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Yayasan Polosseni goes to Borobudur.

"Borobudur, one of the Seven Wonders of the World lay dormant for countless centuries until a team of UNESCO archaeologists meticulously moved the massive monument stone by stone to safety 20 years ago.

Borobudur is one of time's grandest footprints and has silently watched the changes on our earth, and the 20th anniversary of the project will celebrate these transformations in one of the most significant cultural events of the new millennium.

The temple of Borobudur plays grand host and backdrop as artists gather before the grand monument..."

The Yayasan Polosseni had the honour of representing Bali at this festival. Our performance has been given generous support by Visa International.

On this occasion the Yayasan Polosseni performed for the first time in public on its new gamelan selunding, a copy of the gamelan used in Tenganan Pagringsingan in Karangasem, Bali. This is an iron gamelan with a repertoire dating back centuries. This music has a tranquil beauty quite unlike anything found in other forms of music in Bali. It stands alone in "understated elegance".

For the Borobudur performances the group presented the story of Shakuntala in dance. To work into the International theme of the Festival we have chosen dancers from both Bali and abroad.

I Made Djimat who is very well known worldwide for his Balinese dancing is joined by Australian dancer extraordinaire Kerensa Johnston who has just returned form performing in Australia. Kerensa is a pupil of the late I Ketut Tutur of Petulu Gunung in Bali. They are supported by Kadek Kitri and Luh Sunadi, legong dancers with the Yayasan Polosseni.

In the Indonesian tradition the story was narrated in Indonesian/Bahasa Kawi for the audience by the female dalang, Ni Wayan Latri.

This performance was first developed for the period of the millennium especially for performance in manresorts in Bali and was streamlined for this festival. Both Djimat and Kerensa are top practitioners of the "topeng" or mask and they use masks a great deal in the story.

Compositions used on the gamelan selunding range from recent compositions adapted for this dance performance to traditional selunding pieces from the beginnings of time.

The performance lasted for 25 minutes. The Yayasan Polosseni group performed on the 15th, 16th and 17th of June in front of the Borobudur temple.

The performance is directed by Douglas Myers with artistic direction by I Made Djimat and musical direction by I Wayan Sadera.

Here is a synopsis of the story:

The Story of Shakuntala and Duswanto.

This is a story from the Mahabarata about a pure princess called Shakuntala who was born in the forest. In this forest she had everything she needed. One day whilst out hunting, the King Duswanto from a far away kingdom came across the beautiful Shakuntala meditating. He immediately fell in love with her and offered to take her away from the forest and marry her in the palace. At first Shakuntala refused Duswanto as she did not believe him and besides she had no need of a palace or Gold. But then Duswanto gave his heart and Shakuntala fell in love. Together they made love in the forest and this was witnessed by God.

Duswanto told Shakuntala to wait in the forest until a carriage would arrive to take her to her wedding ceremony. Shakuntala was already pregnant and Duswanto still hadn't come to collect her. Nine
months past and Shakuntala gave birth to a baby in the forest. She decided to go in search of the father of her child wondering what it was that made Duswanto forget her.

At the palace, a witch had fallen in love with Duswanto casting a spell on him, making him forget Shakuntala and all his responsibilities to the people of his kingdom and to the environment. Duswanto and the Witch had passionate, vulgar sex all day long. One day, Shakuntala arrived at the palace with the babe in
her arms. Duswanto did not want to receive her, throwing nasty insults at her. Shakuntala prayed to God to help her. The Witch flew into a vicious rage and attacked Shakuntala but Shakuntala, with her years of meditation practice was able to beat the witch. Suddenly a voice from heaven was heard. "Duswanto - Remember when you made love in the forest. You have come under the spell of Black Magic - the scent of Satan. This is your wife and your child - receive them." Duswanto remembered his love for Shakuntala and asked for forgiveness taking the baby in his arms. And they lived happily ever after.