Hey Guys,
Things are going really well. I've done so much since the last time I wrote. After meeting with a famous Balines dalang (puppeteer) named Wayan Wija he invited me to a village ceremony to observe his performance. it was AMAZING!!!!!!!!!!!!! I've never seen anything like it. He performed for three hours straight with over 45 characters from the Ramayana with a full Gamelan orchestra and a burning torch behind the screen, I can't wait to show you the photos. He allowed me to watch from behind the screen which is a real honor, he also invited me to join him for the traditional coffee and rice with palm sugar before the show. VERY COOL!! I was in total awe! I left Ubud yesterday to travel to Tabanan District. Here I'm staying with a Gamelan Teacher who often invites his US students to his home to study Gamelan which is a sort of orchestra with wood and xylophone type instruments, the music is really beautiful and is always used in Wayang (puppet) performances. Made ( the teacher) has arranged for a local puppeteer and puppet maker to spend the week with me building and then performing. I even jammed in a gamelan session for a local Hindu ceremony last night
I leave here Sunday to travel into Java to study a different form of puppetry, not the shadow kind but more of a rod style.
His home is beautiful up in the mountains and he is an incredible man. There are some former students currently staying here as well as some new ones so I have some Americans to talk to. I don't know when I'll be able to write again because I'm really off the grid here.