From Bali to Boston: 10 Years and Counting for

Gamelan Galak Tika

 

 

Cambridge, MA (October 17 2002) – Gamelan Galak Tika kicks off a season of 10th anniversary events by welcoming back its co-founders, master masked dancer I Nyoman Catra and Bali's foremost female composer and drummer, Desak Made Suarti Laksmi, for its annual fall concert on Sunday, November 17, at 3pm in MIT’s Kresge Auditorium, 48 Mass Ave, Cambridge.  Adults $8, Students/Seniors $4, MIT Community and Children under 12 FREE.  617-452-2302.

 

With the help of these illustrious guest artists, GGT presents a celebration of traditional Balinese music and dance, including a full topeng tunggal, or series of masked dances, performed by I Nyoman Catra.  This virtuoso form – derived from sacred trance rituals dating back 500 years – runs the gamut from regal elegance to slapstick comedy, and is sure to enchant audiences of all ages.  The concert will also feature dancer Cynthia Laksawana in the modern classic Kebyar Duduk, as well as the debut of rarely heard urban street-folk gamelan of East Java, Angklung Banyuwangi.

 

Gamelan Galak Tika is the Boston area's first Balinese gamelan.  A community ensemble in residence at MIT, GGT was founded in September 1993 by these Balinese master musicians and MIT Professor Evan Ziporyn for the purpose of studying and performing both traditional and modern Balinese music and dance.  In the 10 years since its inception, GGT has performed at dozens of venues throughout New England, including Lincoln Center, BAM Next Wave, Bang On A Can World Orchestra Day, Boston First Night, the Somerville Arts Festival, and numerous universities and museums. They have collaborated with leading Balinese choreographers and dancers, as well as with theatrical groups, other Asian performing artists, electronic musicians and composers, and local dance diva Nicola Hawkins. Committed to community outreach, the group has done numerous workshops on Balinese music, as well as developing the first ever "kecak-a-long," in which 800 audience members were taught to do the Balinese monkey chant during the course of a performance.  GGT continues to bring this sophisticated and living art form to the attention of American audiences.

For more information about this or other Gamelan Galak Tika events, please visit http://web.mit.edu/galak-tika/www.