If you have ever been curious about Majapahit Kingdom of Indonesia, you might like to see a show of Gambuh - a ritual theater potrays culture of classical Javanese Hindu court during the age of the Majapahit era (1292-1527) Golden . The costumes are elaborate and majestic and the main characters speak and sing in Kawi is an old literary language. After the rise of Islam, Gambuh was flown to Bali where he survived for over 500 years, completely unchanged. Now the oldest Bali's performance heritage is close to extinction.
Why? I decided to watch a show at Batuan village outside Ubud and I felt as if I had stumbled into another realm; the female performers danced hypnotically their eyes looked away. The musicians played on meditative, low long slope flutes, which are unique to the entire gamelan Gambuh. And male performers loaded energetically across the stage before stopping and pose with their legs straight, like birds. Yet despite feeling delighted with the performance of magic, something did not feel well. Although the two-hour performance was condensed, spectators had slowly disappeared. Almost nobody watched the show at the end.
A complete performance Gambuh lasts for six hours and its history is part of a romantic poem, the Malat, in which the fictional prince Panji separated from his bride Candra and his research for many years. Concerned about the endangered art, the interpreter of Italian dance, Cristina created the Wistari Formaggia Gambuh Pura Desa Set in the Balinese village of Batuan in 1993. "We wanted to create a space where everyone could come and learn Gambuh . in Batuan, as in many other villages, rivalries are the threat of Balinese society and so I did not want to seek the help of a pre-existing group, but instead of creating a business where all people can learn both music and dance, "Cristina said in an interview with Odin Teatret.
I Wayan Bawa in Ur Hamlet
After Cristina died in 08, the artist I Wayan Bawa helped lead the group. Bawa Cristina met in 1985 and they both studied under I Made Djimat, one of the largest Bali dance masters. I had the privilege to meet Bawa in his artist studio in Batuan. As the sunlight filtered through the window, hitting its dreamlike, swirling paintings, I sat down and was treated to a cup of Balinese coffee. I could not guess the age of Bawa - his eyes were bright and his long gray hair shimmered freely down her back. He was incredibly charismatic and when he read passages from the ancient Kawi, I felt like I could remember an old part of the soul that had been locked.
"We had a school for Gambuh for children since 1997. Now, only three districts perform Gambuh in Batuan, Gianyar and Denpasar," said Bawa. It also has concerns about its survival. "Gambuh is a technically and musically challenging performance that requires a lot of learning and originally, it was only done twice a year for the great ceremonies because it is a sacred dance, not commercial. Because of this, the chance to learn Gambuh is limited because we practice and perform only twice a year. Cristina helped us to practice and perform more often to keep dancing and reintroduce the people. In June this year, I will be performing with the children in an art event in Denmark -. The mask of the future "Later in the evening, he showed us a practice gamelan for boys and explained that as they are not ready to understand meditation, the easier songs are played in first to maintain their interest
I learned more about Gambuh in the house of Milvia Terenzi -. a homeopathy practitioner - who was also a good friend of Cristina. After Cristina died, Milvia helped manage the school for two years and organized places and translations. "Cristina was the only European allowed to dance in the temples because it was a temple of dance. This is why she became Balinese Hindu. Dancing was her life, she gave all she had in her dance, "said Milvia." Cristina has traveled almost every night of Ubud until Batuan practice. Now, masks are in a museum in Sicily, after she died, we sent all the family. She was so beautiful masks. "
I wanted to know more about the disappearance of Gambuh." It is too difficult. Firstly because of the language that is Kawi, many people are required for the performance and the instruments are too old, so it's out of fashion. It's too expensive. Everyone forgets. It's a long show - now everyone wants shorter dances, "said Milvia. With these thoughts in mind, we sat down to watch a Ur Hamlet recorded performance.
Gambuh Desa Batuan Ensemble play in Ur Hamlet
Although based on an old European game dated 10 AD, the postmodern Ur Hamlet play Gambuh theater built with many traditional Balinese and Japanese performance. Balinese and Indian songs were combined with very modern settings as mothers pushing baby carriages, carrying plastic bags and men wearing running office clothes around mid-performance stage. The result was incantatory, perhaps one of the deepest theatrical performances I've ever seen.
Gambuh had been brought back to life. Cristina helped this ancient art form to evolve to a modern audience. Ur Hamlet was produced by award-winning director Eugenio Barba who founded Odin Theatre in Denmark, and Eugenio and Cristina have worked closely on the project. Cristina played the character of Orvendil (rule of Jutland and Hamlet's father) and I Wayan Bawa played the character of Fengi (Orvendil brother and uncle of Hamlet). "We performed at Kronborg Castle in Elsinore, Denmark, which was the original castle of Hamlet. For Ur Hamlet we had to learn to keep pace with Gambuh inside even if the music has changed, "said Bawa.
for more than 500 years Gambuh remained unchanged, but perhaps it will lead to his death. that's why performances explorers like Ur Hamlet are so important . "I do not think the collaboration with many styles contaminate or damage the art (of Gambuh). On the contrary, I think it will encourage them to understand the different ways to run and make them more solid in what they already know. I think this multicultural project consolidates the group, economically and gives them the chance to keep the nursing and nurturing care group. To give something of a sense of identity to the group, "said Cristina But my thoughts returned to the solo performance I had seen in Batuan. - If they are not able to see their audience, how will they survive
Read more
MC Formaggia Gambuh (00 ) The Foundation Lontar
Odin Teatret: http: //odinteatret.dk/
0 Komentar