Playing traditional gamelan the American style

By I Kadek Suartaya

UBUD, Bali (JP): The villagers in Ubud, Bali, were dazed by a group of Americans playing gamelan and dancing deftly to the tune of this traditional musical instrument.

These Americans, brimming with self-confidence, recently performed a number of traditional Balinese songs and dances during a show which also featured some of the best music troupes in the area. The group from the U.S. mesmerized the audience packed into Bale Banjar Pengosekan community hall that evening.

The next day the group appeared at the International Gamelan Exhibition in Denpasar, and since then they have been touring Bali playing traditional Balinese gamelan music and performing Balinese dances.

Their itinerary includes Peliatan in Gianyar regency, Menyali village on the northern part of the island and Ngis village on the easternmost tip of Bali, which will be the last stop of their tour of the Island of Gods. Many Balinese have been pleasantly surprised watching these "tourists" skillfully perform traditional Balinese gamelan music and dances.

Who are these strange "tourists"? They are Americans with many years of experience performing traditional Balinese gamelan music and dances. The members of this traditional Balinese art troupe, which was set up in 1979 with the name Sekar Jaya, hail from California. The group regularly rehearse in a ground-floor room of a house located in El Cerrito, near San Francisco. They call this room bale banjar, taken from the name given to places in Bali that are used for similar activities.

This group is led by Wayne Vitale, a composer who has devoted many years of his life to Balinese gamelan music.

As a gamelan music troupe, Sekar Jaya is quite well-reputed, particularly in the state of California. There are quite a few Americans who have been disappointed upon learning their applications for the group were rejected.

"Members of the group have to pay voluntary contribution fees. If you have no money, well, you are exempted from this obligation. If you are rich, you are expected to pay more, of course," said Vitale.

The members of the group are of diverse professional backgrounds: computer experts, mechanical engineers, joiners, automobile workshop owners, teachers and musicians.

Since its inception, the group has moved its headquarters and rehearsal site four times. Their present rehearsal location also serves as the group's office. "This is the safest place for us. When we had our rehearsal site downtown, we used to have a row with our neighbors," said Vitale, who has headed the group since 1986.

Sekar Jaya regularly invites traditional Balinese gamelan music and dance teachers from Bali. Also, a number of the members have been to Bali to study under the island's gamelan and dance doyens.

The Balinese gamelan and dance teachers invited to the United States by the group include I Wayan Suweca, I Nyoman Windha and I Wayan Rai.

Vitale said the group was currently in Bali to demonstrate its skills not only to its teachers, but also to the Balinese. They hope their performances are well-received and they also invite constructive criticism. "Words pale before the happiness we enjoy when our audience can give a good response to our performance."

The group's style and presence during their performances are indeed deserving of admiration, and the group is comparable to the best such groups in Bali. What is unusual about the American group is that unlike groups in Bali, they have an equal number of male and female members.

The female gamelan players are as dexterous as their male counterparts, and a number of important instruments, including the ugal, trompong and rebab, are played only by the female members of the group.

The group plays Gong Kebyar, a kind of traditional music which enjoys great popularity in Bali and is found in every banjar, a Balinese term for village.

What is interesting is that during their performances, the members of Sekar Jaya do not play only one instrument. They move in circle, playing kendang, then playing the flute and then the cengceng.

It is very rare in Bali for gamelan players to move swiftly from one instrument to another during a single performance. While Balinese gamelan players are adept at playing a variety of instruments, they usually remain in one place from the beginning of a performance to the end.

This raises the question of whether Sekar Jaya's method of playing gamelan music is a reflection of a democratic culture.

Gamelan music, which is the essence and symbol of the harmonious blending of culture, has been interpreted by this group in a subjective and concrete manner as something individualistic in a collective nuance. Democratic individual aspirations -- moving in a circle playing a variety of instruments -- are accorded their place, but the philosophy of togetherness, which is the very substance of gamelan, has been made the foundation on which art and organizational activities are based.