where to see jegog gamelan
 

Hello--

I'll be in Bali this August/September and I'm interested in seeing a live performance of jegog (bamboo) gamelan music. Wondered if anyone knows if this will be fairly easy to find/frequently on offer around Ubud, or if there's someplace else I should plan on heading.

Thanks.

I hope that marmot or another Bali expert will chime in here. When I've been in Bali (and it's been a few years now) it was easy to find such performances. Once we saw a performance at a place we just happened to stop while we were out with our driver. Ask at your hotel - they should be able to find a performance for you.

Cube, Jegog gamelan is not commonly performed in ensemble in Southern and Central Bali although it is often present as "background" music at restaurants or resorts. The Legian in Seminyak has had a duo that plays at breakfast for as long as I can remember. The players are quite old now and I often worry about who will follow them.

Jegog comes from Jembrana regency in Northwest Bali -- a fairly undeveloped area so I guess that would be a good place to start looking for performance venues.

I would suggest writing to some of the cultural centers like ARMA in Ubud and the Bali Arts Center (Taman Budaya) in Denpasar.

I'd also recommend this tour group -- the pricipals are very involved in Balinese theater and masked dance and would be a good source of information, I would think even if you don't join a tour.
http://www.danutours.com/

PS, This just begs the question: How did you become interested in Jegog gamelan?

We saw a Jegog performance that was running twice a week, I think, in a small village outside of Ubud. You could ask at the Ubud tourist info center about it. We saw it 3 years ago. It was excellent, really excellent.

Thanks all --I will follow up on these leads.
I saw a television program about Bali about a month ago which included a segment on a Jegog "battle of the bands" --a contest between 2 full orchestras.
Come to think of it, I think they did mention that it took place in/around Negara, which looks pretty well off the beaten path. Anyway, it sounded great and I'm sure its fantastic live.