Bali troupe entertain Japanese

Bali troupe entertain Japanese

Kadek Suartaya, Contributor, Tokyo

A large tent was beautifully decorated with Balinese gold painted
textile prada while two big Bali style umbrellas stood tall, in
front of the gate. In the background, dancers moved to music from
the gamelan traditional orchestra.

The Balinese atmosphere was everywhere.

Lines of vendors offered a large variety of Balinese food from
sate lilit (barbecued meat wrapped with spicy ingredients), pepes
ikan (steamed fish) to lawar (a mixture of coconut grated with
meat and vegetables). A number of amateur chefs performed cooking
demonstrations to the delight of the enthusiastic audience. Each
of the visitors was also allowed to taste the hot and spicy food.

Everyone enjoyed the Balinese music and cuisine, like visiting
a folk party at a small banjar customary village somewhere on the
island of Bali. In fact, the party was held at an art center in
the faraway city of Shiga, a small town near Japan's largest lake
Biwa.

The event was part of the Bali-Tokyo cultural exchange program
represented by Suar Agung art group led by I Ketut Suwentra. The
program was held from July through early August in three cities
-- Shiga, Fukuoka and Tokyo.

It turned out the Japanese public was quite familiar with
Balinese dance and music. A number of Japanese students who had
pursued Balinese cultural studies at the Indonesia Arts Institute
(ISI) at Denpasar, Bali, are now opening Balinese dance courses
for Japanese residents.

Ami Hasegawa, 27, for instance, is now teaching Balinese
dances to 15 female students at her dance school at Atugi,
Kanagawa, near Tokyo. Hasegawa has created a distinctive dance
choreography called Legong Sakura based on the Balinese classical
dance Legong.

Moreover, every year, many Japanese artists go to Bali to
study Balinese dance and culture at formal institutions like ISI
or at local dance groups or from individuals in villages across
the island. Upon returning to their country, the artists
frequently gather and perform for the Japanese public.

On Aug. 2 and Aug. 3, Hasegawa and her colleagues performed a
diverse range of Balinese dances from classical to more popular
dances like Baris, Legong Lasem, Topeng Tua, Oleg Tamulilingan,
Jauk Manis to Joged Bumbung folk dance.

At present, there are a number gamelan orchestras and dance
groups in Tokyo. Sekar Jepun, one of the Balinese dance groups in
Tokyo, has frequently performed in Bali and collaborated with
other dance groups like Sekar Jaya, gamelan and dance groups from
the United States.

The recent visit of the Suar Agung cultural troupe attracted
fans of Balinese traditional dance and music, who flocked to
performances and workshops in Osaka, Fukuoka and Tokyo. Extensive
coverage by local media even attracted more participants to the
workshops.

One of the participants, Hoshiromi said she was eager to
attend the workshop after watching Suar Agung on local
television. Her friend, Aik, has frequently visited Bali,
mesmerized by the charms of the Balinese dances and culture.

The last performance in Japan took place at the Mitaka-shi
Kokaido art center in Tokyo. There, some 25 Japanese female
dancers were busy wrapping their long batik clothes, ready to
follow the instructor's commands.

In fluent Japanese, Suwentra first introduced the cultural
highlights of Bali, eloquently describing the background of each
dance composition and its music to the participants.

Then, accompanied by two senior Balinese dancers, Ni Nyoman
Wiliawati and Putu Made Astawa, Suwentra taught enthusiastic
participants the basic steps of Balinese dance.

Despite limited time and space, the Balinese dance workshop
offered the opportunity for both Balinese and Japanese artists to
learn more from each other, showing that cultural dialog has
given a better picture about what is now happening in Bali as
well as in Indonesia.

The workshop's participants admitted they felt closer to Bali
and its people.