Suara Bali

Mazlan dancing for Cecenangan

Dewi dancing for Usha

Mbak Elly, who danced for Pendet

Farah hit every gong. :p

The inseparable boys: Fahmi, Jason and Renaldo

& Nadia! :D

I don't know why but I feel like the show ended too quickly. We worked pretty hard for 3 months and bam! It's over. My cues for the gong in between songs were perfect for the second, third and fourth show. I pretty much screwed the first one. HAHA. But well, at least the others were fine.

Pendet was awesome! This was the most difficult song for gong, because I had to count, like really count. & sometimes, Niky at the Ugal would look at me and I'll be like, "Okay, that would mean the 16th beat and...(pul)." But that was helpful, so I have her to thank. :p But really, I only figured out the transition for Pendet at the last minute so this song was my major achievement out of all 7 songs.

Godek Miring was perfect, simply put. Heh. As for Topeng Keras and Topeng Dalem, playing the Pengecah next to Mei Yin has always been awesome. We even sempat to low-five each other before we started Topeng Dalem when the lights were dim. Hahahaha. It's so funny to sit next to her in front of the mirror in the dressing room because she's so goddamn funny and random sometimes.

Cecenangan was almost perfect, sadly. I couldn't nail the first transition perfectly, but I always nail the transition before the last part. & whenever I do, Niky who'll be at the Reong, will grin so widely at me. & I'll grin widely too, because it's this amazing feeling. This transition part was actually figured out at the last minute too. I don't know why but I'm lucky I could figure it out before the show. Honestly, Cecenangan was a fun song at the gong because I twist and turn to hit the "male" and "female" gong and the kempul. (Y)

Usha was beautiful, and always will be. I was shocked when Pak Alit came to me one day and said, "Can you play Usha? It's a new piece." I was like, whooaaaaaaaa. Kembang lah skejap. & Isaac, who wasn't originally supposed to play Pengecah with me, got chosen too because he happened to be sitting next to me and copying B. HAHAHA!! There was one part during the song where Isaac and me had to interlock, and he had to start the first note. So we'll be smiling/laughing at each other when we play because the song was very fast, and he was trying to chase after my notes. Hilarious.

I love this whole experience with Balinese gamelan. It's been an amazing time with all the people who made this production possible. From fooling around in the dressing rooms, to eating 8 boxes of pizza together, to forming a circle and holding hands in prayer, to sitting in the corridor just joking and gossiping (the guys can really gossip like girls), to endless laughter the whole time. I'm so lucky to have the opportunity to be part of this production. & I cannot thank Pak Alit ENOUGH for his endless patience in me playing the gong. I just cannot thank him enough, even though he praised my gong skill during the show. I managed to get a picture with him though, for memory's sake, even though the picture quality wasn't really that good. Still, it's better than nothing.

I've never played gong this passionately for Javanese gamelan. This really stuns me. When I watched the video, I could see myself swaying to the music. & I seemed to have so much fun hitting the gongs, which is amazing, really. Mei Yin was right, you gotta feel it. & I did for all 4 shows. :D:D:D

I have a backache right now. I think it's worth 3 months of the rehearsals. Hahaha. But I'm not gonna complain because it was worth it.

& you know what? Before I left the dressing room last night, Mei Yin said this,

"Oh, and Fazlun, I have good news for you. You are now a member of Gamelan Singamurti."

I was like, "Are you serious? Wait, you're joking right?" And she was like, "Am I joking? No, I'm not joking. Niky, am I joking?" & I heard Niky say no. I was like, thank you thank you thank you!!! :D:D

I am so happy. Balinese = LOVE.

I'm gonna sleep like a pig again tomorrow. I feel so tired all of a sudden, even though I slept for more than 8 hours.

Off to Jakarta this Thursday evening. Gonna visit some makam(s) and hopefully, I'll find some peace in my heart and answers as well. :)