Kecak Rocks!

Kecak (pronounced: /'ke.tʃak/, roughly "KEH-chahk", alternate spellings: Ketjak and Ketjack), a form of Balinese music drama, originated in the 1930s and is performed primarily by men. Also known as the piece, performed by a circle of 100 or more performers wearing checked cloth around their waists, percussively chanting "cak" and throwing up their arms, depicts a battle from the Ramayana where the monkey-like Vanara helped Prince Rama fight the evil King Ravana. However, Kecak has roots in sanghyang, a trance-inducing exorcism dance.[1]

Kecak was originally a trance ritual accompanied by male chorus. German painter and musician Walter Spies became deeply interested in the ritual while living in Bali in the 1930s and worked to recreate it into a drama, based on the Hindu Ramayana and including dance, intended to be presented to Western tourist audiences. This transformation is an example of what James Clifford describes as part of the "modern art-culture system"[2] in which, "the West or the central power adopts, transforms, and consumes non-Western or peripheral cultural elements, while making 'art' which was once embedded in the culture as a while, into a separate entity."[3] Spies worked with Wayan Limbak and Limbak popularized the dance by traveling throughout the world with Balinese performance groups. These travels have helped to make the Kecak famous throughout the world.

Lesson Plan

“How I am feeling today?”

LEVEL : Form 2 (intermediate)
TIME : 30 minutes
AIMS : 1.To practice writing and speaking skills
2. To enhance vocabulary
TECHNICAL REQUIREMENTS : One computer per students with an Internet connection,
and a web browser. Each student needs an e-mail address.
Websites : http://library.thinkquest.org/25500/index2.htm

PREPARATION:
1. Locate sites offering suitable feelings and emotions.
2. Check sites before lesson
PROCEDURE:
1. Teacher asks students how they are feeling on the day and share with the class. Teacher asks students types of emotions and feelings they are familiar with.
2. Teacher provides the websites for the students to get to know more about feelings and emotions.
3. Teacher distributes worksheet prepared. Students need to refer to the website if they need information to guide them.
4. Teacher asks students to share with the class on their work. Teacher checks vocabulary that is being used by the students.
FOLLOW –UP:
1. Teacher provides students with a blank call-out regarding feelings and emotions.
2. Students need to post their answers through e-mails and will be shared in the next class.