WORCESTER, Mass. The Holy Cross departments of theatre and music presents their famed Balinese gamelan orchestra, Gamelan Gita Sari, under the directorship of visiting fellow in Balinese performing arts, I Wayan Dibia, in concert on Dec. 1 at 8 p.m. in the Brooks Concert Hall. These semi-annual concerts, free and open to the public, are routinely standing room only and provide for a thrilling evening of Balinese music and dance. This performance will include several short pieces and a longer piece, Sunda Upasunda, a dramatic tale of two brothers whose love for the same mysterious woman leads to their destruction.

Gamelan Gita Sari was founded in 1999. Gita Sari translates as the essence of song. The company is composed entirely of students and faculty from the College. The group performs on its Gong Kebyar gamelan, built for Holy Cross in 1998 by master Balinese craftsman Pande Made Sukerta. Following a blessing ceremony in Mengwitani, the gamelan was shipped to Massachusetts, where a second ceremony was conducted in July 1999. This coincided with Holy Cross being awarded a Henry Luce Foundation Grant to fund a Balinese scholar-artist-in-residence for four years.

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1. When there is a temple ceremony, half of the road will be occupied for ceremonial purpose. Be patience. Use the opportunity for taking a picture or two.
2. On foot ceremonial procession will slow you down. Again, be patience, it is a rare spectacle and an opportunity for taking pictures of a colorful event.
3. Pecalang (traditional security force) will manage the traffic in areas where temple ceremony or ceremonial processions are in progress. Obey their traffic orders. During the ceremony it is their responsibility to ensure the security of the area, including the traffic.
4. Vehicles for transporting ceremonial processions will likely occupy most of the road. Be patience.
5. Kite festival processions, usually a combination of trucks, huge kites, and uniformed teenagers will likely occupy most of the road and move slowly, but it is another spectacular opportunity for pictures.
6. Beware of dogs! Many street dogs roam freely on the roads in rural areas. Be careful and keep an eye open for them. The same advice holds for chickens and cats and sometimes cows as well.
7. When construction is in progress, often mounds of building material will occupy the shoulder of the road and overflow onto part of the road. Be careful.
8. If you ask Balinese for directions, they will likely tell you the direction based on the point of compass. Seldom will you be told to go right or left. Instead, will advise you go to the east and turn to the north.
9. Please get out of your car when you ask directions. Asking for directions while sitting in the car is considered impolite.
10. You can park almost everywhere in Bali. Don’t bother finding a space. A parking officer is always ready to help for only a modest parking fee. These fees are usually Rp.1000, ($ 0.12) for car and Rp 500 ($ 0.06) for a motorbike.
11. Honk your horn when you cross a bridge or pass a cemetery. It is a way to show your respect and ask permission to use the road from the unseen inhabitants of those places.
12. Your full concentration while driving is essential in Bali since there are few marked pedestrian crossings. It is rare to find marked zebra cross points.
13. Always keep a sharp eye open for children on foot and on bicycles. They are very trusting and count on you to be alert and careful.

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According to Covarrubias no dance in the world can be manlier than baris. Baris, a traditional war dance, typifies the strong elegance of the male and is the source of for all masculine dances. The Baris dance can be performed by men in pairs of four, eight, sometimes even tens; the accompanying gamelan is the gamelan gong or gamelan gong kebyar. The word “baris” means a line or military formation, in the sense of a line of soldiers, and referred to the warriors who fought for the kings of Bali. Originally, Baris was performed as a religious ritual. The dancer may bear a kris, a spear, a bow, or other weapons, depending on the variant performed. Baris has an exorcizing character and is invariably danced at important temple ceremony. The special characteristics of baris are its elegance moves and complex facial expressions. The movement of baris is synchronized with the tempo of the music and Baris‘s facial expressions show the varieties of soldier mood such as admiration, wonder, surprise, rage, pleasure, tenderness and love.

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The ancient Balinese calendar is a complex cycle where many days have specific holy significances. The Balinese community will celebrate Galungan on Wednesday November 29, 2006, which in western terms can be likened to Christmas in the fact that family members gather to pray, eat and socialize together.

Galungan is perhaps the most important Balinese religious holidays for followers of the Hindu faith. The celebrations for Galungan are basically spread across a three-day period where a series of symbolic ceremonies are carried out all over the island. As this is an extraordinarily long public holiday, most Balinese return home to their ancestral villages to prepare for the festivities. Despite the intense workload the mood is invariably jovial.

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For Balinese, Galungan is always full of joy. Galungan is celebrated by Balinese as the victory of virtue (DHARMA) upon evil (ADHARMA) when the entire island brightened with festivities and ceremony. On the Galungan day, most Balinese will return to their own ancestral home at some stage during the day, even if they work in another part of the island. Balinese believe that on this day family ancestors come back to rest in respective family temple. Failed to attend the ceremony in his / her family temple will be a great shame for Balinese. As well as the family temple, visits are made to the village temple with offerings as well.

Based on Purana Bali Dwipa (Old History of Bali Island) Scripture, the first Galungan ceremony was celebrated in 882 AD, the celebration was held regularly (every 210 days) for three centuries. In 1181 AD the Galungan ceremony was banned with no apparent reason. The banned was lifted in 1204 AD in the reign of King Jayakasunu. In the period when Galungan was banned, Bali was stormed by plagues and disasters. King Jayakasunu lifted the ban and restored the former prosperity of Bali.

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Wayang Kulit is a very popular traditional art performance uses the shadow of leather puppets in its performance. The origin of wayang kulit can be traced back to the days of King Ugrasena in 896. As its name suggests wayang kulit is made of processed cow hide. Some wayang kulit characters especially the jesters (Sangut, Delem, Merdah and Tualen) are made from special cow hide (hide from cow that had been struck to death by lightning or unborn calf). This cow hide is made into puppets representing various characters. The differences among characters are produced by the differences in shape and in intricate carving that symbolize each character.

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