Gamelan Sekar Jaya is a group of Americans who specialize in performing
traditional Balinese music and dance. The current show at Zellerbach introduced
an original theatrical work entitled "Kawit Legong: Prince Karna's Dream".
The story is based on the legend which gave rise to the Legong Dance
of Bali. In the story, a prince meditates in a temple. While he was meditating,
two spirits entered the temple to try to break his concentration, but were
unsuccessful. At that moment, the Prince had a vision of a divine dance
performed by two celestial nymphs. Upon returning to the village, he came
across a dance rehearsal. With the dance teacher's help, he taught the
celestial dance to two young girls. He placed two sacred masks from the
temple onto the girls. With the masks on, the girls became the exact likeness
of the nymphs.
In the meanwhile, an evil witch and her four disciples terrorizes
a nearby village. Karna arrives to confront the witch but she drives him
back. Then the voice of the temple speaks to the Prince and reveals that
the way to fight the witch is by performing the Legong Dance. The dance
restores order and balance between heaven and earth and the witch's power
is broken. The Legong Dance is now performed annually across Bali by girls
who are ritually chosen at the age of four or five to train for several
years before assuming their sacred roles.
Here's a link to a review of the show by Allan Ulrich at the San
Francisco Chronicle: Balinese
Dance Drama a Sensuous 'Dream', Gamelan Sekar Jaya seduces at Zellerbach.
After the show, we went to Viet Nam Village for some yummy Vietnamese
food!
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