Gamelan CUDAMANI 

A Special Evening of Gamelan and Dance at UC Berkeley 

As Mt. Agung Volcano rumbles beneath their feet on the Indonesian island of Bali, Cudamani continues to rehearse their new full-length work based on the theme of nature- Ibu Pertiwi- or MOTHER EARTH. The themes for their California tour are not hypothetical, as the Hindu/Buddhist Balinese believe that Ibu Pertiwi speaks to the human world through her actions. The life of the Balinese is filled with ceremonies which pay honor and respect to  three worlds - the divine, the human and the natural. The ultimate goal of any ritual and performance is to create and maintain harmony and balance between these words. The concert MOTHER EARTH will bring these insights and spirit centered stories to the concert stage as only Cudamani can.

No other Balinese company tours with productions of this scale. The company performs a diverse repertoire ranging from rare classical forms of dance and music to highly creative works. Witness the shimmering polyrhythms of gamelan music and the dazzling brilliance of dancers filling the stage as every movement, gesture and musical note is crafted and executed with great technical precision and high collective spirit.

Cudamani is known for their active pursuit of creating new music and dance works while also commissioning the revival of lost masterpieces. Their creative mission embraces the ancient and modern, global and spiritual. Even their instruments a hybrid gamelan orchestra "Semarandana" created in the 1980s embodies the old and the new. With seven tones rather than the usual five, they have the freedom to play in rare court and ritual modes as well as find unique sounds for new compositions. This type of ensemble is still rare in Bali, and Cudamani is on the forefront of new orchestral sound.

For twenty years Çudamani has maintained the highest standards of excellence and performs primarily as a spiritual offering for temples and for the activities of their village community. The group is activist and responds to the philosophical, practical and problematic issues that face Balinese life today. They invite master artists to teach rarely performed repertoire, and members are well known for the creation of new work.