Here, the dancers are performing to the piece we learned to play at the workshop, except it's a lot faster (and better :) ) than we could play it. You might want to see the video of us playing (below) first, and then see this.
Saturday, October 18, 2008
Balinese Gamelan Starring ME
OK, not really "starring" me (on the left below the window on the far left), but I'm playing on the second to highest register which provides a good counter melody to the midrange instruments. The piece consists of overlapping rhythm patterns, the lower the register, the less notes played. The higher registers appear to be playing faster, but we're all playing on the same rhythmic cycle. Enjoy!
Thursday, October 16, 2008
Halloween Cupcakes
Tuesday, October 14, 2008
Dahin's Day at Work
Today is Columbus Day and, while Dahin's school was closed for a teacher training day, Berkeley was wide open. Like anytime I have to go to work and she does not go to school, Dahin joined me. Luckily, the work study/Chair's office next to me is empty most of the time, so she can do work on the computer or go to websites like those of the Roxy Hunter and Rainbow Fairies series. Today, she brought her "baby;" a stuffed cat she put on a blankie spread out on the floor. I love my work environment here because it is, for the most part, very kid-friendly.
Dahin's walk-a-thon
Dahin's school had its annual walk-a-thon. This year, the boys joined Dahin on three laps. It was a lot of fun and I think we raised a lot of money. Dahin's 2/3 class alone did 247 laps. If each kid raised only 10 bucks (flat amount) that would be $2,470.00. You know they raised a lot more!
Thursday, October 9, 2008
gamelan in the city
I participated in a two-day Balinese gamelan workshop at the Gamelan Sekar Jaya in Oakland (http://www.gsj.org/). I met this year's two guest artists at an ethomusicology party in Berkeley a little over a month ago and Dahin hit it off with their daughter, Ayu. Above is a picture of my teacher, Dewar, and his wife, Emiko, is the lovely dancer below. Dewar led the gamelan music workshop, and Emiko led the dance workshop. At the end of the two days, we got together at the center to see what each group learned and we were able to see the dancers perform to the piece we had been taught. It was a fabulous experience! Emiko is encouraging Dahin to learn some Balinese dancing. It's tough stuff. Lots of bending and contorting--who needs pilates! As soon as I can figure out how to compress the video I took of us performing, I'll try and post it here.
Shirley Temples and a Movie
It's not often that I make them, but the kids (and I) love Shirley temples. I decided to get some gingerale (we already have the grenadine) and a frozen pizza after a really hard day. I had promised the kids we would go to the pumpkin patch, but when we went there, we discovered that the Ardenwood farm pumpkin patch we had been going to for years was taking a break this year. I felt terrible. I then drove all the way back to Oakland and took the kids to a store down the street from where we live that has a pumpkin patch in the back, but there was some sort of biker reunion going on in the biker club across the street. All these drunk 40-somethings; it was terrible and loud. Worse yet, their pumpkins were so overpriced, we could only get a little one since they were cash only. And there were these little kids in the back pressuring us to do the haunted house. It was 2 dollars a pop--please! Soon, I will take the kids to an actual farm. We just need to find a new pumpkin patch. Ardenwood has totally lost its fan base with us. They should have at least announced it on their website. There were other families there, too, who had driven the long drive to Fremont only to discover the pumpkin patch was not in operation. It's an hour-long drive from our home. I was NOT a happy camper. I hate promising the kids something I can't deliver. Well, at least the kids were able to do something they don't normally get to do: drink shirley temples while eating pizza and watching a movie.
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