Not much toil and trouble in Balinese take on 'Macbeth'<\/p>\n
By I Wayan Juniarta<\/p>\n
DENPASAR, Bali (JP): Imagine Shakespeare's Macbeth
\ntransplanted from ancient Scotland, wearing an ornate Balinese
\ndance costume and speaking the old Javanese court language of
\nKawi.<\/p>\n
The seemingly absurd becomes reality in Gambuh Macbeth, a
\nclassical Balinese dance-theater performance scheduled to tour
\nseveral cities in Germany.<\/p>\n
Performed by 68 members of the ARTI foundation, Gambuh Macbeth
\nwill open at a newly established art center in Stuttgart. The
\ngroup will also perform in Berlin, Bonn, and Frankfurt from May
\n19 through June 6.<\/p>\n
The performances have been made possible through the support
\nof German art patron Jongki Goei.<\/p>\n
Rector of the Yogyakarta Arts Institute (ISI) I Made Bandem,
\nwho is the author of a Balinese dance encyclopedia, said gambuh
\nwas an old form of court dance drama.<\/p>\n
It existed 600 years ago during the Majapahit Hindu kingdom in
\nEast Java.<\/p>\n
It was then known as raket mask dance-theater and was familiar
\namong court dancers. The repertoire usually drew East Javanese
\nclassical literature and chivalrous tales related to Prince
\nPanji.<\/p>\n
It was believed the raket dance theater was brought by East
\nJavanese court members who fled to Bali with the fall of
\nMajapahit.<\/p>\n
\"There is another source which says gambuh existed in Bali
\nduring the period of King Anak Wungsu in the year 1200,\" Bandem
\nsaid.<\/p>\n
Before gambuh entered Bali, the island was home to myriad
\nsacred dances. However, the new arrival exerted dramatic touches
\nand structures on the forms of theater and dance in Bali.<\/p>\n
\"Gambuh is considered the 'mother' of Balinese theaters and
\ndances,\" added Bandem.<\/p>\n
It also was the root of other Balinese theatrical forms like
\nTopeng Balinese mask dance, Arja theater, Drama Gong to the
\ndelicate legong and prembon dances.<\/p>\n
The repertoire always centered on Panji tales dealing with the
\nromantic lives of princes and princesses of the Jenggala, Daha
\nand Kahuripan kingdoms which ruled East Java between the 10th
\ncentury and 12th century.<\/p>\n
It was originally performed by all-male casts, but now women
\nalso play female roles and sometimes heroic characters.<\/p>\n
For the German tour, director Kadek Suardana experimented with
\nMacbeth.<\/p>\n
Suardana set out to stage Macbeth in the gambuh style.
\nAlthough the play of the Scottish general and his fiercely
\nambitious wife is set centuries ago, it always seems fitting for
\ncontemporary situations.<\/p>\n
The marriage of the two styles proved challenging even though
\nSuardana staged Gambuh Macbeth with Sanggar Putih theater group
\nat Gedung Kesenian Jakarta in 1986.<\/p>\n
Last year, supported by artists from the ARTI foundation,
\nSuardana set out to do a revamped version.<\/p>\n
To gain more ideas, Suardana traveled throughout Bali and
\nsought input from gambuh groups in Batuan Gianyar, Jungsri in
\nKarangasem in East Bali, Pendungan in Denpasar and Anturan in
\nBuleleng in North Bali.<\/p>\n
\"We shared our experiences and knowledge on this most ancient
\nform of Balinese drama, and I then decided to use the pendungan
\nstyle of gambuh from Denpasar as my basic choreography for Gambuh
\nMacbeth.\"<\/p>\n
Pendungan might be considered the best style in terms of its
\nartistic and theatrical elements as well as the originality of
\ngambuh theater.<\/p>\n
\"After I found the most suitable gambuh style, I worked very
\nhard to create a compact and easily absorbed gambuh dance
\ntheater,\" Suardana said.<\/p>\n
In the past, gambuh performances, usually held in temples or
\ncourtyards, went on for days, but modern versions last only a few
\nhours.<\/p>\n
The performance may be composed of series of scenes in which
\ncharacters present monologs, dialogs, dances and fight scenes.<\/p>\n
\"The original Macbeth play would last at least three hours to
\nfour hours. Therefore, I decided to make a proper combination and
\ncut Gambuh Macbeth to a one-and-a-half-hour performance,\"
\nexplained the 44-year-old director.<\/p>\n
In creating a quality performance, Suardana also faced various
\ntechnical problems. Performers of gambuh must master all dance
\ngestures as well as speak the old Javanese court language of
\nKawi.<\/p>\n
Suardana also eliminated penaser or punakawan comic characters
\nwho usually play important roles in communicating the plot of
\nstory to the audience.<\/p>\n
The dialog and monolog were delivered in Kawi, with the comic
\nservant characters conveying them in colloquial Balinese.<\/p>\n
\"My concept is in expressing the ideas of the story through
\ndance gestures rather than words,\" Suardana said.<\/p>\n
He honed his concept in more than 50 performances throughout
\nBali and in Bandung, West Java. The results were encouraging and
\nhe believed the audience understood the plot even though the play
\nwas performed in Kawi.<\/p>\n
Suardana also presented his Gambuh Macbeth in several sacred
\nHindu temples, including the mother temple of Besakih and Pura
\nPaseh in Pendungan village in Denpasar.<\/p>\n
The performances were intended to solicit divine blessings and
\ntaksu, a spiritual artistic power.<\/p>\n
Suardana's hope is that the performances in Germany will
\nsuccessfully serve up this piece of Balinese tradition in a new
\nform for contemporary audiences.<\/p>",
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