Wrapping Up

I guess it's time to say goodbye to our banjar.

We had our final performance last week at the middle school, and it seemed the kids enjoyed it! It was good, but I wished we could have done all of the makeup too (though, the fact that the men had their shirts off for a more authentic performance was great!). I was kind of disappointed for the half of the bajar who wasn't able to do Kimball; they all worked so hard on a dance that we weren't able to perform! I guess it worked out well in the end considering our time restraints we had that day, but I would have liked to see the whole thing performed. Ah, well.

On that note, I'm really glad I was able to do the Kimball performance. Dressing in our costumes, being in full makeup and performing in front of a paying audience with the stage completely to ourselves felt really cool.

I really enjoyed this class, especially having our banjar. I don't think I really appreciated it until nearly the 2nd half of the semester. However, once I did, I really enjoyed coming to class! Before that, it had seemed to me like a hassle sometimes, especially since it was the last class of the day. But once we had gotten together, talked to together, and performed a bit together, it felt easier to feel like a community with everyone.

The eventual community atmosphere was a big reason I enjoyed this class and the other was the way Guru Francis taught it. I liked how Guru taught us about Balinese culture and the history of Hinduism in that part of Indonesia. That coupled with reading the Ramayana enriched the dancing experience and provided an important perspective from which to learn and practice dancing.

Actually, reading the Ramayana was one of my favorite parts. What an absolutely wonderful story! The beginning I found especially inspiring. The language was beautiful, the characters were rich, and it had a wonderful, mystic, and even nostaglic quality about it that I was very attracted to. Once I got to the Battle of Lanka though... it dragged on forever. But after that, I really enjoyed it again!

I initially signed up for this class to complete a GER. I don't particularly like dancing (mostly because I'm a little awkward looking!), but I thought that while I was in this class I would contribute to the group as much as I could and learn as much as I could. Therefore, throughout the semester, I would speak up during discussions and volunteer to act/dance (very much out of my comfort zone!). I wasn't always very good, but I wanted to show my dedication and willingness to participate! I think the most uncomfortable thing I did was play one of the harem women! Oh, I was pretty bad, but after you embarrass yourself, it's easier to do it again later. ;P

Well, I want to thank everyone for a great semester! I hope everyone has a wonderful holiday!