Bali Arts Festival polishes its image

Bali Arts Festival polishes its image

By I Wayan Juniartha

DENPASAR, Bali (JP): The final week of the 23rd Bali Arts
Festival is likely to be more lively.

After the release of an album featuring Balinese pop songs
earlier this week, there are two more interesting events, a
dance-drama and literary award presentation for two prominent
Balinese writers will be held on Thursday and Friday
respectively.

The Ngastitiang Bali (Praying for Bali) album was released on
Monday night at the Wantilan stage of the Werdhi Budaya Art
Center. The album featured Balinese pop songs by four young
talented singers -- Putu Tara, Asti, Erna and Erika.

Produced and distributed by a new record company Graha Nadha,
the album, the third released by the company, aims to promote and
conserve the elegance of the Balinese language.

The leading song Ngastitiang Bali is composed by one of Bali's
foremost composer Kadek Suardana. The song calls on the Balinese
people to preserve their tradition of harmony, openness and
unity. The company was set up and funded by Bali's biggest and
oldest daily newspaper, the Bali Post.

Previously, Graha Nadha had successfully released Gending Rare
1 Majangeran and Gending Rare 2 Bianglala featuring old
traditional songs for children.

"Every album we released must be able to both entertain and
educate our people," the album's producer Mas Ruscitadewi said.

A huge dance-drama production, organized by the Bali branch of
the Chinese-Indonesian Social Organization (PSMTI), will be held
on Thursday, July 12, at Ardha Chandra open stage.

It has taken three months of rehearsal, some Rp 65 million and
about 200 dancers to prepare for this show.

Dancers for the show come from three troupes: Ubud-based
Cudamani, Surabaya-based Angga Lee Dance Company and Denpasar-
based Mutiara Naga Barong-say lion dance troupe.

The dances are choreographed by two artists, Liangga Sindhu
Bastian of Angga Lee Dance Company and Nyoman Cerita of Cudamani.

"The three troupes have been rehearsing separately for the
last three months. The Angga Lee's dancers practiced in Surabaya
and the Balinese dancers in Ubud. Now, with just two days left
before the show, they are trying hard to integrate the dances,
musical compositions and story plots here in Bali," said Budi
Argawa, the organization's chairman.

The dance-drama titled Legenda Balingkang (The Legend of
Balingkang ) is based on the well-known legend of an ancient
Balinese King, Sri Jaya Pangus of Balingkang, who fell in love
and married Kang Ci Wie, the daughter of a Chinese merchant,
whose ship had sunk earlier in the waters off Bali. This mixed
marriage was believed to be the beginning of a close relationship
between Balinese and Chinese that still exist today.

"We are trying to be as faithful as possible to the actual
story, so you will see a lot of dancers donned in Chinese
costumes and speaking the Chinese dialect of the merchant who
came from the Hokkian province," the show's producer Wirya
Subrata said.

Another highlight of the arts festival is the Cakepan 2001
Literary Award presentation for two prominent Balinese writers --
the eccentric I Gusti Putu Bawa Samar Gantang and the down-to-
earth I Gusti Gede Djelantik Santha.

The event, the first of its kind, which will be held on
Friday, July 13, at the Wantilan, was initiated and sponsored by
Sarad, a magazine that addresses Balinese religious, social and
cultural issues.

"It our way of showing our deep respect for these literary
masters who have beautifully used the Balinese language to
express their understanding of Balinese issues," said
Sarad's editor-in-chief Ketut Sumarta.

Bawa Samar Gantang has published at least 15 anthologies,
including his first Balinese poem Aab Jagat. His obsession with
the Balinese secret teachings and Leak (black magic) are shown in
many of his works.

Prolific writer Djelantik Santha is well-known for his
romantic short stories and novels, including his masterpiece
novel Tresnane Lebur Ajur Satonden Kembang about a tragic love
story. So far, he has published more than 50 short stories and
novels.