Gamelan & Wayang Shadow Puppets
With K.R.A. Ki H. Gunarto Gunotalijendro, S.H. M.M. & members of Gamelan Sari Laras, Indonesia
Tuesday, April 7, 2026 | 7:00 PM – 9:30 PM (doors at 6:30 PM)
Djavad Mowafaghian World Art Centre
SFU School for the Contemporary Arts
149 W. Hastings St, Vancouver
Tickets: Students: $10 / Staff/Faculty & Seniors: $15 / General: $20 – Please check back for ticket link!
The School for the Contemporary Arts recently reactivated the SFU Gamelan Ensemble, which is currently led by SCA alumnus Roman Dubrule, under the mentorship of longtime SCA Gamelan instructor Sutrisno Hartana. This year, we are very fortunate to be joind by Maestro Dalang K.R.A. Ki H. Gunarto Gunotalijendro, S.H. M.M. and members of Gamelan Sari Laras, who are accomplished artists and musicians of Wayang Shadow Puppets from Indonesia. It is our hope that, through music and art, we can all understand each other on a deeper level, and forge new connections.
Wayang kulit is a popular tradition in Indonesia (especially in the island of Java and Bali) and other countries in Southeast Asia. The term wayang implies both shadows and the imaginary. During the performance, the puppeteer (dalang) connects the shadow world, in a poetical sense, to the imagination. Traditionally, he or she uses the wayang puppets (and other tools) to entertain and enlighten through the exploration of Hindu myths.
In the Indonesian archipelago, puppet theatre arrived in the first millennium of the Common Era from India, along with the Hinduism, Buddhism, writing systems, and wet rice farming. Stories (usually adaptations of Ramayana or Mahabharata epics) are transmitted in oral form, and the dialogue is improvised anew with every performance. This ancient tradition is thus continually renewed and made relevant to local circumstances and current social issues. Wayang kulit puppets are carved and chiseled from buffalo hide and painted on both sides. The puppeteer (dalang) holds the intricately carved leather puppets up against a white cloth screen in front of where they’re sitting, and a bright light that is burning above their head forms shadows of the puppets on the screen. The audience views the portrayal of the story with the shadows from the other side of the screen. For most of traditional Javanese shadow puppet theatre, the dalang is in complete charge of the performance. He/she manipulates the puppets, delivers all the dialogue in many different character-voices, describes the scene, comments on metaphorical meanings, and signals the Gamelan orchestra—a musical ensemble consisting of percussion instruments, drums, flutes, strings, and vocals—what and when to play.
EVENT
Puppet Workshop
Sunday, April 5, 2026 | 12:00 PM – 3:00 PM
Djavad Mowafaghian World Art Centre
SFU School for the Contemporary Arts
149 W. Hastings St, Vancouver
Led by Sutrisno Hartana, with special guest artists K.R.A. Gunarto Gunotalijendro S.H. M.M. and members of Sari Laras Group from Java, Indonesia.
Wayang kulit puppets involve music, poetry and prose as a form of storytelling. In the visual aspect, the shadows of the puppets create beautiful images; the choreography of puppet movements progress the narrative; and Gamelan music as well as vocals accompany and frame the story.
This workshop is free and open to the public, but there is very limited space – first come, first served. Family and their kids, teachers, students, and youth are all welcome.
Biographies
Sutrisno Hartana (tour leader and artistic director) is a Javanese performing artist, Gamelan musician, composer, and arts educator. He completed his doctoral degree in Art History and Visual Studies at the University of Victoria, Canada, in 2017, and he holds an MA in Ethnomusicology from the University of British Columbia (2006). As a Javanese performing artist, he graduated with his bachelor's degree from the Indonesian Institute of Arts in Yogyakarta, Java, Indonesia (1992). In 2004, the King of Paku Alaman Palace granted him the title “Mas Lurah Lebda Swara,” making him a court musician at the Paku Alaman Palace in Yogyakarta, Indonesia. He has toured, performed and taught internationally in both traditional and contemporary styles throughout Asia, Europe, and North America. Sutrisno has been teaching at the School for the Contemporary Arts at Simon Fraser University in Vancouver, BC, Canada. He has also taught at Ningbo University in China.
K.R.A. Gunarto Gunotalijendro S.H. M.A. is a professional Javanese dalang, a wayang kulit puppeteer, and the president of Sari Laras Gamelan Group based in Jakarta, Indonesia. Four members of Sari Laras Gamelan Group and other musicians from Vancouver will join him to perform Gamelan and wayang shadow puppets.