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Fundraising for Documentation of Rare Gamelan and Dance via Online Store

It is festival time in Bali at the moment, and the highlight of June and July is the Bali Arts Festival which runs through to July 10th at the Arts Center in Denpasar. Most of the performances are free and there are normally at least four a day, in the morning at in the evening. There are both traditional and modern performances of music and dance, from all different villages in Bali as well as other parts of Indonesia and even overseas. Private organizations or clubs, known as sanggar in Indonesian showcase their specialties with 1-2 hour performances. A highlight of the classical legong performances was June 25th last week, when Mekar Bhuana Conservatory presented quality legong music and dance on the Ayodya Stage, featuring the rarely performed legong jobog. You can see photos and video of their performance on Facebook on the Pesta Kesenian Bali page and also on their website: www.balimusicanddance.com

At the conservatory, the young musicians and dancers document and reconstruct rare and endangered classical and archaic repertoire, either from vintage recordings or directly from senior village guru. These artists are the future generation who will pass on this rare repertoire to their children and grandchildren.

At Mekar Bhuana, also you can study classical Balinese music and dance, and the unique thing is that you learn this ancient repertoire on original, antique instruments. As well as opportunities for both private individuals and groups to take lessons and experiential packages, the conservatory is also planning a workshop program that will be offered in the near future. Accommodation is available at the conservatory and the founders are always happy to answer any questions you may have: info@balimusicanddance.com

Since the conservatory has no much-needed outside funding sources, director, Putu Evie Suyadnyani and co-founder, Vaughan Hatch, have pioneered the world’s first online store that specializes in mostly Balinese quality gamelan instruments (new, used and antique), dance costumes, puppets, masks, CDs, DVDs, accessories, books and downloads. This site elevates the profile of talented local artisans as well as helps to raise funds for ongoing documentation of and education about endangered Balinese gamelan and dance art-forms. Now lovers of gamelan and dance no longer need to come all the way to Bali to source these kinds of products, because they are sourced for you and gathered together in one online shop: www.mekarbhuana.com.

Mekar Bhuana’s members love meeting travelers and groups can come to the conservatory to see a practice or if you are lucky you may catch one of their spectacular performances when you are in Bali. Contact them on info@balimusicanddance.com for details on dates and times.