Richard Jernigan -> RE: Ravi Shankar & Ali Akbar Khan in concert 1972 (Apr. 20 2017 23:28:38)
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ORIGINAL: BarkellWH <snip> I'm not suggesting that Javanese art forms are better, but overall they are more refined. As an example, Javanese music is more refined and controlled, almost intellectual. Balinese music, by contrast, is far more dynamic and lively. The same holds true in dance. Javanese dance is more deliberately refined and controlled, while Balinese dance is more lively, very angular, and expressive. <snip> Bill I have both Balinese and Javanese friends. I am a great fan of Balinese dance drama. My first visit to Java was a trip by mini van from Ubud, Bali to Yogyakarta, Java, with my friend Paul as guide and translator, and Harry as driver. Paul is from Surabaya. He has a degree in English literature from the University of Malang, speaks fluent and accurate Spanish, which he learned in about three years during the time I have known him. He also speaks Russian (presumably as well as his Spanish and English) and five Indonesian languages in addition to Javanese and Bahasa Indonesia--but not Balinese, though he has worked for years as a tourist guide in Bali. Harry's father is Javanese, his mother Balinese. He speaks both languages, as well as serviceable but occasionally imperfect English. His teeth are filed level in the Balinese manner, so he is often taken as Balinese. Harry and Paul both suggested enthusiastically that we visit a fairly small city in East Java, where there is a large venue for traditional Javanese dance drama performances. At the moment I don't remember the name of the town, but it is a significant tourist attraction, for Indonesians as well as foreign tourists. The performance the night we visited was a condensed version of the Ramayana ballet. It lasted a couple of hours. The full version lasts all night. Paul's and Harry's attitude was, "See how much more refined the Javanese version is, and how superior it is to the [rather rustic] Balinese version." In fact I liked the more earthy Balinese version better, even though I can't understand the improvised jokes that occasionally emerge. For example Hanoman, the white general of the monkey army, is more godlike and has much better manners in the Javanese version. In the Balinese version this major character is much more monkey-like. When he discovers where Prince Rama's kidnapped wife is being held captive, he sits on the wall, figuring out his next move, while he scratches himself and bites the fleas he catches. Javanese Hanoman would never exhibit such barbaric behavior. But Paul and Harry clearly found the Javanese version superior. Here is a Balinese dancer in a performance of legong. This is one of a few hundred poses and facial expressions which children begin to learn around age six, if they are to become dancers. The gestures are synchronized with the music, and can follow one another as rapidly as about 200 beats per minute. Some poses, like this one, are held for several beats. Next is Balinese Hanoman flying to Sri Lanka in search of Princess Sita. The stage is about thirty feet (10 meters) long. When he first came out of the door behind him, I instinctively ducked, thinking his leap would carry him the whole distance. He did this jump three times in quick succession. It's not his initial long jump coming out the door. On this one he jumps straight up from the floor. On the second jump I noticed the musical cue. The third time the cue played I pressed the shutter release. It was only after the film was developed that I could appreciate the precision of his pose. My Balinese friend Nyoman has been my driver a number of times. When I first brought a guitar with me, he asked to hear me play, and immediately invited me to a rehearsal of the gamelan of Bangli, the seat of one of the seven rajas of Bali before the Dutch conquest. This is one of the leading gamelans of the whole island, having won the annual contest in Denpasar several times, playing in the prevailing gong kebyar style. Nyoman has been a leading member of the ensemble since he was in his twenties. When I asked him about Javanese gamelan, he said he didn't know much about it. But he said his impression was that it had remained rather static, while Balinese gamelan was a vibrantly evolving art. I confess a preference for the more dynamic and complex Balinese style, though as always tastes in music are subjective, and each is entitled to his own. RNJ
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