A benefit for Bali A benefit for Bali (November 22, 2002)

Special event will showcase Balinese music and dance

by Robyn Israel

W ayne Vitale distinctly remembers the first time his Balinese music/dance troupe, Gamelan Sekar Jaya, performed in Bali in 1985.

"There was an explosion of reviews. They said a cultural bomb had been dropped in their art center," recalled Vitale, the groups' executive director. "They remarked on how foreigners had come and performed their music and dance with such skill."

Seventeen years later, Gamelan Sekar Jaya is still dedicating itself to the music and dance of Bali. Considered the most famous performing arts group outside of Bali, the El Cerrito-based ensemble will perform a benefit concert on Saturday at the Mountain View Center for the Performing Arts. Half of the proceeds will be sent to an aid agency focused on lending immediate assistance to the victims of the Oct. 12 bombing of a Balinese nightclub that killed 200 people, mostly vacationing foreigners. The other half will be used to sponsor an event intended to memorialize the tragedy and help restore unity to the fabric of life in Bali.

Saturday's concert had already been planned and organized a year ago, but the recent bombing inspired Gamelan Sekar Jaya to retool the show. The new program will feature the world premiere of "Jaya Baya" ("Victory in the Face of Danger"), written by Nyoman Windha, one of Bali's preeminent composers, in memory of the attack's victims. The piece will combine Western and Balinese instruments, the latter including gongs, bronze metalophones, drums and flutes. Windha, currently an artist-in-residence at Gamelan Sekar Jaya, will direct the ensemble.

One of the evening's instrumental pieces will accompany a slide show of images taken in Bali by Richard Blair, a Bay Area photographer.

"We feel there's so much negative publicity about Indonesia, terrorism and bombs," Vitale said. "We want to show that life continues there, and it's a rich and vibrant culture that's still strong."

The 50-member music and dance ensemble will feature three different kinds of gamelan (percussion orchestras), with each showcasing different instruments and distinct tunings. The musicians, however, will be the same in each ensemble. The largest ensemble, gong kebyar, will feature an "extremely dynamic and explosive style"; angklung will showcase music normally used in cremation rituals and temple ceremonies; gender wayang will fittingly include a composition called "Damai" (peace), written by the group's co-founder, Wayan Suweca.

"The music is all learned by heart; we practice incessantly," Vitale said. "It's all worked out to the last detail. It's not improvised music."

The orchestra's dancers will be led by Gusti Agung Ayu Warsiki, a Balinese dancer and teacher who specializes in the classical Legong style. The latter style is a refined dance typically performed by preteen girls. According to Balinese legend, the dance appeared in a dream to Prince Karna, an 18th-century royal. He awoke from his reverie and taught the dance to the musicians and dancers of his village. Today the tradition continues.

Gamelan Sekar Jaya (its name means victorious flower) was founded in 1979 by Suweca, a well known Balinese drummer and composer ("the Zakir Hussein of Bali," according to Vitale, referring to India's most famous tabla player), and two Americans, Rachel Cooper and Michael Tenzer. The group has performed more than 400 concerts throughout the United States, Canada, Mexico and Bali. In addition to performances, the organization conducts workshops, lectures and private lessons to schools and the general public.

On its last trip to Bali in 2000, the ensemble received a Dharma Kusuma award, the country's highest award for artistic achievement. It marked the first time the award was given to foreign performers. The group is regularly featured on Balinese television.

"We're a household word in Bali. You'd be hard-pressed to find a Balinese who doesn't know us," Vitale said. "They're very touched that we pay so much attention to their arts."

Performing arts in Bali are integral to the country's day-to-day life, and are a part of religious ceremonies and village activities.

"They have a lot of social cachet. It's cool to be a dancer or a musician."

Vitale has been director of Gamelan Sekar Jaya since 1986. He composes music for the troupe, teaches Balinese music at San Francisco State and also owns Vital records, a label dedicated to Balinese music. Having lived in Bali for more than six years total, Vitale is intimately familiar with the culture, and smiles from ear to ear when he talks about the country's tropical setting and its warm, gentle inhabitants. Few of its 3 million inhabitants leave, Vitale said, opting to live in the land they love.

"They're very tied to their homes. Their lives are so rich. Their social fabric is so strong, so resilient. So it's a difficult place to leave."

What: "Music and Dance of Bali," featuring Gamelan Sekar Jaya. Proceeds will benefit Bali's relief effort.

Where: Mountain View Center for the Performing Arts, 500 Castro St.

When: Saturday at 8 p.m.

Cost: Tickets are $22 general admission; $18 students/seniors; $12 for children 12 and under, and can be ordered by calling (650) 903-6000 or online at www.mvcpa.com

Info: Call (510) 237-6849 or visit www.gsj.org