On Saturday, February 10, 2018 twelve students of SEA-Teacher Project from Thailand and Philippines had a trip to Saung Angklung Udjo, Bandung. They made the trip with their buddies from UPI. The trip allowed the participants to learn the traditional art of Sundanese and the culture. Saung Angklung Udjo showed 9 performances to the audiences, which are Wayang Golek Demonstration, Helaran, Tari Topeng (traditional dance from Jawa Barat), Mini Angklung, Arumba, Angklung Massal Nusantara, Playing Angklung Together, Angklung Orkestra, and dancing together.
The performance from Saung Angklung Udjo began at 3.30 P.M. and it lasts for one and a half hours. The demonstration of Wayang Golek started the performance from Saung Angklung Udjo. Wayang Golek is a traditional puppet show from Sundanese which usually played at night and lasts for more than 7 hours. The puppeteer od Wayang Golek is called Dalang, a man who play the puppet all by himself with his two hands Each character of wayang Golek is the representative of human character, there is the bad and the good.
The second performance was Helaran, a traditional ceremony which is usually done at circumcision event. In this show a group of children danced happily on stage while playing angklung. In the middle there is another child sitting on a stretcher like a child who has just been circumcised and ready to be paraded around the village.
After Helaran, the performance continued with Tari Topeng which is originally from Cirebon. Tari Topeng consist of two rounds, each rounds represents a different story. In the first half, the dancers in this red costume danced without using a mask, which tells Layang Kumintir, an informant for Ratu Kencana Wungu in the Blambangan Kingdom to seek information and investigate the state of the kingdom. In the second half, the dancers wore masks. This second round tells Layang Kumintir disguised as a mighty man who must fight against King Menakjingga and defeat him.
The most interesting show for the visitors is the performance of angklung music. Various types of songs ranging from regional songs, foreign songs, to pop songs and dangdut played nicely on this stage. The most interesting of these angklung performances is the audience will be invited to play angklung together. The angklung will be distributed by the students of SAU and the audience will play the song by following the guidance given.
The Triip is ended by dancing together between the attendees and the students of SAU. Everyone seems happy to join the dance. Most of the SEA-Teacher participants join the dance. Finally, the trip is end at 5.00 P.M. and the participants were going back to UPI. (Febri)