Bandung World Jazz Festival 2010: Sound Through the Dimension

Here are some of the pictures that I took at Bandung World Jazz Festival 2010 which began today and will last till tomorrow at Sabuga.

Bandung World Jazz Festival is an annual event and this year's is the second. The first was held last year.

Fifty two jazz groups from Indonesia, Australia, Brazil, Chile, Ghana, Italy, Malaysia, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Singapore, and USA are performing in this year's festival which is themed "Sound Through Dimension".

The theme was chosen to reflect the uniquely diverse musical traditions of the participating groups and the collaborative projects that they are trying to forge to create mutual musical dialogs that are expected to produce new musical compositions, sensations, alteration, opinions, interpretations, and expressions.

Odd One Out

During the violin perfomance (see my post yesterday), somebody came onto the stage. He was unexpected but brought a lot of laughters among the audience. This guy, a Ganiater, added so much fun (or distraction?) to the music performance.

Can you see what he's doing and point out what's odd about it?

It's always fun to see Ganiaters (the members of GANIATI) perform. Here's one I captured on video.

Student Theatrical Performance, Part II

Continuing on yesterday's post, here are the photos from the second theatrical perfomance produced by my students from a different class of Exploring Drama. The title they picked was "The Importance of Being Earnest: A Trivial Commedy for Serious People" by Oscar Wilde.

I took these picture in the near-dark of the theater stage without the aid of flash lights. To get these pictures, I was forced to use the highest ISO rating my digital camera would allow. At ISO 3200, the digital noise is very visible.

Student Theatrical Performance, Part I

Last week, my students from two different classes at the English Education Department of Indonesia University of Education (UPI Bandung) performed two theatrical performances for the final project of their exploring drama class that I taught.

The following pictures are from their performance of Our Town, an early twentieth century play written by an American playwright Thornton Wilder. I am posting these pictures in honor of their hard work.

Mad Buffalo

These masked characters are the performers of Seni Helaran Kebo Ngamuk (lit. mad buffalo perfomance art) from the Indramayu regency in the northeastern coast of the Province of West Java (of which Bandung is the capital city).

Kebo Ngamuk performance consists of several acrobatic attractions with a mock-up mad buffalo as the central figure and a number of masked performers like these fighting with the buffalo. The performance is accompanied with dymanic music that is typical of the northern cost of West Java region.

My World: Sisingaan

Sisingaan (also called Gotong Singa) or the lion dance is a Sundanese performace art that is originally from the area of Subang in the northern coast of West Java.



This performance consists of several subsets of performances. They include:
(1) Tatalu or arang-arang bubuka, a dynamic musical opening;
(2) Kidung or kembang gadung, a singing performance;
(3) Ibingan, a dancing performance;
(4) a set of accrobatic performances, and
(5) a closing musical performance.



The name "sisingaan" is derived from a pair of lion-like figures that become the central attraction of the show. These lions are usually used to carry children like the ones you see in the pictures.



Sisingaan can be performed at any helaran (festivals). But it is usually performed at circumscision ceremony and other carnivals.

This post is linked to My World Tuesday, a weekly meme where photo bloggers show their worlds through pictures. Please click the link to see posts from paricipating bloggers from around the world.

Sambasunda

It's not easy to do stage photography if you can't get close to the stage or don't have the right equipment. But I was happy doing this one with my pocket camera (my other cameras being out of batteries) and from a position that's not close enough to get good photographs. The music was simply great and electrifying. So even when I could not get decent pictures of this group's stage performance, I was just happy being there to listen to their music.

This is Sambasunda performing at last week's Bambu Nusantara World Music Festival. Sambasunda is a Bandung-based group of creative contemporary musicians whose unique musical compositions and performances have won them a number of worldwide acclaims. Their music is modern but deeply rooted in the rich varieties of Indonesian traditional musical traditions.

The group was established in 1990 with the name PRAWA. In 1997, the name was changed to CBMW. The current name - Samba Sunda - was adopted in 1998 when they launched their first album "Rhythmical Sundanese People" of which "Sambasunda" was one of the songs.

Contrary to what many people think about the name, Sambasunda has nothing to do with the Latin music of Samba. Sambasunda is a combination of "samba", a Cirebonese dialect word that means a pre-puberty teenager, and Sunda, the name of an Indonesian ethnic unit, the native population of the western part of the Java island.

I'll upload the video of their performance later at my other blog Bandung Daily Video.

Bambu Nusantara World Music Festival (Part 2): GANIATI

Bambu Nusantara World Music Festival did not only stage traditional performace art forms but also contemporary ones like this group who call themselves the GANIATI (Garing Mania Sampai Mati).



Ganiati is a community of students of the Indonesia University of Education (UPI) who are into what may be called as "experimental" contemporary performance art forms. The group was established in 2001 by a number of sophomore students of the Fine Art Department of UPI.

According to their Friendster account (they don't have a website or blog), Ganiati was established with the purpose of "spreading the viruses of peace and the "garing" (literally: dry, but colloquially also means "weird" or "weirdness") and making everybody healthier with laughter and gymnastic exercises".

You may find their statement of purpose a bit incongruous. Indeed, incongruity seems to be [an essential] part of their identity as a group and their art. You only need to look at the bottom photo to see this. Here a man is dressed in girl's gown but wearing a bamboo helmet of their own creation that looks somewhat futuristic by design. If this does not satisfy your curiousity, you may also check my video of their performance at my video blog.



Ganiati is probably one of the art phenomena that can be categorized as postmodern, a condition (?) or age (?) where no subject has any rational means "to evaluate a preference in relation to judgements of truth, morality, aesthetic experience or objectivity." (Postmodernism)

West Javanese Cultural Heritage: The Angklung

In addition to cultural performances, Saung Angklung Udjo or SAU (see my post yesterday) also has a sizeable angklung production workshop where visitors can see for themselves how the angklung is made and even learn how to make it themselves.



To learn more about angklung, how it is made, and other pertinent information, you can read this Wikipedia article and/or visit the Angklung Web Institute site.

Although the angklung can theoretically be made from any bamboo, it is best made from two particular types of bamboo, i.e. the black bamboo (the Sundanese people call it "awi wulung") like the one in the bottom photo and the white bamboo or "awi temen".

My World: Saung Angklung Udjo (SAU)

The above photo is of Angklung Jaipong dance, one of the art and cultural performances staged at Saung Angklung Udjo (Udjo's Angklung House).

Among many performing art groups and houses in Bandung, Saung Angklung Ujdo (or SAU for short) is probably unique in that it is professionally managed and stages performances of a wide array of Sundanese (West Javanese) arts on the daily basis. Established in 1966 by the late Udjo Ngalagena or Mang Udjo and his wife Uum Sumiati, SAU takes pride in its vision and mission not only as a place where Sundanese arts are performed, but also as a living art laboratory and an institution that strive to preserve the Sundanese cultural heritage and provide community-based art education.



The word "angklung" that makes up its name indicates SAU's specialty in this kind of bamboo musical intrument. Angklung is a Sundanese (West Javanese) traditional musical instrument made of bamboo. Angklung performances are the main stapple of SAU's menu. Throughout the two hour daily performances, the angklung and Sundanese bamboo music makes up five out of ten performances given. In one of them, the audience is given a chance to play angklung together as an orchestra with the guidance of an expert teacher. Please check my other blog BANDUNG DAILY VIDEO at some later time to hear the music and see how angklung is played.

Other performances offered at SAU include a Wayang Golek demonstration, Tari Topeng Cirebon (Cirebonese Mask Dance), and Helaran (festive celebration of important occasions in the Sundanese society), and Tari Merak (Peacock Dance).

SAU is located on Jalan Padasuka 118 in the east of Bandung.



This post is BANDUNG DAILY PHOTO's participation in My World Tuesday. Please click the link to check other posts from the participating blogs from around the world.

My World: Gatutkaca

Gatutkaca is a "wayang golek" figure. In the epic of Mahabharata - one of the main sources of the narratives for the Javanese and Sundanese wayang performances, Gatotkaca is characterized as a demigod superman whose power includes - among others - the ability to fly. So powerful this character is that it is said that his bones are made of steel and his muscles of wires.

Gatotkaca's power is said to be inherited from his parents: Bimasena or Bima of the Pandawa family, his father, is a fierce but kind-hearted hero, and Hidimbi (better known as Arimbi in Javanese and Sundanese), his mother, is a powerful rakshasa (giant).

The Gatutkaca in the above photo is not the one that is normally used for "wayang golek" performance, but a unique souvenir that you can bring home from Bandung and West Java in general. This souvenir wayang golek is made larger that the one that is normally used for the performance.

This post is Bandung Daily Photo's participation in My World Tuesday Meme. Please follow the link to see other participants' photos and stories.

Topeng Cirebon

This is a pair of Topeng Cirebon (Cirebonese Masks).

Topeng Cirebon is the masks and the name of a traditional dance (called Tari Topeng Cirebon) from the West Javanese area of Cirebon of which these masks are the essential attire.

At this time, I do not yet have the photos and videos of the dance. I'll post them when I do.

My world: Jaipongan, A West Javanese Cultural Heritage

"Jaipongan" is a relatively new creation dance. The correography of this dance is attributed to Gugum Gumbira, a prominent Bandung artist, musician, dancer, and correographer. It became popular in the early 1980s.

The correography of "jaipongan" is derived from/inspired by older West Javanese traditional folk "socialization" dances such as "ketuk tilu", "kliningan", "bajidoran" and some movements of "pencak silat" (Indonesian traditional martial art). It is called a socialization dance because it is primarily performed as an entertainment (as compared to dances that are performed for rituals or other ceremonial occasions) where members of the audience are invited to take part and interact with the dancer(s) and other members of the audience.

"Jaipongan" by the way is a very dynamic dance with swift, quick, and rhythmical motions and music.

This post is my participation for the meme MY WORLD.

My World Tuesday Post: The Dance of The Peacock

I know, I promised you that I'd post the second installment of the photo essay about Bandung's traditional wedding; but the essay involves a lot of photos and quite a bit of a story to tell, and frankly speaking I'm a bit busy today and don't have the time to prepare and upload the photos and write the story. So, instead of continuing with the essay, today I bring you this photo of these beautiful "Tari Merak" dancers.

These "Tari Merak" (Dance of The Peacock) dancers are part of the party that welcome the groom's entourage at my friend's wedding last Sunday (see yesterday's post).

"Tari Merak" is a relatively new composition dance. It was coreographed by a prominent Bandung (Sundanese) artist Raden Tjetje Somantri in the 1950s. The graceful movements of this dance are inspired by the behavior of "burung merak" (the peacock), a native Indonesian bird that is known worldwide for its beautiful and colorful feathers.

The coreography of "Tari Merak" has been revised/modified twice since it was created. Both modifications were made by Irawati Durban Ardjo. The first modification was made in 1965, and the second in 1985.

This post is my participation for the new meme My World Tuesday. To see photos and stories from other participating blogs from around the world, please follow this link.