INDO ARTS WORKSHOPS

Indonesia location and geography -
Indonesia is the world's largest archipelago nation, is located astride the equator in the humid tropics and extends some 3,700 kilometers east-west. It is surrounded by oceans, seas, and straits except where it shares an island border with East Malaysia and Brunei on Borneo (Kalimantan); with Papua New Guinea on New Guinea; and with Timor Loro Sae on Timor. West Malaysia lies across the Straits of Malaka, the Philippines lies to the northeast, and Australia lies to the south.
The archipelago's location has played a profound role in economic, political, cultural, and religious developments there. For more than two thousand years, trading ships sailed between the great civilizations of India and China via the waters and islands of Australia and the Torres Straight Islands.

JAVANESE AND BALINESE DANCE WORKSHOP PERFORMANCES

I have great interest in learning more about the ancient and modern relationships between the neighbouring Indonesian islands of Java and Bali.
Whilst examining the notion of the dancer being both the puppet-master and the puppet, I explore the ethical and energetic aesthetics of traditional Javanese court-dance, Balinese Temple dance and my dynamic curiosity for mystical traditions of Indonesian villages and trance-possession ritual.
My dancing negotiates the real and illusion of inhabiting physicality. I enjoy moving fluidly between powerful physical states that balance graceful Indonesian classical traditions with adventurous contemporary dance territories.

My dance and inter-arts aesthtics draw from Javanese Wayang Kulit (leather shadow puppet theatre) principles and philosophy – a rich and dynamically adaptive art form that uses many performance languages to tell time-less epic tales, including the Ramayana and the Mahabarata.

• Dhalang – mastermind puppeteer, directing the elements of the storytelling
• Wayang - puppets, shadows, ghosts, ancestral spirits
• Gamelan – Javanese musical structures, modes, patterns, symmetry, evolution and timbre of the gamelan instruments
• Character Types - Presenting essence of
  Refined [elegance, grace and virtue]
  Strong warrior [strength and insight]
  Humorous clown [playful mischief and wisdom]
  Giant and demonic [evil and malevolence]
• Structured improvisation – Working Dalang, Wayang, Gamelan and Characters with tempo, duration, repetition, kinesthetic response, spatial relationship, shape, gesture, architecture and topography

JAVANESE TARI TOPENG (MASK DANCE) WORKSHOPS

Javanese mask dance is a much respected dance tradition that is a part of the religious and artistic expression among the island people of Java. In this workshop participants will learn the heritage and basic principles of the Tari Topeng Kelana, choreographed by Mbak Wangi of the Sanggar Mulyia Bahkti in Indramayu, Central Java Indonesia.
The unique choreography of this maske dance is special in that it has technical and performance challenges for trained dancers and yet the form and structure has simplicity enough for participants with little or no dance training.

INDONESIAN LANGUAGE AND ARTS WORKSHOPS FOR SCHOOLS

• Create an interest in Indonesia, its arts, language, cultures and people from an early age
• Promote Indonesian culture and language through performing arts
• Develop awareness of Indonesia and the diverse cultures within
• Strengthening Indonesia-Australia relations on a people-to-people level

DANCE

• Indonesian Mask Dance from Indramayu Java: Tari Topeng Klana
• Language skills - ‘counting 1-10’, ‘travelling forward, backward and turning’,
  ‘Starting from the beginning’. ‘One more time’ and ‘Are there any questions?’.

CEREMONY

• Traditional costume from different regions of Indonesia, special foods for ceremony and how to prepare a small sweet snack – using glutinous rice, pandan, water, palm sugar and coconut.
• Language skills - ‘Greetings’, ‘Clothing Garments’, and ‘Names of different Foods.’

MUSIC

• Unklung orchestra
• Songs ‘Niak Naik’ and ‘Heads shoulders knees and toes.’
• Language skills - ‘Right and Left’, ‘Mountain’, ‘Trees’ and ‘Names of Body Parts.’

A Workshop Performance at the end of the day is an informal opportunity for children to celebrate and share what they have learnt during the day whilst also reflecting on all the activities experienced.