Post 3: The Joget Jive

I am sending this email from an internet business. Cost 3 Malaysian Ringits (about 75 cents) for an hour of computer time.
Wednesday, July 19, 2006International Music Conference in Kuala Lumpur-July 2006Selamat ! We're having very interesting musical experiences , as well as eating too well in Indian, Chinese, and Malay! The conference arranged a Malysian Night of food, music & dance that was held in a Performing Arts Palace (very grand) which was attended by the Minister of Arts & Culture.
The show was titled "Malaysian Evolution". They played everything from the traditional gamelon (drums & gongs) to western orchestral music and combinations of both. The Malaysian Philharmonic played, popular singers entertained along with colorfully costumed dancers, and by the end we were all dancing the traditional "joget" dance in the aisles! (even the minister!)

Di- clapping and dancing “joget”-representative from an African country beside me.

Next day was the highlight of this conference, I'm sure. We were bused about an hour out of the city to a primary school. The children and faculty were waiting for our delegation of about 80 to arrive. When the buses pulled up they waved and blew kisses! Four beautifully dressed eleven and twelve year old girls held huge bouquets of sparkling tinsel stems while a large group of costumed boys played traditional "kompong" drums ( hand drums). They led us in a procession to an open multipurpose area ( thankfully covered because we had a monsoon deluge while the students performed.)

        Girls greet us with tinsel decorations.

           The boys lead us into the school playing kompong drums.

                                 

These girls taught me how to dance a traditional Malaysian dance.

                    

  My lovely "joget" dance teacher.

                 

Silat, martial art dancer

 There were speeches by the principal and various faculty with dance and martial arts demonstrations by the students .They were such talented performers! The little drummers were very accomplished, the girls so graceful (hand motions and moves), the martial arts demo was fantastic, and the young gamelon players accompanied all so well. After their performances we were all invited to join the children to learn their particular art. I went with the dancers and learned a traditional Malaysian dance, the "joget",  while Fin tried his hand at kompong drumming.

After our lessons- we all had to perform for the faculty and kids at the school! There was so much joy in this shared music making. The school children and teachers couldn't have been friendlier. Just a delight to meet.



Learning the joget  (Denise Gagne learning beside me)

Performing with my young teacher !

Before we left we were served a meal of typical Malaysian foods . Interesting fruits,such as durian,  noodles dishes, and gelatin desserts made of green peas and coconut were tasted.We all agreed that this visit to a Malay school was truly a highlight of the conference.

Post 2: Selemat Pagi! Good Morning from Kuala Lumpur!

This post is taken from an email home, July 17, 2006
Our destination is Kuala Lumpur for the ISME ( International Society of Music Educators) Conference. Our "hostess" for the occasion is Deb LoCascio- a fellow music teacher and long time friend from Saudi Arabia. She flew in from her home in Vienna, Austria to join us for the conference.

We flew 13.5 hours from L.A and landed at Chaing Kai Shek International Airport inTaipai. Stayed 4 hours,
then on to Kuala Lumpur airport which is located outside the city in jungle of palm oil  and rubber tree plantations.

We’re staying with Deb at a private residence belonging to her friends who teach at the American School in Kuala Lumpur. The house is like the one I lived in Laos in '68- with 5 bedrooms, 3 baths, living and dining rooms, and a large kitchen. Its nice to have a house to stay in, although we have to take busses and taxis to get to the conference center.


private residence where we stayed!

 KL is a large, bustling city. The conference center is next to a huge, multi-storied shopping center near the Petronas Towers.

So far we have seen Malaysian and Chinese opera (performed by high schoolers of those countries) and a fabulous  performance by students from Saba, on the island of Borneo. Exciting costumes, dance and music.
The conference has about 800 participants from 69 countries.  Fin went to a Chinese percussion workshop and I went to one by Denise Gagne from Canada.
Love to all and hugs from us in hot, humid Malaysia!
Di & Fin

    Deb LoCascio, Fin & I at the opening banquet  for the ISME Conference

 Three student dancers from Saba, Malaysia ( on the island of Borneo) wearing exotic feather head dresses.

   Dianne learning traditional drumming techniques at a Malaysian music workshop.

Di's Travelogue Blog

Di with children's dance group from Saba, Malaysian Borneo  Post 1: Introducing Travelin' Di's Travalogue Blog, Featuring Past & Present Travels I've always had the "Travel Bug" but now I'm infected with a "Blog Bug", too! For years I've had the desire to be a "travel writer". With the advent of the internet blog, I can start sharing stories of  travel adventures and "publish" some of these experiences. If you like to read travelogues and visit exotic places vicariously, this blog is for you! I've lived in some very interesting and exciting countries: Saudi Arabia, Laos, Lebanon, Germany, and of course, the United States. My travels have taken me around the world three times. Since my career has been in elementary music education, my travels reflect my love of all things musical. You will be introduced to many multicultural musical experiences through my blog posts. I'm going to start with our trips to Malaysia and Cambodia, taken in  July 2006, when my husband Fin and I attended a week long music conference in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Join me on my journeys!