THE FINAL POST...OF THE SEMESTER

Well, I've been thinking since my last post about what I could blog about in this final post concerning our class and what exactly I could say that's meaningful and the only thing I can think of is that

Art is every Expression we make for something about something.
Art is a reaction.
Good Art, however, is in the Eyes of the Beholder

I hope that sums up my feelings about the course and how I've grown as an artist.

It's been fun writing. Later all.

One of the final posts maybe !

The past few classes were the official last classes. The one two Mondays ago was just a review for our final performance. The two Wednesdays ago class was a lecture on the Japanese drumming style of Taiko which was very interesting but I still hold Chinese Drum styles far above it, especially in terms of manliness that the style is said to bring.

This Monday was the Final performance at Berkley Middle School. It was held in the afternoon and it was the same performance of the Hunt for the Golden Deer and the kidnapping of Sita. The performance went fairly well and my performance was pretty good and I liked it.

This semester has certainly been crazy and it's hard to believe that it was this short. I liked this class and I may have to continue studying this part of Asia.

I will write at least one more good time in this blog.

Until then, ta ta for now

Last Week's blog this week! THat's MADNESS!... No, THIS. IS. A BLOG!!!

To all you people out there patiently reading my thoughts, emotions, and beliefs on whatever I'm doing, I am sorry to keep you waiting.

Last week we were mostly preparing for our performance on Friday at the Kimball. So we practiced the Golden Deer scene and Sita's capture scene. I was absent for most of the classes last week so I'm slightly not sure what happened most of last week other than part of the Monday class and the Friday performance.

However, the Friday performance is much more important. We were one of the last ones to go on and we had to do a few things to change the performance around so it would flow smoothly on stage, which it did. The performance went great according to the people I talked to about it. It was certainly an outlet nonetheless and it's always my personal belief that people should get out in front of a big group of people and garner their attention for at least 5 minutes a month. However, this is often easier said than done and often more embarrassing than it should be. However, this was both easy and not embarrassing so it was a good experience.

I'll post again later on in the week but for now, I bid adieu

til next time,
I'm still me

The Weekly Things

This week has been kind of stressful with two tests and everything as well as having some relationship problems with a girl or two here. One slight light break up, one realization and one hopeful prospect spell the gamble that is a relationship. Hopefully, none of it will come back to get me because that would make life awfully troublesome which is so detestable to me. After the election really hit me, I began to do some thinking and I realized that I need to use my time to do the things I really want to do while I still have the time to do so. After I finish this post, I'm probably going to work out at the gym.

But anyways, this week in the Banjar was really interesting. We've been preparing for our show next Friday where I'm playing Rama. The scene we're going to perform is the deer hunting scene where Ravana convinces his uncle to turn into a golden deer to fool Rama and Sita. Sita sees the deer but is unable to catch it and pleads to Rama to capture it. Despite Lakhshmana's pleads not to go, Rama goes after the Deer. Rama kills the deer eventually and the Deer lets out a yell sounding like Rama was hurt. This causes Lakhshmana to go after him but not before putting Sita in a magic circle to protect her. Later on, beggars come and lure Sita out of the circle putting her in danger of being taken by Ravana, which is the end of our scene.

It's coming along nicely and we have most of it choreographed and the music connected but we still need to practice it a little bit before we perform it.

Well, not much else happened this week so I think i'll sign off for now.

Until next time,

I'm still me

Two Weeks worth of posts

Last week I was really busy near the end of the week so I wasn't able to post as I was in Florida with barely any wireless connection. My reason for being in Florida was that I had a Kung Fu Tournament in which I won 2 first place metals for my Sword and Spear form. I was really happy that I was able to get that. I was in Florida from Thursday to Tuesday Morning so I missed a class this week as well.

Last week, we reviewed a lot of things and we decided on performing on the 14th of November. This week, we started practicing a bit and I'm going to be performing as Rama for the Deer Hunting Scene. It started out alright and ended the same but it was a little hard to try and communicate without using our words but rather our bodies. We eventually got through it after about an hour but the main trouble I had was enacting Rama through movements because in the Deer Scene, he is supposed to kill the deer but he's not supposed to viciously hunt it, which is sort of contradictory to what I think of when I think of hunting. I think of killing and making sure the prey is dead because otherwise the animal could get away or attack you, but the way that Rama does things is that he pulls out the arrow after the deer is dead and he prays for it, which is respectable but it's not what I think naturally.

Another interesting point of this is my posture during the performance. While it is good posture, I've been a little tense lately just due to lack of sleep and work starting to get a little more. THe problem this presents is that it makes it more of a problem to relax when I have to hold a pose because my muscles are so tense. I'm sure I'll get it all straightened out by performance day.

I can't really think of anything else to say for today. I'll probably write more in the week when I think of it.

Until Next Time,
I'm still me

A day late but still with the same value (to me)

This week has been very short since there was fall break and everything. I needed the rest but the amount of things that happened during the week were enough to make me thrive for the weekend. There were so many festivals and I lost so much sleep during three days but I got a lot of work done so I guess it was all worth it in the end...Well, actually, I would rather have the sleep than the completion of work so that I can rejoice by doing something other than sleep.

But yesterday, I went back to the Beach and I did Kung Fu in preparation for a Kung Fu tournament in Orlando, Florida, that starts on Friday so I'm leaving on Thursday and, because it's a three day tournament, I won't be back until Monday night. This is a new experience for me because it's the first time I've competed in the advanced men's category for a World Tournament. Now I've competed in advanced before and I've competed in World tournaments but not in this sense. My only worry is that the judges will get swayed by the flashy wushu moves some people use more than actual power and technique, which I'm also not great at but I'm better than most people at in the Americas. When I talk about power, I don't strictly mean physical strength but rather powerful moves. I don't why but I felt the urge to clarify there.

But any who, we only had one class this week where we explored Rasas in depth which was really fun but a little embarrassing, but nothing that isn't too bad. The only reason it was slightly embarrassing was because doing things like the loving Rasa are weird for me to do with just anyone. It's not something that I can't do, it's just that it'll take me a few practices to do it without laughing and getting into the right mindset. Other than that, we did practices the mudras and we did some of the basic things we do everyday.

I've got to practice for the Date Auction tonight so I'm gonna cut my post a little short today, but until then, Diami Una Rottura,

Me

This Week in Class, we explored some complex issues!

Hello, again. This week was very interesting in terms of class.

On Monday, we started by trying to tell the story of the Ramayana in our own words but it didn't work out too well because most of us were unsure of what to do or where to start in the story. I felt kind of bad about it. Because we were unwilling or didn't know where to start, Francis started talking to us about. I don't mean anything condescending in the slightest by that because there was nothing condescending related to it. The class as a whole through the discussion. We talked a lot about what it meant to be a BANJAR. And, more importantly, I think we may have come closer to being a BANJAR. A few people exposed their souls to us. One person talked about their pain of recent that touched everyone and another talked about his worries about the economy as it related to his plans in life which many of us were surprised but joyous to hear about for him. There seemed like a simultaneous growth about the class that it all clicked in everyone's mind that this is more than just a class and is starting to become a BANJAR.

On Wednesday, we had more of a traditional class where we learned Bharatanatyam and a new movement. The movement was essentially not meant as a relaxation move but it allows you to move around and rest but still look elegant or masculine depending on your movement interpretation of the dance. We also learned a neck maneuver so that we can do more things with the dances like portray Ravana or monkeys depending on how we move with the steps. One step I learned had two very distinct interpretations. It could be used for Ravana or as a beauty move similar to the opening of a lotus as Kalyani recounted.
During the second part of class, Francis told about how he would be out of class at one point in the future and how we are going to have our other gurus lead the class and the reason he was telling us this was so that we could be closer as a BANJAR and so that we could experience what a real one is like. That fact really surprised me. I felt touched to know that our Guru saw us as a BANJAR in the communal sense. But, we also learned of some important things such as our objective paper due next Friday, a performance we may have later on, and special class later on around November. Other than that, class was very chilled and was a relaxing experience.

For the record, I think I'm going to refer to my class as Banjar from now on to get into the mindset even if we are not a BANJAR in the traditional sense of the word.

Some of the questions that Francis asked me and the rest of Banjar to answer were the relation between Ramayana and Bharatanatyam and Ramayana and Bali's social system other than religion.
First, Ramayan and Bharatanatyam:
Literally, they are both traditions that were passed down through centuries in the system. Also, they've become a source of entertainment and happiness to many as stories or shows or even religiously. The Ramayana and the dancers are both in a sense travelers as they have travelled across the world and how the story is about a journey the bards who knew the dances were originally travelers. Also, both the history of the dance and the tale itself tell of how the once great people fell into bad situations (i.e.-the dancers losing social and economic authority and Rama being exiled into the jungle for 14 years). The dance itself looks similar to paintings on a wall and are based on such movements which is how the Ramayana was originally told (by pictures on walls). The exact similarity is that the dance may have been based on the Ramayana's drawings and today the dance is used to tell the story of the Ramayana.

I'll expand more upon this subject as I go on in the semester.

Second, Ramayana and the Social system of Bali:
Obviously, there is religion in the sense that they both have Hindu roots. In terms of numbers, there are four castes and there were four sons in the Ramayana. The sense that becomes confusing here is that the highest brother who was to be the King and was the avatar of Vishnu can be said to be the Braman of sorts as he was literally God's mouth of terms and his brother Lakhshmana can be said to the his arms in that he protects Rama. However, the other two brothers cannot be easily characterized in that sense because they became the two non-banished brothers who became more royal for 14 years than Rama and Lakhshmana. In the idea that Rama is a Braman of sorts, he does hold the supernatural powers that the Bramans were said to hold.
Culturally, Rama goes into the woods only because he is obeying his duty to his father which the Balinese social system emphasizes. Also, the fact that Rama was exiled did not make him lose his title as king as he becomes king later on just as the in the social system a person's caste does not dictate how they work. In terms of the Sudra, while exiled, which will count as Rama becoming a Sudra for this purpose only, both Rama and the Sudras could banish demons as in the many Rama kills or the many that the Sudras kill.

Again, I will answer the question more as I think of more similarities.

In terms of how our Banjar can benefit from becoming such, we can develop relationships and learn from each other. Also, we can support each other in our endeavors by contributing our skills if we have such.

It's been a pleasure writing and I will write again soon,

'til next time

I'm me

Another week with our BANJAR

This week was yet another good week learning Bali dances and Bharatanatyam. We had some new experiences and we had a lot of fun. We practiced the basic motions that Kalyani had already taught us and we also had a mock monkey fight in the circle in order to practice for what a monkey fight would be like later on when we perform the Ramayana.

Also, we defined again what we really liked ab out this class and what we hoped to gain out of it. The thing that I hoped to gain was the time to stretch during the week. And, one of the bigger reasons I liked this class was that it allowed me to stretch outside of Kung Fu, which is a big part of my life but I don't get to stretch out for it everyday. So, this class allows me the time and chance to be able to keep my flexibility up and not waste what it took me six years to gain.

Additionally, I liked the fact that the foot stomping is similar to the exercises for iron foot training in the Shaolin temples all over the world. The fact that this was something that I only noticed half way through the class made me realize that everything in my life is interconnected if I think about it for a little while. Chemistry and Mathematics relate to the movements and the basics principles of both relate to how the dances are structured with the angles of my feet and how my body will adjust itself after a short time to the basic motions and after a long time to the more advanced motions. An example in Chemistry is the law of the conservation of matter and how nothing is wasted truly in this dance in that all the pain results in the hardening of my feet. Furthermore, it relates to the Hindu belief cyclic belief that Destruction follows neutrality, neutrality follows Creation, and Creation follows Destruction. There is nothing that is wasted, but rather everything is converted to another form of the cycle. The truth about the situation makes me feel as if I can further understand the story in that I can relate it to my body.

In reference to using my body to tell a story, I think that in order to tell a story using only your body is a different experience. I mean, given that a dance itself is a performing art, I supposed it tells a story alone but it also has a different meaning in the case of the Ramayana. The story was originally told from paintings and so to truly depict that story our bodies have to move as though they were paintings on the wall. We cannot really give three dimensionality to a two dimensional story if we did not originally write the story ourselves. There is increasing difficulty in terms of how to tell the story correctly in terms of how we know if we're right or not. My body has to move and contort as if it were a painting on a wall moving from one to the next but at the same time, it has to be done so that it is fluid but not overly fluid and not rigid, or else it becomes wrong by comparison to the pictures that originally depicted it. The meaning behind a dance like this is really difficult to ascertain, but the meaning of using my body to create art and to tell a story in this case is to become a part of the story and the art itself. To perform with one's body is to be the art itself and not just in a sense that our bodies themselves are naturally the art inherently by performing but rather they become beautiful as an art if work is put into them and they are respected. In other words, working on one's physique, frame, and posture is a part of creating that art as well.

In terms of evolving as an artist, I think that I'm better beginning to understand art from a personal level and not just from the perspective of a person who made art on paper or an appreciating party in relation to the art. To become the art itself is a whole new level that involves realizing that the normal technical aspects of art don't necessarily apply to the situation. The concepts such as structure and composition apply but the creation of said technical aspects is different as they involve different techniques. To say that there is only one way to create the art or art in general is ignorance. I believe that the Ramayana has made me better able to see these things by showing me how to perform with my own body as the art.

The techniques that are different that I was mentioning earlier are similar to traditional dance but the fact that more of a person's physique is shown off in this dance makes it very similar to how athletes and dancers prepare for their performances. In order to make my body a better part of the art, I would have to tone my body, which brings me back to one of Guru's original things he said about making our bodies sculpted by the end of the semester. I'm also going to halve to learn how to make my movements pop but at the same time fluid and smoothe so that at a given instant, I can make a sudden motion and ease it back to normal. The path to making this all happen is going to be difficult but worth it in the long run.

That's my word for the week,

'til next time.

ZBN

Fourth week of class - beginning to understand the character dances

This week was certainly an interesting week that I really made me happy but that is not to say that there weren't some problems. But, nothing too big that I couldn't handle. On Monday afternoon, we started class by reviewing our dance maneuvers that Kalyani(sp) taught us. Most of our feet were aching by the end of class from either doing the exercise correct or wrong.

The problem with doing a dance measured by the pain u experience at first is that if I do it right it will hurt but if I do it wrong and hurt myself in the same location unknowingly on my body, then I can't know if I'm doing it right or not. However, the pain is only on the bottom of my feet and my calves so it's fairly easy to know if you're doing it right.

But, I digress. We practiced the Mudras and dance steps with Kalyani. Then, we starting practicing the triple circles that are what the monkeys would do. It consists of a basic step with hands on our hips that starts in a line and goes into three circles along with the recitation of "Ohm." I'm beginning to like the monkey role because the monkeys seem to have the most fun in the act as they have to act like monkeys and have to act wild as if monkeys.

On Wednesday, we had a new guru along with Kalyani. We learned three new dance moves that were a little difficult to learn at first that incorporated two old Mudras and one new Mudra that reminded me of a Kung Fu move. The feet movements were very similar for all of them and they were incorporated into a combo move that consisted of all the new steps. I had some trouble at first but I felt like I was getting it by the end of the lesson. We practiced it by going around in a circle with the maneuver which was a good exercise but there was a little lack of room.

After Kalyani's lesson, we did an exercise with cups on our heads as crowns that was used to make our posture a lot better when we danced. We walked across the room, in a regular step but with our hands in the two Mudras that were used to represent a bow like that of Rama's and Lakshmana's. After that, we learned exactly how to walk like Rama and Lakshmana. Rama is more extravagant in his bow posture and more heroic feeling to the stance. Lakshmana is more practical and like a bodyguard. While Rama walks, or rather travels through the jungle, Lakshmana circles Rama quickly like a single bodyguard in order to protect him.

After that exercise, we sat in a circle and essentially, we practiced a beat and talked about the summoning of Sita in terms of the dance.

I really liked the classes this week. In terms of Ramayana, I'm getting farther but it's hard to describe a point, but I'm making progress.

'Till next time, I'm still me,
bye

More understanding of the ramayana and Bali

Again classes are starting to pick up in their difficulty as the semester starting to jump into the work load. Specifically, in Introduction to Classical Asian performance on Monday, we started to learn about the different mudras, or hand positions, as they correlate to different dance steps. So far we've learned five mudras (Pataka, Katakamukha, Shikhara, Tamrachuda, and Chatura) as well as the dances (namaskaram[a salutation], ta-ka dhi-mi[a 4 beat dance], ta-ki-ta[a 3 beat], and tai-ya-tai[another 3 beat that has only two feet gestures]). As well as the different naming schemes for people in Bali which is based on their birth order and their caste in society (Brahmana[priests or other clerical services{male: Ida Bagus, female: Ida Ayu}], Ksatria[rulers or warriors{male:Tjokorde, female:Tjokorde Istri}], Wesia[tradespeople{male:Gusti/Dewa, female: Desak}], and Sudra[the remaining 95% of the population{male:I, female: Ni}]). One person we learned about who had two names was I Gusti Jelantik who in particular had one parent of two caste classes.

Another aspect of Balinese culture we learned about is the Kecak or Cak ceremonies which is a sanghyang ritual that is used to get rid of evil spirits that may enter the dancer's body. These are related to a teeth filing ceremony to banish evil spirits from the dancer when they come of age which for girls is their first menstruation and for boys is their voice changing or for both before their marriage. Upon the tooth filing, the father's obligation to his daughter is done then.


Monday's class was not too bad of a class and I like the mudras a lot and how they relate to the dance itself. I have some troubles with the foot work as I can't stomp as hard as I should without shoes on. I'm not sure if I can condone stomping excessively due to the possible effects on not only my heels, knees, and shins that result from the stomping. When I was in high school, I used to run on track in my Senior year which I stopped shortly after due to how much trouble I was seeing some of my friends, who ran all through college and high school, had with those specific parts. I have since then found a better technique for running other than a heel based running but that's a story for another day. However, the fact that we're stomping on a softer floor is somewhat helpful I suppose. I can see this dance being done with a more softer footwork but still as graceful, but I guess that it wouldn't have the same effect that the stomping has for the audience. I guess I like the dance itself and I think my favorite mudra to date is Katakamukha just because of how it looks.

On Thursday, we had class in Swem library which was the first class I've ever had in there so it was a new and good experience for me. In there, we watched a previously performed version of the Ramayana that Francis had been in before. The more I watched, the more I saw that was straight from the book. I really liked the mixture of languages that were in the play and how they really made the demonic aspect of Ravana interesting as well as the comedic aspect to the play. I was a little disappointed by the fighting choreographs but I'm not used to Balinese fight scenes but I think that I could choreograph something a lot better. I did like the use of the bows and the monkeys throughout the play though.

In terms of how far I am in reading the Ramayana, I've gotten pretty far now and I'm begining to really like it. I've read past Rama's initial banishing and the reaction of his wife to stay true to him, his brother who was willing to take revenge for him, and his mother who grieved constantly at this. I'm starting to get towards the part where Rama kills the 14000 demons.

Thank you for reading and until then, I'm still me,

Later.

Second Week of Classes: Mudras and Indonesian History

This is the last day of the second school week. I waited until today to update my blog so that I could fully gauge the week in its entirety and not just any one moment as a week is not determined by one day. This week overall was pretty good. Most of my classes are making sense and I think I'm starting to get the hang of my Classical Asian performances class.

On Monday, we covered the basic routine of Bali if I remember correctly. It essentially felt like I was raising my feet up like a warrior from an ink painting from India or China would act if they could so act. The hand motion to it was fun and I could see it as if it were part of a meditation of sorts more than a dance. More or less like a moving meditation like that of Tai Chi Qua'an. I probably should have written about Monday on Monday so that I would remember more of the class other than the motions. Well, I take that back. On Monday, we went through what we were each bringing to Bali and the Ramayana performances. When we started talking, what I bring is my Kung Fu which I find sort of funny that I'm the one bringing Kung Fu this time around. Regardless, it seems like it'd be fun to organize a fight routine of sorts. It makes me feel like Sammo Hung of sorts. But, also on Monday, we did a lot more of the advanced stretches which I have to say I really needed to do since I was really aching from weight lifting on Sunday. This cleared the pain right up. I really enjoyed it.

As for Wednesday, I was surprised. We started learning about the theoretical aspect of the class as well as more movements. Francis told us about a lot of the history of the Balinese people and how they remained Hindu for so long even after several crusades by different people. But, the thing I found the most interesting of all that class was the philosophy, of the Hindu belief system I think, in that Neutrality follows Creation which follows Destruction which follows Neutrality. I started thinking about it a lot and it really made me happy today when I was thinking. I mean, the reason for it was that, to me, it feels like it has the message that no destruction is permanent. I mean, no Creation is permanent but it is nice to think that there is a reaction for every bad thing that happens such that something good happens.

Anyways, for most of class, Francis taught us that but then, he brought up another one of my classmates that knew a lot about Hindu dances and she taught us three Mudras as well as an opening step that I was liked and actually practiced a couple of times in front of my Hindu friends in my Dormitory. After that, we all sat in a tradition circle of sorts. I'm sad to say I forgot most of the names but happy to say I remember the motions and movements. The circle, however, had three overall circles and involved a chant that sounded to me like "Chutpk" except the last part of the k gets cut off when you say it and you say it as if you're expelling air from your lungs in order to release chi (in terms of how I see it). We started to learn more about the dance throughout class and I'm happy (which as you read you'll find I'm usually very) to say that I didn't drop the class and I'm looking forward to Monday save Hurricanes (3 of them) don't cancel class.

'til next time,
Me

First day of Class

The first day of class was an interesting experience. Stress is sort of flowing in from each side now that the second day of class is over with new homework and problems with the subjects arising. That's not to say, however, that I'm not up for the challenge completely and entirely with everything happening. But, I digress.

The first day of East Asian Performance class was surprisingly fun. I mean, I have had both less and more fun experiences but this was a good experience I believe. The thing I noticed the most was that a lot of the stretches and movements we did felt completely natural and sort of similar to Buddha dance movements only a little more monkey-like and a little less like a clown. The movements are elegant so far.

The fact that we stretch out in the class is okay in my books as it lets me become more toned and I can exercise more in an actual class. The way that we are stretching is really interesting in the idea that we lead with our eyes instead of our heads. It's a little uncomfortable for me to do it all with my socks off though because my feet stick to the ground so I sorta feel like I'm tripping up when we do our basic movements.

I haven't started reading the Ramayana but I think I'm going to start right now actually.

For now, I'm me, signing out