Cristina Wistari Formaggia, 62, died peacefully of cancer in her hometown of Milano, Italy on 19 July 2008. She will always be known in Bali as the woman behind the Gambuh Preservation Project in Batuan village. Her dedication to the classical performing arts of Bali knew no bounds.

A memorial will be held for Cristina on Wednesday, 30 July 2008 from 3 – 6 p.m. at Cristina’s home behind the Ibah Hotel in Campuhan, Ubud. The Pura Desa Gambuh troupe will hold a short rehearsal in her honor. Please feel free to bring a flower or piece of fruit.

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The third day of Classical Dance and Drama Performance (9/29/2007) presented three classic performances – another Leko performance from Badung regency, Gandrung from Denpasar municipality, and Cakepung from Karangasem regency. These three performances were staged indoor with better sitting place for the audience but lack of fresh air and dreary stage background and surrounding (performances in the first and second day were staged outdoor).

The first performance was Leko dance. Another Leko dance (the very same dance with the first performance in the first day of this show) but presented in different way, of course by another troupe. This time, the Leko dance was preceded by three preliminary dances. All these three preliminary dances were danced by very young dancers, their nervousness could clearly be seen in their face but they danced elegantly and manage to overcome their nervousness at the end.

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In 1825, I Dewa Agung Gede Kusamba of Klungkung, the highest in the rank of Balinese princes, died at the end of a fifty-year reign. His cremation ceremony was said to be one of the most magnificent in Balinese history. Lower ranked monarchs from all other Balinese kingdoms attended the ceremonies and contributed generously to the rites. Although the King had quarreled incessantly with his nominally subordinate neighbors, the King of Badung and Gianyar, they nevertheless dispatched court Gambuh dancers and musicians to participate in the ceremony. The combined group created a special new performance for the cremation.

Gambuh performance on The 28th Annual Bali Arts Festival 2006

The innovation was called Dadap after the two dadap trees, traditionally associated with funeral rites on the island, which were planted at the opposite ends of the stage. The all- male company of dancers surprised and delighted the public by singing the dialogue of the play, as in Western opera. Dadap was a great success and thereafter performing groups were established in most of the court centres.

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Yesterday, our temple priest, some elders and I went to a house of a prince in order to find out a palm leaves manuscript which contains the history of our temple and all information in relation with our temple – when its was built, who built it, what is the function of it, etc. Our search proved to be futile but at least we found new information on whereabouts the palm leaf manuscript can be found. This is just one of many stories of Balinese persistent search of their past.

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Tantri can be classified as an individual genre in Balinese literature, deals mainly with fables; Tantri is similar to Aesop’s fables in Western literature. In its story, the Tantri usually gives moral teaching, promoting good deeds and wise judgement.

On Saturday, 6/23/07, a theatrical performance based on Tantri story entitled Sadhu Kerti was performed in Bali Art Festival by Semara Kusuma Troupe from Payangan, Ubud, Gianyar Regency. This performance was led by I Nyoman Dharma, S.Ag, musical accompaniment was composed by Dewa Putu Berata, S.S.Kar, and the choreographer was Ni Wayan Serini, S.Sn.

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History to Balinese is not just something to be buried in the past, but it is something that has to be remembered and used as a guidance to face the future. An attempt to immortalize the history is by memorializing an important event with Candrasengkala.

Candrasengkala is combination of words representing numerical values that is used to denote the year of an important events, chronogram in short. It is written in Kawi language or High Balinese using traditional Balinese alphabet (aksara Bali). Candrasengkala can be found in ancient buildings, artifacts, work of arts, traditional literature, and in coat of arm of a city or organization. Candrasengkala can also be found in ancient letters. Candrasengkala that is found in ancient building or coat of arm of a city or organization denotes the year of establishment of the building, city, or organization.

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