Beautiful Bali to be focus of 2-week exploration

Skidmore will celebrate Bali—its art, rituals, and music—with a multi-faceted, interactive two-week experience culminating in an exciting Balinese participatory performance in the Case Center Lobby.

In this, the first week, there will be two multi-media lecture presentations and the screening of a documentary film about Balinese art, ritual and music. Next week will feature multiple workshops with a public participatory performance of Balinese chanting and movement in the Case Center Lobby at 5:15 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 29, led by I Made Lasmawan of Bali, who teaches at Colorado College. To continue the Balinese theme on campus, Indonesian cuisine will be featured in the dining hall that night.

Guest speaker on Tuesday and Wednesday, Oct. 21 and 22, will be adventure photographer Dudley Levenson, proprietor of Inspired Planets in Lenox, Mass., who has been collecting images and artifacts from Asia, Africa, South America and the Mediterranean for 40 years. He recently returned from Burma and Bali with new perspectives on the fusion of East and West. Having studied anthropology at the University of Pennsylvania, Levenson has pursued the philosophies of classical civilizations and the beliefs of tribal cultures as a personal mission. Hundreds of artisans and their traditions are supported through Inspired Planet, the collection he curates in Massachusetts. Levenson speaks from the intersection of art history, comparative religion and exotic travel.

Tuesday, Oct. 21, 5 p.m., “Bali – Culture, Character and Community.”  Multi-media lecture/presentation by Dudley Levenson.  Gannett Auditorium. 

Celebrate a unique island culture on the other side of the world.  We will be armchair travelers visiting Bali, Levenson’s second home. Meet cultural leaders and many of the artisans that contribute to the world’s richness.  We encounter monsters and spirits, and we will listen to world music from the annual Spirit Festival. Bali is an island of dreams, visionaries, alternative schools, new communities. We will conclude at a ceremony sending the soul of an old friend to heaven.

Wednesday, Oct. 22, 5 p.m., “Bali – Art and Ritual.” Multi-media lecture/presentation by Dudley Levenson.  Gannett Auditorium. 

This year Levenson returned to Bali for three months of work and exploration. We will see his colorful images, handcrafted artifacts and many stories about the people and customs of this small tropical island with a worldwide reputation. He will take us on a whirlwind tour around the volcanic landscape, meet local characters and witness a full moon purification ceremony at a riverside temple. Examine extraordinary masks made by some of the finest wood carvers in the world, listen to lovely fusion music and then quake with fear at unique monsters called oogah oogah. You will visit a Balinese home for a special blessing and see the amazing bamboo structures of the new environmental green school. Finally we are invited to a spectacular temple ceremony with costumes and dancing in which Balinese dramatize the balance of good and evil in the world.

Thursday, Oct. 23, 5 p.m., “Sacred and Secret: Balinese Rituals and Beliefs,” a documentary, will be screened. Somers Room, Tang Museum. 

Next week’s schedule includes the following:

Monday, Oct. 27, 5:30 p.m., Jonsson Tower Penthouse—An interactive workshop on Balinese vocal chanting.

Tuesday, Oct. 28, 5:30 p.m., Zankel Music Center—An interactive workshop on Balinese vocal chanting; 8:30 p.m. Wilson Chapel, interactive workshop on Balinese vocal chanting and presentation.

Wednesday, Oct. 29, 4:45 p.m., Intercultural Center—gathering for mobile performance with Gamelan Banyu Wali, under the direction of music department faculty member Elizabeth Macy; 5:15 p.m. Case Center, second floor, participatory performance of Balinese kecak with I Made Lasmawan – all are welcome! 5 p.m., Murray-Aikins Dining Hall, Indonesian cuisine will be featured for dinner.

Skidmore’s Office of Religious and Spiritual Life has arranged the program, which is co-sponsored by the Intercultural Center, the Music Department, and the Asian Studies Program.