Doris Duke Theatre, Honolulu Academy of Art, Honolulu, HI, USA
$25; $20 Academy members; $10 students with ID
April 16 & 17 at 8 p.m.
April 18 at 4 p.m.
Honolulu’s diverse dance communities are integrated in this innovative program showcasing professional and semi-professional dancers, who will perform either in pairs or in concert with a musician. The program includes the premiere of a new contemporary ballet piece Minou Lallemand choreographed for Duets; Japanese dance set by Gertrude Tsutsumi; Korean dance by Halla Huhm student Mary Jo Freshley; Balinese dance by Desiree A. Seguritan, and a special appearance by Los Angeles-based Simeon Den, back in town to perform a poignant modern-dance duet about mortality. Three sets of three duets (no longer than five minutes each) will be performed, with two brief intermissions.
7:30 PM , Saturday, 28 November 2009
Orvis Auditorium, UH Mānoa
$12 general / $8 students & seniors
Javanese Wayang Kulit (Shadow Puppet Theatre)
Presented in cooperation with the Hawaii Gamelan Society
Directed by Byron Moon, UH Gamelan Ensemble
Emeritus Director: Hardja Susilo
Guest Artists: Widiyanto, dhalang (puppeteer) and Sutrisno Hartana (musician)
In the never ending feud between the Pendhawa and the Kurawa clan, the devious Kurawa Prime Minister, Sengkuni, manages to coerce the young innocent Pendhawa princes into placing their estate as a wager in a Kurawa sponsored fixed game of dice. Losing the game, the Pendhawa are exiled to the treacherous Mrentani forest. The Pendhawa’s attempt to open the forest to establish a dwelling place encounters fierce resistance from the genie, ghosts, and ghouls of the forest. With great effort the Pendhawa defeat the denizens of Mrentani, and establish a new prosperous state of Amarta.
Master puppeteer Widiyanto joins the UH Gamelan Ensemble to present a wayang kulit performance in celebration of the 75th birthday of the ensemble’s founding director, Hardja Susilo. As a concession to western audiences, the performance time will be reduced in length to around two hours from the traditional eight. The story will be told in both Javanese and English and accompanied by a full gamelan orchestra.
International Institute for Asian Studies and the University of Amsterdam
Amsterdam, the Netherlands
9 September 2010
The maritime Sama peoples make up on of the most widespread cultural groups within the southeast Asian island region. They can be found in the Philippine Sulu Archipelago, southwestern Mindanao, Sabah, Borneo, east Kalimantan, and Sulawesi, and across many of the eastern Indonesian islands. One specific, so-called “sea-nomadic” Sama group refers to itself as “Sea Sama” (Sama Diluat, also known as Bajau Laut).
This conference looks at the Sama Dilaut’s performing arts, focussing on kulintangan and other types of instrumental music, song repertoire, and dance. Music and dance are central to the Sama Dilaut’s identity negotiation and maintenance of cultural memory. Music and dance are direct tools in the processes of identity negotiation that localise the Sama Dilaut ‘in-between’ rather than ‘here’ or ‘there’. ‘In-between’ like the beach is in-between the land and the sea, which is difficult to define sharply because of a constant coming and going of high and low tides that blurs the line between the one and the other; but also ‘in-between’ like the present is a bridge between yesterday and tomorrow. This ‘in-between’ is, at the same time, the clear space of the Sama Dilaut’s ‘Own’.
Directed by Larry Reed, Artistic Director of ShadowLight Productions, San Francisco Musical Director: I Nyoman Sumandhi, Bali
Production Director: Kirstin Pauka,University of Hawai’i at Manoa
Jan 25, 26, 31, Feb 1, 2, 3 2008
This unusual adaptation of Shakespeare’s most musical and magical play is about a sorcerer and dethroned Milanese duke (Prospero), who has been banished with his daughter Miranda to an enchanted island.
Guest artist Larry Reed fuses Balinese and Elizabethan elements with his hallmark shadowcasting method, which utilizes a giant screen and live performers to create a magical shadow theatre performance. The production will also feature live musical accompaniment by the UH Balinese Gamelan Ensemble under the direction of guest artist I Nyoman Sumandhi.
Thursday, 15 November 2007 at 12:00 PM Presented by Professor Bonnie Bererton, University of Michigan
Thai shadow theater (nang talung) has long been associated with southern Thailand, where it is a famous hallmark of local identity. It is also found in parts of the northeast, where it is known as nang pramo thai. Although its presence there probably dates from no earlier than the twentieth century, nang pramo thai is a vibrant form of entertainment with a loyal following. This talk explores the status of this dramatic form in the central Isan provinces and contrasts it with that of the traditional shadow theatre of southern Thailand. Despite its low profile, nang pramo thai in many ways embodies the essence of the local culture of the Northeast. This can be seen not only in its robust music, high spirited puppetry, and inclusion of women puppeteers; but also in the performers’ ingenuity in adopting an “imported tradition” and transforming it into a local one when faced with financial hardship.
SPEAKER BIO:
Dr. Bonnie Brereton went to Thailand as a Peace Corps volunteer in 1965 and in 1969. After
working as an outreach coordinator at the University of Michigan’s Center for Southeast Asian Studies, she received a Fulbright as a consultant at Khon Kaen University where she began research on local shadow theatre and village temple murals. Her most recent publications include “Traditional Shadow Theater of Northeastern Thailand (Nang Pramo Thai) Hardy Transplant or Endangered Species?”, Aseanie, forthcoming, and a book in progress on Isan murals.
Friday, 14 September 2007 at 12:00 PM at Korean Studies Auditorium Presented by Professor I Nyoman Sumandhi, artist-in-residence in the Asian Theatre Program at UHM
Prof. Sumandhi will speak on dance education and dances on the island of Bali, present video clips, and – as a highlight of his lecture – also perform examples of topeng mask dance.
SPEAKER BIO:
Prof. Sumandhi was born in a family of dalangs, or traditional Balinese puppet masters. His father was a famous dalang, and Sumandhi himself is now a renown performer of shadow puppetry, a leader in musical traditions such as gender wayang and gong kebyar, as well as a master of topeng mask dance.
Prof. Sumandhi has been performing and teaching in many places throughout the U.S and many other countries including Japan, Korea, Singapore, Italy, Australia, Iran, etc. He was the principle of Sekolah Menengah Karawitan Indonesia (SMKI), a High School of Performing Arts, Denpasar in Bali (1991-1999), a visiting professor at the Music Dept. at the University of California, Santa Cruz (1993,) and an instructor at SMKI (1965-1991).
Traditional Indonesian Randai
Directed by Kirstin Pauka
Guest Master Artists: Mohamad Halim and Saparman Bin Jamaludin
Jan. 28, 29, Feb. 3, 4, 5, 6 2005
A traditional West Sumatran Randai folk play featuring martial arts, dance, singing, music, and pants-slapping percussion, Manandin’s Gamble is a traditional coming-of-age story about love, gambling, and adventure. Master artists from West Sumatra, Mohamad Halim, internationally renowned master of traditional Minangkabau music, and Saparman Bin Jamaludin, master-teacher of Randai dance, acting, and silat (martial arts) will provide specialized training. UHM is the only university in the world that produces Indonesian Randai in English.
Traditional Indonesian Randai
Directed by Kirstin Pauka
Guest Master Artists: Mohamad Halim and Saparman Bin Jamaludin
Jan. 28, 29, Feb. 3, 4, 5, 6 2005
A traditional West Sumatran Randai folk play featuring martial arts, dance, singing, music, and pants-slapping percussion, Manandin’s Gamble is a traditional coming-of-age story about love, gambling, and adventure. Master artists from West Sumatra, Mohamad Halim, internationally renowned master of traditional Minangkabau music, and Saparman Bin Jamaludin, master-teacher of Randai dance, acting, and silat (martial arts) will provide specialized training. UHM is the only university in the world that produces Indonesian Randai in English.
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