'Gambuh' given Western nuance<\/p>\n
Kadek Suartaya, Contributor\/Ubud<\/p>\n
The art of the traditional Balinese gambuh dance drama is dying,
\nat least in the island it comes from.<\/p>\n
It is now difficult to find a gambuh theater group, as most
\nyoung artists are not interested in this traditional performing
\nart. These days, gambuh are usually only performed in important
\nreligious ceremonies. Observers worry the art form, believed to
\nbe the source of all performing arts in Bali, could soon become
\nextinct.<\/p>\n
However, there is still hope left for Gambuh, in the form of
\nthe Arti Foundation. Gambuh groups normally present traditional
\nstories about the heroism of Javanese Kings, however on Thursday
\nthe foundation's players used the form to interpret a famous
\nWilliam Shakespeare play in a performance entitled Gambuh
\nMacbeth. Their show at the Museum Arma in Ubud was part of the
\nIndonesian Performing Arts Mart (PAM) that took place in Bali
\nfrom June 15 until June 17.<\/p>\n
The foundation, which explores and develops classical Balinese
\narts, is under the direction of Kadek Suardana. The group has
\nperformed free in several temples in Bali and last year was
\ninvited to perform in Singapore and Germany.<\/p>\n
The spirit of creativity was strongly felt in the performance
\nand the show stunned the spectators with its myriad of
\ninnovations. The act when Macbeth stabbed the king was presented
\nbehind a curtain in a "room" that was moved around on the stage.
\nTension filled the air when an act of a war was staged with dance
\nsteps inspired by the brisk movement of coconut leaves in the
\nwind.<\/p>\n
In the play, Kadek Suardana did not alter the classical mode
\nof gambuh. Instead, it seemed he wanted to present the original
\ngambuh form with a non-traditional subject. Following tradition,
\nall of the dancers were men. The costumes were simple and
\nminimalist with a touch of gold, which gave the play a mood of
\nancientness.<\/p>\n
Gambuh was once a prestigious performing art that was a
\nfavorite of the Balinese courts.<\/p>\n
It was believed the gambuh, was strongly influenced by the
\narts of the East Java Majapahit Kingdom between 13th and 15th
\ncentury. This theatrical form was first known in Bali in the 15th
\ncentury during the golden age of the Gelgel kingdom in Klungkung,
\nparticularly during the administration of the Gelgel king, Dalem
\nWaturenggong, when Bali art was at its peak. During this feudal
\nera, every palace in Bali had a bale pegambuhan assembly hall to
\nstage the shows.<\/p>\n
After the era of kings ended, the gambuh became public
\nentertainment and its popularity quickly began to fade. Only
\neight gambuh groups from different regencies took part in the
\ngambuh festival that was held in 1960. From the early 1970s, a
\ngambuh theater group was hard to find across the island. From
\nyear to year, it was the same gambuh group that performed during
\nreligious ceremonies held in Pura Besakih, the mother temple in
\nBali.<\/p>\n
The fate of gambuh moved some, including the U.S.-based Ford
\nFoundation, which funded efforts to preserve the art form,
\nincluding the research and documentation of a rare show in Batuan
\nvillage in Gianyar, and in Pedungan village, Denpasar. More
\nrecently in Switzerland, artists formed a Basel Gambuh Ensemble
\nthat demonstrated its skill in Bali in 1998.<\/p>\n
Originating from the Keraton palace, gambuh is a serious and
\ncomplicated art. It has a tight pattern and complicated
\ntheatrical elements. Its artistic values emerge from the
\ncomplexity in the choreography and in the music. Every musical
\nelement in gambuh is strictly organized to fit with traditional
\npatterns. Each character has their own musical accompaniment,
\nwhich is complex and long in duration. Each character also has
\ntheir own dance movements and has to speak in Kawi (old Javanese)
\nwith rhetoric patterns.<\/p>\n
The presentation of Macbeth in the form of gambuh theater was
\nenchanting and intriguing but it could have been better if
\nperformed more wholeheartedly. The artists, including the main
\ncharacters, should have paid more serious attention to the
\narticulation of the Kawi language.<\/p>\n
The substance of the dialog also seemed to be ignored by the
\ndancers who failed to vary the delivery of their lines and often
\ndid not react to what came out of their colleagues' mouths. This
\nlack of reaction meant the performers often made empty statements
\nwith a lack of expression.<\/p>\n
The concept of gambuh is much more than the story. It covers
\nboth the music and the dance aesthetic, while the story is only
\nthe setting. While the dance was often captivating, the bitter
\ntale and the tragic elements in Shakespeare's Macbeth did not
\nmatch with the less-prosaic performance of the dialog. The plot
\nand the emotion became dull in the frame of the complex
\npresentation of gambuh. Perhaps the story of Macbeth would have
\nbeen more appealing if it was performed in a Balinese folk
\ntheater idiom -- the Arja or Gong Drama.<\/p>\n
The writer is a gamelan artist and a lecturer at the Performing
\nArts Department of the Indonesian Arts Institute (ISI) Denpasar.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/gambuh-given-western-nuance-1447893297",
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