Here is an opportunity to take a vacation in an exotic location and immerse yourself truly in the culture. It's called edutourism. <A HREF="http://www.indosat.net.id/djoglo/dance.html" TARGET=_blank>http://www.indosat.net.id/djoglo/dance.html</A> <BR>Here it is in Indonesia, and you have an opportunity to learn a javanese dance in addition to experiencing other very interesting aspects of Indonesian culture. (I hear it's very cheap there)

Hey, Lucy's been in Indonesia, Bali to be exact.

me too.

Me three. Studied classical balinese dance with a teacher named Ibu Masih in Ubud, Bali. Excellent; I had studied balinese dance in NYC several years ago. <BR>I personally would not go to Indonesia at this time, due to the unstable political/civil situation at this time. However, it IS very cheap!! On second thought, Bali is probably pretty safe...it's sort of a "haven" from the strife around it in the rest of Indonesia. Most of the strife seems to be "pockets" of internal stuff between different ethnic and religious groups.....very sad--it's such a beautiful country!!<p>[This message has been edited by trina (edited July 16, 2000).]

Trina, what is a class like? Could you describe one a little? How does it progress? <BR>I remembere when I studied Bharata Natyam, we followed specific protocol, etc. I would love to hear a typical class routine.

Most adult classes there are taught "one on one". Kids classes as a group, I believe. The class format was very informal; the Balinese believe the arts are a part of life, so it's taught in an outdoor, open air, noisy bustling environment..not sequestered off in a studio as we do in the West. ..no strict protocol was followed. WE would go over "basics" as my teacher called it (warm-up) and then we would learn a specific dance, sequentially. The dance I learned was called "The Welcome Dance" which involved an opeing,welcoming the audience dance. At the end you threw flower petals, from a dish you were carrying, out to the audience.

Trina, that is *very* interesting. So it seems that technique is learned through the specific dances, and also during warm-up to some extent. Many flamenco classes are taught along those lines, as are Indian ones. I think I would enjoy these classes. Immersion in a culture is so enriching. I had a ballet teacher many years ago that made sure that we learned many "cultural" aspects about ballet, historical information primarily. There was a lot to learn besides technique, variations, and the different styles of ballet. There was also the cultural and social information that was occuring at any given era, or generation of ballet. Perhaps my favorite "era" is Diaghelev's. Well, I've certainly strayed from Bali here!

I have an extensive videotape of my classes with my teacher in Bali. One of these days when I "get my act together" I am going to publish an article about this--I think it would be of interest to folks!! Stay tuned!!

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR>I am going to publish an article about this--I think it would be of interest to<BR> folks!! <HR></BLOCKQUOTE><P>Do it! Do it!

I second that. I, for one, would really enjoy it!

Go for it, trina! <P>i visited the main dance school in Ubud, but they were on holidays at the time. i also did a manic search of the main markets in Denpasar to buy the headresses, which haven't been used yet: they have to be added to, as you would know, with fresh flowers when worn: frangipanis especially, but also hibiscus.<P>and i have some very good notes on balinese dance. we went to performances, including a special one of the monkey dance, at an outdoor theatre, NOT one of the tourist/hotel/restaurant type performances.<P>the culture of bali is an absolute knockout, isn't it? another world, another time,.... another planet...seemingly. <P>refreshing, beautiful, hectic, full of contradictions and dreadful poverty.....fascinating.

The monkey dance, or kecak, I believe it's called is the one dance event we missed during our stay..and I could kick (battement?) myself for missing it. It involves a huge (100 or more) dancers in a huge circle: it involves a huge movement chorus, with chanting and trance-like dancing. It goes on for quite a while. It just goes to show..most to the time in life, it's not what we do that we regret, it's what we don't do...anyway....

trina,<P> <BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR>... a huge (100 or more) dancers in a huge circle: it involves a huge movement chorus, with chanting and trance-like dancing.<HR></BLOCKQUOTE><P>Sounds fun. Maybe we should do this for the first annual criticaldance.com meeting. Maggie, is your farm big enough?

Ha-ha, Azlan, there's a thought. Everyone bring a dish.

A dish, as in food?