Kaja at Pura Dalem in Ubud.


This one was staged outside, in the newly refurbished temple, which was quite beautiful (candlelit, without the walks on the beach feeling). Unlike the last show, the audience were placed quite far away from the action, so the chanting was a lot softer. The storyteller didn't have a billowing voice as the last, but it was still melodic and carried over the the sound of the monkey chatter. I still got a excited sit-on-the-edge-of-me-chair feeling when the chorus spilled onto the stage...


Before I continue, I managed to spot Robbie Magasiva in the crowd. In fact, he was chanting, front row...


Nah, just jokes. But FYI, his doppelganger actually lives in Bali.


The dancing was the best part of this performance. Both Rama and Sita were played by women (Rama's a pretty girly boy anyways)...

And baddies with funny laughs (played by men though, disappointingly). At one stage one of them pulled a head out of a cloth bag. I can't remember where that came in the story, but it was a pretty sweet moment (you can just make him out in the background)...


Favorite character alert: Hanoman. Great monkey moves, he would squat down (like a grand plié in second position) and then jump up, popping his torso from side to side. There was also Sugriva, the red monkey king, in the show. As you can imagine, I'm happy with any monkey in a show, so two of them and I was in monkey heaven.



And of course, the part we were all waiting for: The Trance. I've probably failed to mention that last week a few people here managed to catch a trance ceremony at a temple (not a public performances) which included young men stabbing themselves repetitively with a kris. We're talking frenzy/people being carried out of the temple here. Needless to say, that didn't happen tonight. Anyway, here are the flaming coconuts...

As is tradition, the horse rider came out, enticed by the kecak, and then everytime the second part of the chorus sung this dinky little song he would run at the pile of flaming husks. He did this with his eyes closed.


Unlike the last guy, they made a real spectacle out of 'catching' the horseman and calming him down, and he sat in a relatively meditative state after the show, head bowed, on the concrete (the other guy flashed some peace signs for the paparazzi and rode through the crowds on his wee 150cc motorbike post show).

Many people gave him money/offerings as well, including many children from the Banjar, and some tourists.

Tonight I am going to watch Ibu Ayu perform with her group at a show just out of Ubud, I am looking forward to the refined, feminine, strong moves of the Legong dance.

Nyoman the Wise...

So, I guess an update on my mask is in order.

First, this fella, I've put some calcium treatment on the upper gum and eyes, I just have to finish him off with the bamboo (kinda like a sandpaper jobbie)...


Now, here is Nyoman demonstrating some stretching to ease the pain in your legs (sitting on a hard floor for a few hours straight can have devastating effects on non-Balinese-groins). I'm sure he'd be flattered to know I put these up...


Nyoman is about finished carving my special mask. He has modelled the bottom half (chin, mouth and cheeks) off my own face, and the top is like a laughing Buddah. In so many ways, it looks like my mum- the more I look at it, the more he refines it, the more it looks like Mum. It's uncanny.



He had originally wanted a photo of me so he had a reference point, but when I forgot to email it to him he said he prefered only working on it when I was visiting anyway. So I've been a little model for my teacher over the last few days.

P.s. No I won't put up pictures till it's finished. He was sandpapering today so it's nearly done.

Last week a mask hippy did a lecture at Melati Cottage, and he had these beautifully carved wooden clown noses (these were made by Pak Gusto's uncle, who is another great carver). So we asked Nyoman about it, and he made some mock ups over a nights work, and came up with these (they are so cool)...



This one is spectacular, and I'm getting him to make me one (as I type, infact)...


I'd order a hundred if I could fit them in my suitcase, they're great.

And now, the gradual development of my new mask...



I've only got a handful of sessions left with Nyoman, I can't quite believe I've been carving for this long. How time flies when your working hard and yet hardly working...

Cremation ceremony...

Ibu Ayu, the teacher for the women's dance Legong informed us that someone from her family/Banjar had passed and was having the cremation ceremony on Wednesday. So before we went to class we decided to stop in Ubud to check it out.

Turns out, the gentleman had been deceased for two months, and the family were waiting for an auspicious day to have the body cremated. He was a high priest, a very high status and widely respected man, and so the ceremony was a pretty big deal (it is customary to cremate the body in Bali).

I wasn't sure how I felt about going along, but when I got there I realised witnessing the spectacle seemed to be a part of paying my respects. The main street in Ubud was closed off- both tourists and locals filled the streets. Everyone had their phones and cameras out. I only took a few, it felt strange to be snapping away at, well, a funeral.

The procession down the street (note all the women in the white kebaya)...


And the men in their matching sarongs (the black and white symbols of good and evil)...


A high priest was in this float, which also held the body.


It looks like he's giving the crowd a wave, but he was sprinkling holy water and rice.


The music they were making was tremendous, unlike anything I'de heard in Bali. It was loud, percussive, aggressive, almost like the accompanying soundtrack for a Chinese Lion Dance. There were two opposing groups, crashing and banging at each other.

The parade stopped at the temple, where the body was transfered to the tower (where it would be burned) and offerings where made. I asked Nyoman about the procession later on, he said that the white cow was a very esteemed figure to be carried in, the 'vehicle', so to speak.


It was such a hot day, there were dragonflies encircling the pyre, hawkers where out in their dozens trying to sell sarongs, trinkets, beverages and ice creams. We didn't manage to stay to watch it go up, but on our way home a thick smoke covered most of Ubud (all the way to my room in Melati Cottages in Penestanan). It was such a strange turn of events. A huge theatrical event, like a festival parade or a scene from a medieval play on a pageant wagon.

I guess what I found unbearable were the tourists, many of them would have had no idea it was a cremation, it was so surreal seeing them running along following the commotion, iPads out filming the entire thing, ready to upload it on facebook to show all their friends.

Which, I guess, is what I've done just now. Off my high horse I get.