'Gambuh' given Western nuance

'Gambuh' given Western nuance

Kadek Suartaya, Contributor/Ubud

The art of the traditional Balinese gambuh dance drama is dying, at least in the island it comes from.

It is now difficult to find a gambuh theater group, as most young artists are not interested in this traditional performing art. These days, gambuh are usually only performed in important religious ceremonies. Observers worry the art form, believed to be the source of all performing arts in Bali, could soon become extinct.

However, there is still hope left for Gambuh, in the form of the Arti Foundation. Gambuh groups normally present traditional stories about the heroism of Javanese Kings, however on Thursday the foundation's players used the form to interpret a famous William Shakespeare play in a performance entitled Gambuh Macbeth. Their show at the Museum Arma in Ubud was part of the Indonesian Performing Arts Mart (PAM) that took place in Bali from June 15 until June 17.

The foundation, which explores and develops classical Balinese arts, is under the direction of Kadek Suardana. The group has performed free in several temples in Bali and last year was invited to perform in Singapore and Germany.

The spirit of creativity was strongly felt in the performance and the show stunned the spectators with its myriad of innovations. The act when Macbeth stabbed the king was presented behind a curtain in a "room" that was moved around on the stage. Tension filled the air when an act of a war was staged with dance steps inspired by the brisk movement of coconut leaves in the wind.

In the play, Kadek Suardana did not alter the classical mode of gambuh. Instead, it seemed he wanted to present the original gambuh form with a non-traditional subject. Following tradition, all of the dancers were men. The costumes were simple and minimalist with a touch of gold, which gave the play a mood of ancientness.

Gambuh was once a prestigious performing art that was a favorite of the Balinese courts.

It was believed the gambuh, was strongly influenced by the arts of the East Java Majapahit Kingdom between 13th and 15th century. This theatrical form was first known in Bali in the 15th century during the golden age of the Gelgel kingdom in Klungkung, particularly during the administration of the Gelgel king, Dalem Waturenggong, when Bali art was at its peak. During this feudal era, every palace in Bali had a bale pegambuhan assembly hall to stage the shows.

After the era of kings ended, the gambuh became public entertainment and its popularity quickly began to fade. Only eight gambuh groups from different regencies took part in the gambuh festival that was held in 1960. From the early 1970s, a gambuh theater group was hard to find across the island. From year to year, it was the same gambuh group that performed during religious ceremonies held in Pura Besakih, the mother temple in Bali.

The fate of gambuh moved some, including the U.S.-based Ford Foundation, which funded efforts to preserve the art form, including the research and documentation of a rare show in Batuan village in Gianyar, and in Pedungan village, Denpasar. More recently in Switzerland, artists formed a Basel Gambuh Ensemble that demonstrated its skill in Bali in 1998.

Originating from the Keraton palace, gambuh is a serious and complicated art. It has a tight pattern and complicated theatrical elements. Its artistic values emerge from the complexity in the choreography and in the music. Every musical element in gambuh is strictly organized to fit with traditional patterns. Each character has their own musical accompaniment, which is complex and long in duration. Each character also has their own dance movements and has to speak in Kawi (old Javanese) with rhetoric patterns.

The presentation of Macbeth in the form of gambuh theater was enchanting and intriguing but it could have been better if performed more wholeheartedly. The artists, including the main characters, should have paid more serious attention to the articulation of the Kawi language.

The substance of the dialog also seemed to be ignored by the dancers who failed to vary the delivery of their lines and often did not react to what came out of their colleagues' mouths. This lack of reaction meant the performers often made empty statements with a lack of expression.

The concept of gambuh is much more than the story. It covers both the music and the dance aesthetic, while the story is only the setting. While the dance was often captivating, the bitter tale and the tragic elements in Shakespeare's Macbeth did not match with the less-prosaic performance of the dialog. The plot and the emotion became dull in the frame of the complex presentation of gambuh. Perhaps the story of Macbeth would have been more appealing if it was performed in a Balinese folk theater idiom -- the Arja or Gong Drama.

The writer is a gamelan artist and a lecturer at the Performing Arts Department of the Indonesian Arts Institute (ISI) Denpasar.