Indonesian Encounters 2005

For its thirty-fourth annual summer program in Indonesia, the Center plans a three-week intensive program. The first week will be spent in Central Java, with an itinerary designed to provide a thorough introduction to the arts and culture of Java, including visits to ancient temples, royal palaces and special events relating to traditional Javanese performing arts, including some hands-on experiences.

The second and third weeks in Bali comprise the annual workshop in Indonesian music, dance and theater, combined with other study opportunities in traditions from around the world. This year a special program for children is being held in Ubud village, simultaneously with the adult workshop. The children and their parents will join in the Java Tour and some of the events in Bali.

During the second and final week of the Bali workshop, participants will be treated to nightly concerts featuring rare kinds of Balinese music, dance and traditional theater at the Payangan Festival. The final two days of the festival, called World Music Weekend, feature a continuous series of performances from around the world.

Although highly recommended as a three-week integrated program, it may be possible for those with limited time available to participate in just the Java Tour or the Bali Workshop.

Bali Workshop:
Monday, July 18, through Friday, July 29

Daily classes are planned in Javanese, Sundanese, Balinese, African, Middle Eastern, Indian, Turkish and Early European music and, in most cases, dance. An introduction to Indonesian language, one of the easiest in the world to learn at a basic level
(no plurals, no tenses, no gender, etc.) is available to everyone for an hour following breakfast.

Special events, like a tour to Batur temple and crater, an optional tour to eastern Bali and Tenganan village (on Saturday, July 23). several guest lectures. and the possibiliy of attendance at tourist performances in Ubud during the evenings of the first week, are among the extra-curricular activities available.

The makeup of the teaching staff, with selection for certain positions still in progress, is as follows:

1. Javanese gamelan – TBA
2. Javanese dance – Wulan Dadi
3. Javanese wayang – Oemartopo
4. Balinese gamelan gong – teacher from Payangan (lelambatan, sekatian styles)
5. Balinese gamelan angklung – TBA
6. Balinese gamelan gambang – teachers from Payangan, consultant from Sempidi
7. Balinese gamelan gambang – Payangan teachers, Tenganan consultants
8. Balinese tingklik (bamboo xylophone) - Dewa Artha
9. Balinese dance – Wayan Sriyani
10. Sundanese gamelan – Ade Suparman
11. Sundanese kecapi/suling - Ade Suparman
12. Sundanese dance - Nurrika Suparman
13. Sundanese vocal music – TBA
14. Sundanese pencak silat dance - TBA
15. Sundanese wayang golek - TBA
16. African mbira – Dr. Lewis Peterman, San Diego State University
17. African drum ensemble (Ghana) – TBA
18. African dance (Ewe, Ghana) – TBA
19. North Indian tabla - TBA
20. Chinese guqin (zither) - Dr. Lewis Peterman
21 Early European Music - Dr. Lewis Peterman
22. Middle Eastern Music – Prof. Jamal Mohamed, Southern Methodist University
23. Middle Eastern Dance - Aliya Mohamed, Jamal's daughter
24. Turkish mehter band – Aydin Olkun, former director of the internationally famous mehter in Istanbul
25. Music of India (course) – Dr. Robert Brown, Emeritus, San Diego State University
26. Introduction to Asian Art (course) – Dr. Lawrence Butler, George Mason University

Accommodation and Facilities

The facilities at Flower Mountain were designed with students on a limited budget in mind. In most cases that means bunkbeds and shared bathroom facilities. In the past few years we have pursued a plan whereby those who would prefer a little more privacy and comfort have paid something extra to stay in nearby Ubud, with its many hotels and homestays. For an additional fee (about $250-$300 a week for a single in 2004), and with an inexpensive shared taxi ride out to Payangan in the morning, and a return trip after dinner, this seemed to work out quite well for the half dozen participants, all college professors, who opted to stay in Ubud last year.

For an extensive virtual tour of Flower Mountain and its facilities please return to the home page and click on the link at the bottom of the list on the left side. Information on accommodations in Ubud will be made available as needed.

Cost of the Workshop

The all-inclusive cost for Indonesian Encounters 2005 is $2.695 per person, including accommodation at Flower Mountain.

What is Included

International air, round trip Los Angeles/Bali
Regional air, round trip Bali/Yogyakarta, Central Java
All airport transfers in Indonesia
Hotels in Osaka (outgoing), Sanur Beach, Borobudur, Yogyakarta, and Solo (Surakarta)
All hotel breakfasts
Luncheon with painter Kartika Affandi
Dinner, court gamelan and dance at An Evening in the Mangkunegaran Palace
Dinner and puppet performance in Wonogiri village with Ki Oemartopo
Daily transportation in Java for group events
Demonstrations and hands-on for gamelan, dance, puppetry, and batik making in Java
Accommodation (two weeks) at Flower Mountain, Payangan, Bali
Three meals per day, Monday through Friday, for two weeks at Flower Mountain
Free entrance to eight days of the Payangan Festival
Tuition for all classes at Flower Mountain

What is Not Included

Connecting flights to Los Angeles
Lunch and dinner in Java, except as noted
Lunch and dinner the first weekend in Bali (independent or group travel is suggested)
Optional tours to Dieng Plateau, Java Man, Ramayana Ballet, or East Bali/Tenganan
Departure tax in Indonesia
Entrance fees to Borobudur and Prambanan Temple monuments
Entrance fees to Kraton Solo and Kraton Jogya
Entrance fees to optional nightly tourist performances in Ubud, Bali
Local transport in Bali, other than organized tours
Private lessons with faculty in Java and Bali

Return to the United States

The group departs together on July 7, but individuals can set their own return dates. These, however, should be confirmed before leaving the United States, since flights are usually full during the high season. Visitors from most countries, including the United States, purchase a Visa on Arrival for $25.00 upon landing at the airport in Denpasar, and this is good for thirty days, non-renewable.

Participants in the Indonesian Encounters 2005 agenda can stay in Bali up to one week after the end of the activities, and if the new 60-day limit goes through, even longer. There is a small surcharge for crossing the Pacific on a weekend, but it can be avoided by leaving Bali for Japan on a Sunday through Wednesday. Most participants will probably leave on Monday, August 1, on JAL 713, at 9:35 pm. The flight to Japan is via Jakarta, and arrives in Osaka at 8:05 am. Since the flight to Los Angeles doesn't leave until 5:30 pm (JAL 60), passengers may wish to consider organizing a day tour in Osaka, or renting a day room at the airport.

Although the departure from Osaka is on August 2, the lost day is returned upon crossing the dateline, so the arrival in Los Angeles takes place at 11:55 am on Tuesday, August 2.

Comments on a Center for World Music Workshop in Bali

Dr. Charles Capwell is Professor of Music at the University of Illinois.

In the summer of 2000, 14 students and a faculty member from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign spent a month at Girikusuma for a period of deep immersion in the world of Balinese and Indonesian music after a semester's preparation at home learning Indonesian language and gamelan beleganjur. For several of the students, it was a first time experience abroad, while only one of the others had ever been to Asia, so they were both excited and a bit apprehensive about what to expect in Bali.

As soon as they arrived in Payangan - and were greeted by a gamelan beleganjur ensemble that processed with them into the Girikusuma compound - their excitement and sense of expectation overcame any sense of wariness that remained and once settled into their rooms they immediately felt comfortable and secure enough to feel at home - even the occasional visit to their quarters by exotic wildlife like house lizards was accepted as a minor irritation and part of the learning experience rather than an alien threat. Girikusuma quickly became the kind of community for which the physical plant was designed, and we all became friends with the friendly and helpful staff, particularly the ever resourceful Wayan, and everyone's favorite, Meli, who kept us all well nourished and tastily satisfied with the output of her little kitchen.

The sense of comradeship engendered by the layout of the place as well as the attitudes of Bob Brown and the staff enabled real work and study to begin immediately so that in the short space of a month, with the help of our own teacher and others provided by Bob, students had acquired a surprising amount of hands-on experience in several kinds of music making and were even able to present a small concert of music and dance to a banjar in Denpasar. Now that we've all been back for several months, I still hear from students about 'waves of nostalgia' for the experience in Bali and about how much more the music has come to mean to them than they realized while there. With the right group of people, the resources - physical and artistic - that Bob Brown has assembled and to which he has access in Girikusuma ensure an unparalleled experience in the very best sort of cultural tourism. A truly unforgettable place.

Charles Capwell

Comments About Flower Mountain
from an Off-Season Visitor

Subject: Visit to Bali
Date: Mon, 17 Jan 2000

Dear Bob,

I'm just back from my "Round the World" trip, including three wonderful days in Bali! Thank you, thank you, thank you for offering to let me stay at Girikusuma and referring me to Wayan. I called him a couple of weeks before my trip, and he was most gracious. He and his brother met me at the airport, and took me to your house....

Wayan 1, Wayan 2, Gusti and his wife were all just wonderful to me. I paid driver Wayan to drive me each day, and left a gift for manager Wayan which I hope was sufficient to show my appreciation. The Wayans took me to three dance performances - two in Ubud and one in Batubulan. We also went to a silver shop, a wood carving place, and the Neka Museum. I was fascinated by the shrines and temples, and Wayan was very nice in answering lots of questions. I spent most of one day on a scuba diving trip to Tulamben. On my last full day, we drove up to Mount Batur, and visited several of the major temples. Even though it was rainy at the top, there were nice views, and I enjoyed both the temples and the opportunity to see (and photograph) more of the countryside. On my last morning, we left early in order to stop at the market in Payangan. I ate in Ubud each evening, and Wayan's suggestions for restaurants were excellent.

The Foundation facilities are wonderful, and the location is gorgeous. It must be a great place for workshops! With more time, I would have loved to just stay there for a day, do some photography around the grounds, and learn more about the flowers and trees. I would also love to learn more about the music and dance. I'm delighted to have been able to visit, and thank you again. It's a very special place.

Gratefully,

Elizabeth C. Stanley
Jeddah, Saudi Arabia