Children present fine classical dance drama

I Wayan Juniartha and Mas Ruscitadewi, The Jakarta Post, Denpasar, Bali

On that night, the star of the Arja dance drama performance was Cok Istri Ari Sariati, and there was not one single scintilla of doubt to counter that claim.

Her movements were polished and true to the complicated conventions of the classical dance drama. Her voice was beautiful, soaring to a high pitch with ease before diving into a low pitch without losing its haunting sentiment, let alone its energy. Her dramatic gestures were both enchanting and superbly crafted.

The audience, who flocked to the Bali Art Center's Wantilan stage that Sunday night, simply loved her, giving her a generous round of applause after each dramatic scene she performed.

More evidence of her outstanding performance was witnessed by the audience's love for her even though she played the main antagonist, Kangsa.

Kangsa was the vicious king who ordered all baby boys in his kingdom to be killed after an oracle predicted that a newborn would defeat him in the future. A baby boy did survive the slaughter, and he was later known as Kresna -- the most popular icon of Hinduism, who eventually saved the nation from the brutal reign of Kangsa.

The fact that Cok Istri Ari Sariati was just a 13-year-old girl only made her remarkable achievement more unusual.

Cok Istri Ari Sariati is a member of the Arja troupe of the Gianyar-based Sukawati Second Public Junior High School, the only child in the troupe to participate in the 24th Bali Art Festival.

Backstage, several minutes after the one-and-a-half-hour show ended, the mature and majestic Cok Istri Ari Sariati suddenly transformed back into a timid young girl, cuddling a blonde baby doll while trying fruitlessly to avoid the glaring lenses of some overzealous photographers.

She was flanked by her fellow performers, mostly teenagers between 12 and 14 years of age, who were glowing with the pleasant euphoria of giving a fine performance. There was Setiadewi, who had successfully brought the narcissistic yet humorous character of Yasoda to life, busily combing her hair in the corner, and Cok Istri Putri Tresna Dewi, who played Kresna, being helped by her mother in taking off the heavy headgear.

Prior to their Bali Art Festival's performance the troupe had spent three months training rigorously under the guidance of Cokorda Istri Nandri, and arguably Bali's best Arja performer Ni Nyoman Tjandri of Singapadu village.

During training, the troupe tested their skills by performing at two village temple festivals and also at their own school.

"Thank God they could acquire the skills needed to perform the Arja in such a short time. The fact that most of them already possessed dance skills must have had something to do with it. Frankly, I am proud of them and really satisfied with the show," Cokorda Istri Nandri said.

Tjandri expressed a similar tone of satisfaction, although for quite a different reason. For years, she had been worrying about the future of the classical dance drama. The way her pupils had performed, and, moreover, the warm response the audience had extended toward the performance, convinced Tjandri that the Arja still had a future.

"Initially, I had a lot of doubt about their abilities, but then it turned out that they could perform it beautifully. They were not only dancing and singing, but they were also able to harmoniously blend the songs with the movements. I saw a lot of potential in them," Tjandri said.

Known as Balinese Opera, the Arja is difficult to perform since it requires an artist to possess not only the ability to dance within the strict conventions of the Balinese classical dance, but to also have talent in singing and reciting the ancient Javanese songs and dialog.

The word Arja was believed to be derived from the Sanskrit word reja (beauty). A majority of Balinese art scholars thought that the Arja was an offspring of the Balinese ancient dance drama of Gambuh.

These dance dramas differ in two significant points, namely the language and the story they employ. Gambuh employs ancient kawi (old Javanese languages), and derives its story from the court-centered Javanese romantic tale of the Panji, while the Arja employs middle Javanese language and has a wider source for stories, including the epic Mahabharata and Ramayana, or Balinese folklore, such as the Basur, Jayaprana and Cupak Grantang.

The Arja was first performed in 1825 during the reign of Klungkung's king I Dewa Agung Sakti. Initially, the Arja employed an all-male cast, but female artists later dominated the dance drama, leaving only the male servant characters of Punta and Kartala to the care of male performers.