Another fun part of the presentation is playing taiko for Viji Prakash’s dance as she tells the story of Arjuna and Krishna from the Mahabarata.  Every school we have gone to has gone out of their way to make us feel welcome and appreciated.  The performances have been packed and it’s been great sharing the stage with such a diverse group of artists and getting such positive feedback from the students we present to.

We’ve also been teaching everyday and I have a really great group of students.  They have been so eager to learn and it has been a real joy teaching them.  So far we’ve gotten through “Renshu Taiko” in just four days!  Of course I would be lost without my two new friends Tony and Sigit who have the job of translating for me and making sure I get from one place to the other.  All of our support staff here in Yogya has been so good to us and we would be so lost without them.

We’re also getting the chance to meet a lot of great artists and see a lot of music and dance.  Last night we watched a dance rehearsal at Pujokusuman.  It was my first time seeing Javanese dance live and it was just magical being outside listening to the gamelan and watching these amazing dancers.  Tonight we went to listen to more gamelan and on our way back to the hotel stopped by a Wayang Kulit performance being held right in front of the train station.  I couldn’t understand a word but the large crowd was rolling with laughter. From what I it was a political satire sponsored by one of the policial parties.  Apparently there are elections soon as there are posters and flags of the different parties everywhere.

This trip has made me want to study Indonesian. Just because one can get by traveling the world speaking only English doesn’t mean one should and I hate being such a helpless dork without any local language ability.  Guess I should start studying Mongolian too as it is starting to look like I might be headed to Mongolia later in the year…  or brush up on my Japanese for that matter.  Arghh…  I know… I should study the language that will allow me to travel the world only knowing that one language…  doh!

I had the students make practice taiko from tires and tape and had them sand and prepare their batchi.  I have 25 students from three schools in the area and they are a really great group of kids.

After dinner I went out with two new friends Toni and Sigit to check out the local jazz scene.  I didn’t know what to expect but it was really cool.  There is a whole community of young musicians in Yogya that are really into jazz.  Every Monday night they gather to play at this outdoor cafe and I had a lot of fun improvising and talking with some of the local musicians.  Yogya is one of the art centers of Java and It seems like everyone I meet here is into the arts in some way. The more I see of the music scene here the more I’m falling in love with this place.

This morning we met with Jeannie Park another of the organizers of this program and headed to the theater in order to prepare for tonight’s concert “World Crossover”.  The concert was hosted by ISI Yogakarta, this area’s performing arts college, and featured a folk dance group from Hungary, a contemporary dance troupe from Malaysia’s National Arts Academy, a tango duo from Argentina, a collaboration between four well known Indonesian musicians and a short performance by each of the Center for Intercultural Performance fellows.  It was a lot of fun to be a part of.

My favorite part of the concert was the improvisational piece featuring four well known Indonesian musicians: I Wayan Sadra, Trustho, Djaduk Ferianto and Sapto Raharjo.  Using a combination of traditional instruments, found objects, and samplers, they created these beautiful landscapes and scenes that flowed effortlessly from one to the other.  Each musician was so tasteful and sensitive it was the kind of music that musicians love.

It’s really great being back in Indonesia and I’ll post more soon!