If you've ever been curious about Indonesia Majapahit Kingdom, you might see a performance of Gambuh - a ritual Theatre, the classic Hindu Javanese court culture in the Golden age of the Majapahit era (1292-1527) potrays. The costumes are elaborate and majestic and speak the main characters and sing in Kawi, which was an ancient written language. After the rise of Islam, Gambuh was transported to Bali, where it has survived for over 500 years, completely unchanged. Now oldest Performance Tradition Bali is threatened with extinction in the vicinity.
Why? I decided to see a show at Batuan village, outside Ubud and I felt as if I had stumbled into another realm; the female performers danced hypnotically as her eyes far into the distance staring. The musicians played meditatively on long, low-pitched flutes, which are the Gambuh Gamelan ensemble unique. And the male performers loaded energetically across the stage before curb and posing with her legs stretched out, like birds. But despite feeling the magic of the performance enchanted, have something not right. Although had the two-hour performance was condensed, the audience had slowly disappeared. Hardly anyone saw the show to end.
A complete Gambuh performance takes six hours and its history is part of a romantic poem that malate in which the fictional Prince Panji separated from his fiancée Candra and looks for it for many years. Concerned about the endangered species, the Italian dance performer, Cristina Wistari Formaggia founded the Gambuh Pura Desa Ensemble Balinese village Batuan 1993 'We wanted to create a space where everyone could come and learn Gambuh. In Batuan, as in many other villages are rivalries the threat of Balinese society and that's why I did not want to ask the help of an existing group, but also create an effort in which all people could learn both the music and the dance, "explains Cristina in an interview with Odin Teatret.
I Bawa By Cristina away in 08 passed in Ur Hamlet Wayan
, the performer I Wayan Bawa helped to steer the group. Bawa met Cristina in 1985 and they both studied under I Made Djimat, Bali's biggest dance master. I had the privilege to meet Bawa in his artist's studio in Batuan. Since the sunlight filtered through the window, to beat his dream-like, swirling paintings, I sat down and was treated coffee Balinese to a cup. I could not guess Bawa age - his eyes were bright and his long gray hair shone freely down his back. He was incredibly charismatic and when he read passages of ancient Kawi, I felt as if I could remember an old part of the soul that had been locked away.
"We have since 1997 for children who had a school for Gambuh. Do it now only three districts Gambuh in Batuan, Gianyar and Denpasar," Bawa said. He 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 twice a year during the great ceremonies performed because it is a sacred dance, not commercially. For this reason, the chance to learn Gambuh, is .. limited because we only practice twice a year and perform Cristina helped train ourselves more often and perform the dance to preserve and introduce it to people back in June of this year, I will be performing with the children in an art event in Denmark -. the mask of the future "Later that night, he showed us a gamelan practice for the boys and explained that, since they are not willing to understand, meditation, simple songs are played first, to keep their interest
I learned more about Gambuh in the home of Milvia Terenzi -. a homeopathy practitioners - who was also a good friend of Cristina. died after Cristina, Milvia helped the school for two years and organized to manage venues and translations. "Cristina was the only Europeans allowed to dance in the temples, because this was a temple dance. For this reason it is Balinese Hindu was. Dancing was her life, she gave everything she had to her dance" Milvia said. "Cristina traveled almost every night of Ubud to practice to Batuan. Now their masks are in a museum in Sicily, after we died all in the family passed. She had so many beautiful masks."
I wanted more find out about Gambuh demise. "It will be difficult to perform. On the one hand because of the language Kawi is, many people are required for the performance and the instruments are also old, so it is out of fashion. It's too expensive. Everyone forgets about it. It's a long show - now everyone wants to see the shorter dances "Milvia said. With these thoughts in mind, we sat down to watch a recorded down Ur Hamlet performance.
Gambuh Desa Batuan Ensemble perform in Ur Hamlet
Although based on an old European game 10 AD dated, the postmodern Ur Hamlet was added to a host of classic Balinese and Japanese performances Gambuh drama. Balinese and Indian songs were combined with very modern settings as mothers strollers, carrying plastic shopping bags and men wearing office clothes run around the stage average power slide. The result was captivating, perhaps one of the most profound theater performances I've ever seen.
Gambuh had been brought back to life. Cristina had this ancient art form helped to develop for a modern audience. Ur Hamlet was produced by the award-winning theater director Eugenio Barba, founded the Odin Theatre in Denmark and Eugenio and Cristina had worked closely on the project. Cristina played the character of Orvendil (ruler of Jutland and Hamlet's father) and I Wayan Bawa character Fengi (Orvendil brother and Hamlet's uncle) played. "We performed at Kronborg Castle in Elsinore, Denmark, which was the original castle of Hamlet. For Ur Hamlet we, even if the music to keep changes had to learn the rhythm of Gambuh inside," said Bawa.
For more than 500 years Gambuh has remained unchanged, but maybe this will lead to its demise. Therefore exploratory perfomances as Ur Hamlet are so important. "I do not think that the cooperation with many kinds contaminate or the art deteriorated (from Gambuh). On the opposite, I think it make them solid in what they already know, to stimulate them different ways of implementation and . understand I think this multicultural project team consolidates, economically and gives them the chance, the group to maintain care and stimulating. to somehow a sense of identity to the group enter, "explains Cristina. But my thoughts back to the solitary performance, which I had seen in Batuan - if they are unable to see their audience as they survive
Learn more
MC Formaggia, Gambuh (00 ) The Lontar Foundation
Odin Teatret: http://odinteatret.dk/
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