Jewel of the World: A Night in Bali

Jewel of the World: A Night in Bali

SAN FRANCISCO (JP): The beautiful oleg tambulilingan and
dynamic kecak traditional Balinese dances will be performed by 70
dancers and musicians at the prestigious Japan Theater in Los
Angeles on May 20 and the Herbst Theater in San Francisco on May
27.

The performance, called A Night in Bali, will also feature
the gamelan group Barut Wangi from California. The event is
headed by Dr. I Made Nyoman Wenten, a professor of Indonesian
culture at the California Institute of the Arts and the head of
the Department of World Music at the University of California in
Los Angeles.

Also involved in organizing the event is the newly established
Indonesians for the Development of Education and Arts (IDEA) and
the Indonesian communities in Northern and Southern California.

The show is the first cultural activity organized by IDEA to
raise funds to help Indonesian children continue their schooling.

IDEA was established to raise funds and other assistance to
improve education facilities and fund educational activities in
Indonesia.

The ongoing multidimensional crisis in Indonesia has badly
effected the business, education and health sectors since it hit
in l997.

The crisis has resulted in a great increase in the number of
unemployed workers, school dropouts and the poor. Millions of
schoolchildren throughout the country have been forced to give up
their education because their parents could not afford their
school tuitions.

Based on a study jointly conducted by RAND, the University of
California in Los Angeles and the University of Indonesia in
l998, 38 percent of secondary school students in Indonesia had to
leave school and 12 percent of elementary school students were
forced to drop out.

The current dismaying condition of Indonesia's educational
system has drawn the attention of the Indonesian community,
students and professionals living in Northern and Southern
California.

The funds raised from the performances will be delivered to
Indonesian and international organizations such as Care, Bengkel
Amal and Permias Los Angeles, and other humanitarian
organizations.