HF+The+Balinese-American+Model

Harrison Fowler Asian Theatre 4400/ 6400 Dr. Richmond April 12, 2011

**By: Stephen Snow. __Asian Theatre Journal__ Vol.3, #2, Fall 1986. Page. 204- 229.**
Within the first introductory block quote of Stephen Snow’s article “Intercultural Performance: The Balinese-American Model,” I was intrigued by Margaret Mead’s call to action about building a cross-cultural connection to “build a culture richer and more rewarding than any the world has ever seen.” Such a thought, followed by the controversial rebuttal from critics about this “deep learning” from other cultures, was provocative enough to keep me interested as I stumbled over foreign Bali terms, and in the end, I felt a deep allegory between the trials of intercultural dance, theatre, and entertainment production and the recent historical difficulties in all aspects of life as we move towards an ever-globalized culture. Islene Pinder was a dancer-choreographer who took it upon herself to emulate the traditional Bali dances with as much precision as possible but, as an outsider to the culture, put her own American spin on things when she attempted to learn more masculine dance styles called //jauk// and //baris.// She was respected by the Balinese masters, but back in the US following her attempt to add a narrator and masks to a traditional Balinese dance, received harsh criticism. One critic concluded, “Tradition stays within its own country, only the technique travels.” This close-minded, pessimistic view of a global art scene depressed me to slight degree, as I would like to believe that humans are empathetic, adaptable creatures capable of doing anything we set our minds to. This idea, however, is a direct result of my American upbringing. Most other cultures do not accept this idea of transience and the self-made man. India’s caste system and the Japanese //Kabuki// theatre provide evidence to many cultures’ fear of change from their established traditions. John Emigh was another American performance artist who looked to incorporate traditional Balinese dance theatre traditions into his work, but unlike Pinder, he was more interested in the storytelling aspect than the dance techniques. After a grant allowed him the opportunity to study in Bali with a great mask-making master, he had no plans to study Balinese dance again, but “fate pushed him… into the hands of one of Bali’s greatest dancers, Nyoman Kakul,” leading him to study masked dance for the next five months. The physical limitations of an American dancer were soon evident: the back-bending of joints once thought impossible, the sweltering jungle heat, the agony of tropical fever were almost too much for him. Eventually, however, the words of his teacher sank in as distinctly Balinese movements became second-nature to him and he began to hybridize the tradition of Balinese masked dancing with the theatre training of the Western world. The true integration of his Balinese education with his new Western theatre productions did not occur immediately upon returning home, though. American actors thought of the masks as a costume and Emigh struggled to teach them that the masks were more of a monument to the inner psyche of the character. Emigh’s work was better received by American critics than Pinder’s and had much success with his Balinese adaptation “Little Red Riding Shawl.” Perhaps what makes his intercultural integration more successful than Pinder’s is that instead of trying to awkwardly emulate techniques and make them more commercially successful in the States, he takes the spirit of Balinese masked dance and weaves it in with the structure of Western theatre and stories. To me, this reminds me of the Americanization of foreign foods. Travel to Mexico or China or India and you will not eat anything like what we call their native foods. The cultural divide is still there when we take names and theories of dishes but prepare them with no regard to actual methods or specific ingredients. Usually, the best kind of fusion cuisine is not when we try to Americanize food, but rather draw important cultural notes from traditional dishes and create a completely new thing, much like Emigh did with his hybridized //topeng pajegan// performances. He did not try to change either style, but instead drew elements of each to recompose a completely new style. Director-designer Julie Taymor is the final American performing artist to be discussed in Snow’s article. She draws from Javanese performing arts as well as Balinese, but instead of studying traditional music and dance “in the usual way of the foreigner” for fear of butchering cultural traditions and techniques, she decided to bring her American influences to the table and work with Indonesian masters “to create something else.” Because she was not attempting to assume the role of an obvious misfit trying to imitate another culture, she was widely acclaimed by the Indonesian press for her innovation. Although her blend of Javanese, Balinese, Japanese, and Western cultures helped to shield her from many foreseeable faux-pas, a performance piece she put on for the National Academy of Music and Dance in Bali was full of blunders “simply out of ignorance of Balinese culture.” For example, her understanding of the Balinese //banjar//, or group, system lead her to cast actors from different //banjar//, despite cultural qualms about //banjar// allegiance and segregation. She also used an ox to mean a symbol of Indonesian life, but it was interpreted as a symbol of the ill-fated Balinese Communist Party and Taymor was subsequently arrested and interrogated. Fear of such blunders is a main cause of cultural isolationism throughout the world. Imagine how many Native Americans would still be alive had we been able to understand their way of life as anything but the savagery we called it. Think of the problems associated with the Cold War if such fear of the unknown had not plagued both sides. The three artists each deserve respect for their embrace of foreign cultures and willingness to devote themselves to something new. Pinder and Emigh evolved as a dancer and an actor, respectively, but also acquired skills from the other aspects of performing arts. Taymor’s inclusion of the visual aspects of a broad array of cultures helped her to create a style that is not Javanese, Balinese, Japanese, or Western, but distinctly her own. If theatre is a projection of life, then I believe that this level of intercultural performance can lead to intercultural peace and unity as the once-insurmountable distances grow closer and the world shrinks and I hope that this level of acceptance of differences – on both sides of the cultural divide – can bring about a new culture where we aren’t defined as Westerners or Easterners, but as human beings.