Gamelan Sekar Jaya, an internationally acclaimed group of musicians and dancers, has made the performing arts of Bali its specialty. Founded in 1979, the sixty-member ensemble has presented hundreds of concerts throughout California and on tours around the United States as well as to Canada, Mexico, and Bali itself. Its performances in Bali—in venues ranging from the Art Center in the capital city of Denpasar to remote village squares—have been greeted with wild enthusiasm by local audiences, artists, and media. The group's success arises not only from its devotion to traditional repertoire but from its innovative work. Under the direction of composer Wayne Vitale, Sekar Jaya has sponsored the creation of more than eighty major new works for gamelan and dance, created both by the Balinese artists who have joined the ensemble as guest directors and by U.S.-based artists. Gamelan Sekar Jaya's passion for innovation has found expression in unique collaborative projects, bringing the group together with other dance ensembles, theater artists, puppeteers, composers of new music for silent films, and symphony orchestras. These new pieces have won critical acclaim on both sides of the Pacific. The Boston Globe commented, "The success of this group has far exceeded its founders' wildest dreams as the ensemble has become an honored participant in the evolution of Bali's musical culture." During the group's fourth tour to Bali (July 2000), it was selected to receive the Dharma Kusuma—Bali's highest award for artistic achievement, never before given to foreign performers.
Kali Yuga was made possible by the Doris Duke Fund for Dance of the National Dance Project, a program of the New England Foundation for the Arts (with additional funding provided by the National Endowment for the Arts, the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation, and the Ford Foundation).
The creation of Kali Yuga has also been supported by generous grants from The National Endowment for the Arts, the LEF Foundation, and the Zellerbach Family Foundation. This work, guest artistic residencies, and other current Gamelan Sekar Jaya programs are supported by generous grants from: The East Bay Community Foundation, The William and Flora Hewlett Foundation, The Lutz Foundation, and The San Francisco Foundation.
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