Pedagogy, Performance, and Community in the Transnational Balinese Traditional Performing Arts Scene Elizabeth A
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Florida State University Libraries Electronic Theses, Treatises and Dissertations The Graduate School 2013 Pedagogy, Performance, and Community in the Transnational Balinese Traditional Performing Arts Scene Elizabeth A. Clendinning Follow this and additional works at the FSU Digital Library. For more information, please contact [email protected] PEDAGOGY, PERFORMANCE, AND COMMUNITY IN THE TRANSNATIONAL BALINESE TRADITIONAL PERFORMING ARTS SCENE By ELIZABETH A. CLENDINNING A Dissertation submitted to the College of Music in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy Degree Awarded: Fall Semester, 2013 Elizabeth Anne Clendinning defended this dissertation on October 4, 2013. The members of the supervisory committee were: Michael B. Bakan Professor Directing Dissertation Kathleen M. Erndl University Representative Frank Gunderson Committee Member Denise Von Glahn Committee Member The Graduate School has verified and approved the above-named committee members, and certifies that the dissertation has been approved in accordance with university requirements. ii To the teachers and the students—may we always be both. iii ACKNOWLEDGMENTS It is impossible to adequately thank all of the people who have provided their help and insight as I have worked on this project. First and foremost, I would like to thank I Madé Lasmawan and Ni Ketut Marni for welcoming me into their gamelan communities, their homes, and their lives over the last two years. Without their diligent work over the last twenty years in Colorado, the gamelan scene there would look quite different, and this dissertation would have no story. I would also like to thank the eminently quotable Putu Hiranmayena for his insightful reflections on his family’s pedagogical career. I would like to thank Ian Rowen for introducing me to this musical family. Additionally, this dissertation would not be complete without the voices of the members of Lasmawan’s gamelan community who allowed me to interview them for this project, especially Edmundo Luna, Michael Fitts, Aleanna Collins, Luke Geaney, Robert Ledbetter, and Dorothy Morrison; your insights showed me the many ways in which this community is truly important. I would also like to thank other members of the transnational Balinese gamelan pedagogical community whose stories and thoughts influenced this project— I Ketut Gedé Asnawa, I Nyoman Sedana, Ni Seniasih, I Ketut Kodi, and the members of Gamelan Çudamani—as well as the members of Gamelan Galak Tika, Gamelan Dharma Swara, the gamelan at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, and the members of all of Lasmawan’s individual gamelan ensembles who welcomed me to visit, talk, and play. The members of my “home” gamelan, Sekaa Gong Hanuman Agung at Florida State University, were also instrumental in completing this research; I am so thrilled to have spent the last five years of my life studying, playing, and teaching with you all. In particular, I want to thank Shawn Havery for his continued energy as the quintessential American Balinese gamelan enthusiast, and Hannah Davis, for all of our late night talks about gamelans near and far. In addition to the members of the gamelan, I am also grateful to the members of the Florida State University Balinese dancers; our experiences learning to become seksi will forever be a highlight of my doctoral years. Most importantly, I cannot give enough thanks to I Gusti Ayu Candra Dewi, who first showed me how to dance and whose devotion, patience, and grace inspired me to first go to Bali. Michael Bakan deserves my utmost thanks, not only as my major professor but also as my first gamelan teacher and my continuing mentor in all things related to gamelan theory and iv performance. I am deeply indebted to his support of my dissertation research and my continued work in improving my own gamelan pedagogy. I would also like to thank the members of my committee—Kathleen Erndl, Frank Gunderson, and Denise Von Glahn—for sharing their perspectives on this topic and for teaching me how to learn and teach over the six years with which I have worked with them. My graduate student community was also exceptionally supportive of me as I worked on this project; I would particularly like to thank Sara Brown, Kayleen Justus, Sarah Kahre, Todd Rosendahl, and Timothy Storhoff for their continued support. I would additionally like to thank Andy McGraw for contributing his outside perspective to my work and for introducing me to his community in Bali. This project was made possible by several organizations whose financial generosity was critical to my completion of this dissertation. The U.S. Department of State Critical Language Scholarship program, the Florida State University International Dissertation Research Fellowship, and the Florida State University Dissertation Research Grant enabled my travel both in Indonesia and in the United States. A special thank you goes to Patrick Reeves, who supported me in this work from the beginning and gave me daily encouragement through one trip to Java and three trips to Bali. An enormous debt of gratitude also goes to David Stifler, whose unceasing encouragement and critical editor’s eye helped me bring this dissertation project to its conclusion. Finally, I would like to thank my parents, who have supported me from the very beginning, even before I had heard the word “gamelan.” Dad, thank you for your advice and for helping me with my writing, from kindergarten through the completion of this work. And Mom, thank you for your guidance, especially the last six years as my advisor, my colleague, my friend, and my ensemble-mate; no matter where I play gamelan, I will always be happy for the years that I spent learning, teaching, and performing with you at Florida State. v TABLE OF CONTENTS List of Figures ................................................................................................................................ ix Abstract .......................................................................................................................................... xi PROLOGUE ....................................................................................................................................1 1. INTRODUCTION TO THE TRANSNATIONAL BALINESE GAMELAN PERFORMING ARTS SCENE .......................................................................................................8 1.1 Focus of the Study .......................................................................................................14 1.2 Background and Historical Overview ..........................................................................18 1.2.1 Bali: Religion, History, Social Structure .........................................................18 1.2.2 Contextualizing Music within Balinese Society ..............................................23 1.2.3 Balinese Culture, North America, and the Ethnomusicologists ......................27 1.2.4 Envisioning a Transnational Gamelan Community .........................................33 1.3 Methods: Constructing a Transnational Study .............................................................34 1.4 Theoretical Approach and Literature Review ..............................................................37 1.4.1 Gamelan in Bali: Tradition and Change ..........................................................38 1.4.2 Gamelan Culture in Transnational Contexts ....................................................41 1.4.3 World Music Pedagogy: Teaching and Representing Balinese Music ............46 1.4.4 Connections: Musical Kinships .......................................................................51 1.4.5 Connections: Constructing Gamelan Geographies ..........................................53 1.4.6 On Globalization and Cosmopolitanism ..........................................................58 1.5 Chapter Synopses .........................................................................................................61 1.6 Contributions of the Study ...........................................................................................62 2. I MADÉ LASMAWAN: THE “JOHNNY APPLESEED” OF AMERICAN GAMELAN .65 2.1 Introducing Lasmawan.................................................................................................65 2.2 Life and Work ..............................................................................................................67 2.2.1 In Bali: Early Life and Education ....................................................................67 2.2.2 In Java: Higher Education and Diversification of Influences ..........................71 2.2.3 Lasmawan’s Teachers: Shaping a Future Educator .........................................74 2.2.4 Towards a Transnational Pedagogical Career ..................................................77 2.3 In America: A Network of Gamelans ..........................................................................80 2.3.1 Denver: Gamelan Tunas Mekar .......................................................................81 2.3.2 Colorado Springs: Colorado College ...............................................................89 vi 2.3.3 On the Road .....................................................................................................96 3. IN BALI: SANGGAR MANIK GALIH .............................................................................102 3.1 Situating Bangah, Tabanan, Bali ...............................................................................102 3.2 Musical