Research Catalog

Title

[Dance performances at Paku Alaman] [videorecording].

Publication

1996.

Items in the Library & Off-site

Details

Description

2 videodiscs (NTSC) (124 min.) : sd., col.; 4 3/4 in.

Series Statement

Deena Burton Collection

Subject

• Court dancing > Indonesia > Java
• Dance > Indonesia > Java
• Wayang wong (Dance drama)
• Langendriya

Genre/Form

• Dance.
• Video.

Note

• Title derived from cassette label.

Event (note)

• The abduction of Sinta recorded in performance at the Pura Paku Alaman, Yogyakarta, Java, on July 16, 1996.
• Langendriya recorded in performance at the Pura Paku Alaman, Yogyakarta, Java, on July 17, 1996.

Funding (note)

• Funding for the preservation and cataloging of the Deena Burton Collection was provided in part by the Friends of the Jerome Robbins Dance Division.

System Details (note)

• DVD.

Source (note)

• Skip La Plante.

Biography (note)

• Deena Burton, 1948-2005, was an American dancer, choreographer, and scholar of Indonesian dance. During her first trip to Indonesia in 1976-1980, she studied a variety of Indonesian dance styles. After returning to New York City, she obtained a master's degree in arts administration from Columbia University in 1982. Working with several dance, music, and theater groups, she staged both original and Indonesian choreographies, and founded her own company, Bali-Java Dance Theater. She frequently collaborated with composer Skip La Plante, whom she later married. She was among the founders of the New York Indonesian Consulate Gamelan ensemble, later called Gamelan Kusuma Laras. She was a major force behind the not-for-profit organization Arts Indonesia. At the New York Public Library, she edited the Tassilo Adam films, an invaluable collection shot in Indonesia in the 1920s, and received a Fulbright Scholarship to take the edited films to Indonesia in 1989-1990. She received a Ph.D. in performance studies from New York University in 1997, writing her dissertation on Claire Holt. For a fuller biography, see: http://www.gamelan.org/deenaburton/deenabio.html.

Contents

Disc 1: The abduction of Sinta (ca. 61 min.) -- Disc 2: Exit of performers of The abduction of Sinta (ca. 3 min.) -- Langendriya (?) (ca. 60 min.).

Call Number

*MGZIDVD 5-4324

OCLC

269406907

Title

[Dance performances at Paku Alaman] [videorecording].

Imprint

1996.

Series

Deena Burton Collection

System Details

DVD.

Event

The abduction of Sinta recorded in performance at the Pura Paku Alaman, Yogyakarta, Java, on July 16, 1996.

Langendriya recorded in performance at the Pura Paku Alaman, Yogyakarta, Java, on July 17, 1996.

Summary

Paku Alaman in Yogyakarta was one of four courts located in the cities of Surakarta, also called Solo, and Yogyakarta in central Java. This recording depicts two examples of wayang wong, or classical Javanese dance drama, which flourished at these courts. The first segment is The abduction of Sinta, a Javanese interpretation of an episode from the Hindu epic the Ramayana. The story begins as the evil Dasamuka transforms a demon into a golden deer in order to distract the attention of Rama and his brother Lesmana from Rama's wife Sinta. Though Lesmana draws a protective circle around Sinta, Dasamuka contrives to lure her out of it by adopting the guise of an old man. Lesmana and Rama shoot the deer, which resumes its demon form. The bird Jatayu tries to rescue Sinta from Dasamuka, and is mortally wounded by him, but survives long enough to tell Rama and Lesmana what has happened. They summon the white monkey Hanuman, who takes them to his king, Sugriwa, deposed by his brother Subali. Rama helps Sugriwa defeat Subali, and the grateful Sugriwa marshals his subjects to aid in the search for Sinta. The second segment appears to be a performance of langendriya or dance-opera, presented by an all-female cast.

Funding

Funding for the preservation and cataloging of the Deena Burton Collection was provided in part by the Friends of the Jerome Robbins Dance Division.

Biography

Deena Burton, 1948-2005, was an American dancer, choreographer, and scholar of Indonesian dance. During her first trip to Indonesia in 1976-1980, she studied a variety of Indonesian dance styles. After returning to New York City, she obtained a master's degree in arts administration from Columbia University in 1982. Working with several dance, music, and theater groups, she staged both original and Indonesian choreographies, and founded her own company, Bali-Java Dance Theater. She frequently collaborated with composer Skip La Plante, whom she later married. She was among the founders of the New York Indonesian Consulate Gamelan ensemble, later called Gamelan Kusuma Laras. She was a major force behind the not-for-profit organization Arts Indonesia. At the New York Public Library, she edited the Tassilo Adam films, an invaluable collection shot in Indonesia in the 1920s, and received a Fulbright Scholarship to take the edited films to Indonesia in 1989-1990. She received a Ph.D. in performance studies from New York University in 1997, writing her dissertation on Claire Holt. For a fuller biography, see: http://www.gamelan.org/deenaburton/deenabio.html.

Source

Gift; Skip La Plante.

Local Subject

Langendriya.

Research Call Number

*MGZIDVD 5-4324