The smooth rhythms of the gamelan ensemble will synchronize with traditional Balinese dance to tell a story of culture and beauty.
The University of Oregon Balinese gamelan ensemble, directed by Wayne Vitale and featuring guest dancers I Made Moja and Bonnie Simoa from Lane Community College Dance Company, will bring the beauty and culture of Bali to share with Eugene and the University community. The event is set to last two days and will offer a combination of music, dance and art.
University musicians will use a large set of unique instruments, known as a gamelan gong kebyar, to produce the traditional sounds of Balinese music.
Visiting music professor Wayne Vitale will bring his expertise in Balinese music and teaching to the event. Balinese gamelan is best described as a beautiful blend of gongs, xylophones and drums, producing light rhythms and melodies along with deep gong resonances.
For Vitale, Balinese gamelan and Balinese culture is something he has been studying for many years.
Vitale has been involved with Balinese performing arts for 30 years and has spent several years in Bali researching, composing and documenting music. Vitale has collaborated with the University’s School of Music and Dance and Balinese dance performers to produce a concert of both music and dance traditional to Bali.
“I wanted to give the students in the ensemble that have been learning gamelan a fun goal to work towards at the end of the term,” Vitale said. “I thought it would be fun to expand and make it multidisciplinary by including the dance performers. We want to present the maximum amount of Balinese arts that we can.”
Vitale said the objective of the event will be to utilize the instruments along with the talent of the music students to share the culture of Bali with those who are interested.
“Bali is on the other side of the world, and this is a chance to share the cultural riches of a place that is so extraordinary,” Vitale said.
In conjunction with Vitale and his music students, the dance performers will be performing various typical Balinese dances to live music. Moja, who is from Bali, will be performing a traditional masked dance called Topeng Keras, which will present a dramatic and powerful sequence of moves and actions.
Moja will also be performing a masked dance called Topeng Tua, which will display a character of an old man who tries to remember his youth. The dance will portray both a struggle with reality and the ambition of a strong dancer. During this dance, the music will change in tempo and accent along with a particular sequence of gong strokes.
Simoa, who has a long relationship with Balinese dance, said the opportunity for the dancers to move with live gamelan music is what will make the concert come alive.
“It is such a rare and unusual opportunity to dance to live gamelan music; it is going to be a thrill,” Simoa said.
Simoa visits Bali frequently to practice dance and she describes her connection to Balinese culture and dance as a long-term and long-distance love affair. Simoa is passionate about sharing this culture and dance with her students and the community.
“Those who have visited Bali have a sense of that outpouring beauty and offering in the way that they recognize their gods, but also just in the way they are in their personalities,” Simoa said. “But for those that have never been there, dance and music is one small attempt to share a glimpse of that culture.”
University international student Vania Situmeang from Indonesia said she plans to attend the concert to both support her country and see her culture represented in a new element.
“It is a really energetic and lively type of dance that I have seen before only in Indonesia, and it is just amazing the way that this style is performed,” Situmeang said. “All the performers and musicians here have learned about the culture, and their knowledge shows they appreciate Balinese culture. For me it’s nice to see because these performances take me home for a couple of hours.”
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