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Saturday April 19, 2025
CROWDEN MUSIC SCHOOL, 1475 Rose St, Berkeley
Join the Celebration!
Whether you're curious about world music or simply looking for a fun, educational experience, this festival has something for everyone.
Don't miss out—be part of this cultural exchange!
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ABOUT
Celebrating 50 Years of Cultural Bridges
The Indonesia & India in California Festival will celebrate the history of these performing arts traditions as practiced in California and the SF Bay Area for over fifty years. Popular interest in culturally rich South and Southeast Asian art performance emerged in the 1960s through early 1970s through awareness of Southeast Asia, catapulted by concerns for the Vietnamese War. The interest in Indian culture and traditional arts manifested in pop culture in music, decorative arts, practice of meditation and yoga, dance and theater. Contact Us at [email protected]
EVENTS SCHEDULE
April 19,2025
FREE DAYTIME ACTIVITIES
10:30 - 11:30am
Stories and History from the Seventies - Asian Arts in Berkeley and The Bay
Dalang Press Indonesian Books in Translation, Friends of Indonesia SF, Indonesian Consulate Display and Info Table
11:30 - 12:30pm
Gamelan Sari Raras led by Midiyanto
Epic Stories in Indonesian Mask and Puppet Performance
12:45 - 1:15pm
Sundanese Gamelan led by Undang Sumarna
Epic Stories in Indonesian Mask and Puppet Performance
Studio Naga Silat/Martial Arts Demo
1:30 - 2:15pm
Purnamasari led by Lisa Graciano
Epic Stories in Indonesian Mask and Puppet Performance
Food Vendors, Dalang Publishing, Friends of Indo continue
2:00 - 3:00pm
Body Tjak Rhythm and Movement Workshop
3:00 - 4:00pm
A Celebration of Indonesian & Indian Textiles - Show & Tell and Fundraising Sale
2:45 - 3:30
Bala Dance Center, led by Aggie Brenneman
3:30 - 4:15pm
Kalanjali Dance of India, led by Katherine Kunirahman
4:30 - 4:45
Kompiang & Chandra Davies
4:45 - 5:10
Lestari Dance Company, led by Ninik Lunde
5:30 - 6:30
Dinner Break
EVENING CONCERT
6:30 - 7:15
North Indian Music, led by Manik Khan, Sarod with Gaurav Kale, Tabla
7:45pm - 8:45pm
Gamelan Degung Pusaka Sunda, led by Burhan Sukarma
9:00pm - 10:00pm
Gamelan Sekar Jaya, led by I Ketut Cater, with dancers Bu Ayu and Pak Anom
DAYTIME WORKSHOPS
& PERFORMANCES
All ages are welcome to all workshops. No experience necessary
Seventies: Asian Arts in Berkeley and The Bay Area, Kathy Foley, PhD, UCSC
Alumni and lifelong practitioners of Assian arts will share the stories that began with their involvement in unique programs. Under the leadership of Robert E. Brown in the 1960s, the Asian Society for Eastern Arts (ASEA) and the Center for World Music (CWM) taught Indian, Indonesian, and other styles of music and dance in a traditional guru-siswa (teacher-student) relationship . Many world class artists (Balasaraswati, Irawati Durban Arjo, I Nyoman Wenten, Lou Harrison, etc.) contributed to the development of these arts in institutions and communities across the U.S
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Kathy Foley, PhD, Distinguished Professor Emerita , UCSC (Alumni ASEA 1974)
Kathy Foley is a research professor at University of California-Santa Cruz. She has performed Sundanese rod puppetry in many California public schools as well as museums and universities nationally and internationally. She has been supported by Fulbright, Asian Cultural Council, and Yale Institute of Sacred Music Grants. Her research on ASEA and Center for World Music is funded by a Edward A. Dickson Emerita Professorship Award.
Epic Stories in Indonesian Mask/Puppet, Kathy Foley, Leonard Pitt
Epic Stories in Indonesian Mask/Puppet. Kathy Foley, Leonard Pitt This all-ages workshop will show how character types and the rules of puppet theatre allow performers to quickly become the major heroes of the Ramayana, Mahabharata and other great Asian epics by adopting stylized movement and vocal techniques with mask/puppet roots to portray major characters. After introducing the types (refined, monkey, ogre, etc) with puppetry and mask, participants will use the vocal/movement stylization techniques in simple episode from the Ramayana led by Kathy Foley, Distinguished Professor Emeritus (UCSC)
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This workshop will continue with interactive Mask demonstration and workshop exploring dramatic character types and movement and character led by Kathy Foley, Distinguished Professor Emerita (PhD Asian Theater) and Paris,and France & Bali-trained local Berkeley artist, Leonard Pitt with demonstrations by various artists, and a talk on mask and puppet carving.
Leonard Pitt, Mask & Mime Theater
Leonard Pitt (Berkeley, CA) landed in Paris in January 1963, and stayed for seven years, studying and performing mime in Paris with Etienne Decroux. In 1973 he traveled to Bali to study Balinese mask theatre. While there he was invited by his teacher to perform with him in local village and temple festivals. Leonard has performed and taught at theatres and festivals throughout the United States, Europe, Brazil, New Zealand, and Australia.
Body Tjak ( contemporary Kecak) Workshop, Keith Terry
Body Tjak (pronounced "chock") is a hybrid form, mixing contemporary Body Music (clap, snap, step, vocalize) with Balinese Kecak (rhythmic vocal chanting). Body Tjak has been evolving since 1980, by I Wayan Dibia (Balinese choreographer, composer, dancer, scholar) and Keith Terry (US percussionist, choreographer, rhythm dancer). The two have co-created and toured several large-scale pieces, ranging from 12 to 600 performers - in Bali, Java, and in the US. Body Tjak's dynamic, fun and funky interlocking rhythms and moves create an exhilarating experience for participants. All levels welcome. No experience necessary.
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Keith Terry, (Crosspulse) Artistic Director-
Inspired by that generation of great US jazz tap dancers he was accompanying in the 1970’s, drummer Keith Terry stood up from behind his drums and dove head-on into Body Music (a term he coined) in 1978. He regularly travels the world, performing and teaching in a wide range of settings from villages in Bali to New York City's Lincoln Center. He taught for 5 years in UCLA's Department of World Arts and Cultures. Keith is a Guggenheim Fellow and the founding artistic director of both the Oakland, California based arts organization, Crosspulse, since 1979; and the International Body Music Festival (IBMF) - launched by Crosspulse in 2008 to explore the language of Body Music from culture to culture. IBMFs have been produced in the US, Brazil, Turkey, Indonesia, France, Canada, Italy, Greece and Ghana.
Film Screening: Shadow Master
Shadow Master is a dramatic documentary about a family of performers in Bali. The film is an inside view of Balinese life which reveals the cultural context of theater, music, and dance on the island. The film is a dramatization of events which occurred during the filming process and during the two years the director, Larry Reed, spent living and studying with 'dalang' (shadow master) and his extended family.
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Larry Reed, (Shadowlight), Alumni ASEA
The mission of ShadowLight Productions is to expose the general public to the art of Shadow Theater. They strive to preserve indigenous shadow theater traditions, and to explore and expand the possibilities of the shadow theater medium by creating innovative interdisciplinary, multicultural works. ShadowLight was founded in 1972 by filmmaker/theatre director/shadow artist Larry Reed. Larry integrates traditional shadow theater techniques with modern theater and film styles. Larry Reed is one of the first Westerners to have trained in the traditional Balinese shadow theatre (wayang kulit) and is a “dalang,” or “shadow master,” Over the years, he has performed over 250 shows in this tradition around the world.
Studio Naga (Emeryville)
Studio Naga provides martial arts for kids and adults in the Indonesian-American art Poekoelan Tjimindie Tulen which evolved from the Wetzel lineage of pencak silat. Our art encompasses ground fighting, self-defense, forms, animal movement, meditation, weapons, and free sparring. Training offers benefits in physical fitness confidence, flexibility, mental focus, and self-expression – and it’s fun! Studio Naga is headed by Louise Rafkin, who has been training since 1984, assisted by over two dozen black belts
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Ms. Rafkin has traveled and trained in Sumatra, Java and Bali, in addition to studying American Kajukenbo. At Studio Naga students range in age from 4 to nearly 70. Beyond sound self-defense and fighting skills, our training emphasizes leadership, service and becoming compassionate teachers; the diverse, inclusive community is dedicated to the Indonesian tradition of gotong royong.
Indonesian & Indian Textiles: Show & Tell and Fundraising Sale
Journey through millennia of rich textile heritage of Indonesia and India with the Tracing Patterns Foundation! Visit our table for a captivating Show & Tell featuring exquisite ikat, intricate embroidery, and more treasures from our collection. Explore the deep cultural connections between these two amazing countries and learn about the Foundation's vital work in textile research and preservation.
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Support our mission by finding your own unique textile or book at our fundraising sale! Dr. Sandra Sardjono, President and Founder of Tracing Patterns Foundation. The focus of her research is the textile history of Southeast Asia, particularly Indonesia. Dr. Christopher Buckley, Research Associate of the Tracing Patterns Foundation. He studies the evolution of traditional crafts and technologies. The focus of his research is the history and transmission of weaving, particularly loom designs.
EVENING CONCERT
Gamelan Pusaka Sunda (San Jose, CA), Music of West Java
Gamelan Degung Pusaka Sunda, led by Burhan Sukarma
