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Shimmering metal, courtly dance: Javanese Gamelan Kyai Dorodasih (Venerable Dream Come True) at REDCAT

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April 5, 2005, Los Angeles-The riveting music and expressive dance drama of CalArts' Javanese gamelan Kyai Dorodasih, (Venerable Dream Come True), comes to REDCAT, the Roy and Edna Disney/CalArts Theater for only one performance, April 13 at 8:30 p.m. This night will be dedicated to traditional Javanese repertoire and new work, under the direction of Djoko Walujo; dance directed by Nanik Wenten, with special guest performers Lantip and Jeannie Park and performed by a company of 45 performers: 30 musicians and 15 dancers. Venerable Dream Come True refers to the CalArts World Music program's longstanding dream to have its own Javanese gamelan, a large and elaborate collection of precision-tuned metallophones, with which to play the complex music of Java, a style of gamelan that is elegant, stately, and rooted in centuries of tradition.

Works to be performed include new compositions with cross-cultural influences, including trumpets and field drums, reflecting the Dutch colonial heritage of Java; a work by I Dewa Ketut Alit with complex Balinese-style interlocking ornamentation, western harmony, and South Indian style metric structures; a dance drama performed by I Nyoman Wenten as Rahwana; and highly refined Javanese court dances and traditional compositions, some of which have been arranged to feature instruments from other musical cultures, such as the Indian sitar and the European cello.

Djoko Walujo studied music at the Indonesian Arts Institute and law at the University of Gajah Mada in Jogyakarta, Java. He was a music professor at the Indonesian Arts Institute from 1975 until coming to CalArts as a Visiting Artist in 1992. He studied gamelan music from an early age with many well-known teachers, including Raden Lurah Dhamowijoyo, Raden Ngabehi Prawira Pangrawit, Raden Mas Handoyo Kusuma, Bapak Harjaswara, Bapak Sunardi Wisnubrata, Bapak Promono, Bapak Hadi Sumarta and K.R.T. Wasitodiningrat. He has performed widely, composed music for dance and drama and received awards from the Javanese Ministry of Education, Governor of the Special Region of Yogyakarta, The Radio Republic of Indonesia and the governor of Central Java.

REDCAT, CalArts' downtown center for innovative visual, performing and media arts, is located at the corner of W. 2nd St. and S. Hope St., inside the Walt Disney Concert Hall complex. Gamelan Kyai Dorodasih will perform Wednesday, April 13 at 8:30 p.m. Ticket prices range from $20-16. Student discounts available. Seating is general admission. Tickets may be purchased at the REDCAT box office--located at the corner of 2nd and Hope Streets, by calling 213.237.2800 or at by clicking here.

REDCAT's 2004-05 season programming is generously supported by The Herb Alpert Foundation; American Center Foundation; The Annenberg Foundation; Anonymous; Asian Cultural Council; Bank Julius Baer; Booth Heritage Foundation; Canada Council for the Arts; Hyon Chough; CONACULTA; Cotsen Family Foundation; CNMAT; Cultural Contact, the U.S.-Mexico Foundation for Culture; Cultural Services of the French Embassy in the United States and the French Consulates in Los Angeles and San Francisco; DESTE Foundation for Contemporary Art; Discover Signs; Robert B. Egelston; Étant Donnés, The French-American Fund for the Performing Arts, a program of the French American Cultural Exchange; Factory Signage & Graphics; The French-American Fund for Contemporary Music, a program of FACE; The J. Paul Getty Trust; Harriett and Richard Gold; Lenore S. and Bernard A. Greenberg; The Jim Henson Foundation; Henson International Festival of Puppet Theater; The James Irvine Foundation; The Japan Foundation; The Japan Foundation, Los Angeles; Korea Art Foundation of America; The Korea Times; The Korea Culture and Art Foundation; Korea Foundation; The JL Foundation; The Sharon D. Lund Foundation; Meet The Composer, Creative Connections Program; México Secretaría de Relaciones Exteriores; National Dance Project; National Endowment for the Arts; Pasadena Art Alliance; Wendy Keys and Donald A. Pels; Poets & Writers, Inc. through a grant from The James Irvine Foundation; Lee and Lawrence J. Ramer; Richard and Hinda Rosenthal Foundation; The Judith Rothschild Foundation; Dorothy R. Sherwood; Shiseido Co., Ltd.; The Skirball Foundation; SRE/Consulate of Mexico; Eve Steele and Peter Gelles; Harold and Mimi Steinberg Charitable Trust; Dallas Price-Von Breda; The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts; Yamaha Corporation and The Walt Disney Company.

California Institute of the Arts, CalArts, the first U.S. higher educational institution to integrate the visual and performing arts under one roof, is recognized as the nation's leading laboratory for the arts. Housing six schools-Art, Critical Studies, Dance, Film/Video, Music and Theater-CalArts embraces creative cross-pollination among diverse art forms and traditions, and strongly encourages each artist to pursue his or her vision within a broad context of social and cultural understanding.

Roy and Edna Disney/CalArts Theater, REDCAT, is an interdisciplinary arts center that introduces diverse audiences, students and artists to the most influential developments in the performing, visual and media arts from around the world, and gives artists and future artists in this region the production opportunities and creative support they need to achieve national and international stature.

For more information about events at REDCAT, go to www.redcat.org.

For more information about CalArts, visit www.muse.calarts.edu.

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