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Arma Kumara Sari

This short film of approximately 20 mins, gives a brief glimpse into the lives of the Kumara Sari Balinese Children's Gamelan and their involvement with the Agung Rai Museum of Art (ARMA).Established in the 1990's, Agung Rai's vision was to preserve and teach the traditional Balinese Arts and culture of the region, so a foundation and museum were formed where three times a week the children of Ubud and the surrounding area come to ARMA to learn a range of cultural activities from master dancers and musicians.Since it's inception in 1998 it has become Bali's most famous children's gamelan, in 1999 winning the prestigious 1st prize of the children's section in The Bali Arts Festival.The film itself shows these children (the youngest being eight years old) at home with their families, learning both music and dance with the masters and the preparation and lead up to a major performance, which is featured at the end.

I was amazed at both the complexity and sheer quantity of the material these children were able to learn and perform.They were strangely mature for their age.There was none of that awkward self consciousness, or attention seeking common in children.Their discipline and mastery of the moves would be a significant achievement for anybody, and these kid's are nine years old. The craft seems to have been refined to the point that if performed correctly even a child can communicate complex emotions obviously beyond their own field of experience.There are some great close ups of the performers under stage lighting and on the whole the film is very informative.

written by Tom Mullins

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