Balinese performance

This weekend offered a wealth of Asian theatre at the UCs. I opted against driving down to UCLA for a Peking Opera performance, since I have a lot of reading to do. Instead, I decided to stay local for a performance by a Balinese troupe - Gamelan Sekar Jaya.

Like everything around here, it was not what I expected. For one, it was in a very small, hidden theatre, and it was sold out. Got in on the waitlist. Also, I expected more dance, but given the small stage, there wasn't the room. It was filled with 13 musicians, their percussion-based instruments, leaving a very small little runway for a single dancer. Because it was so crowded, it was difficult to see anything.

The music was very interesting, less tonal than I would have thought. Metallic percussion, rhythm. There was a leader from Java and a Berkeley prof as MC. Unfortunately, the leader and one of the dancers were the only ethnic people on stage. It was a group of white guys, probably hippie grad students from Berkeley. There was one dance that would have been prelude to a theatre performance, but the focus was much more on the musical structure than dramatic function or tradition. I enjoyed the music, but with more theatre to read, it was hard to sit at a concert. It didn't help that it was really warm and I didn't tend to my sleeping sickness, so I felt really rude when I realised I was dozing off.