On 15 November 2016, students from the ELL department attended a Balinese Topeng workshop taught by Balinese dance and theatre practitioner I Made Suteja and hosted by Assistant Professor Maiya Murphy and Associate Professor Irving Johnson at NUS Theatre Studies Practice Studio.
In this workshop, I Made Suteja taught the basic steps and provided a demonstration of Topeng Pajegan. Some of the students who attended the workshop had previous exposure to Balinese dance and theatre in the module “Unmasked! An Introduction to Traditional Dance in SEA” taught by Associate Professor Irving Johnson. Topeng is a popular form of theatre in Bali that uses masks and half-masks in order to represent the human face. Topeng Pajegan is a sub-genre of Topeng where one performer portrays all characters, male and female, old and young, as well as characters of different backgrounds.
He introduced the students to a simple exercise that practices the basic physicality and footwork that constituted the foundation of performing Balinese theatre. The movements were controlled and powerful, at all times there is a conscious effort to ‘bulk up’ the performer’s stage presence. He went on to teach the class on how to perform a movement set called ‘looking for the umbrella.’ The students all struggled to master the movement, but nevertheless it was an energizing workout.
At the end of the workshop, I Made Suteja gave a full length demonstration of Topeng Pajegan, displaying his prowess and mastery over his craft. His performance was lively and entertaining as he switched from mask to mask, character to character. Having experienced a taste of how much control and endurance one needs to perform Topeng, the students had a better appreciation of the craft of Balinese performance.
A link to I Made Suteja’s demonstration can be found here
(Contributed by undergraduate Eugene Koh.)