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Kompiang Metri-Davies
Kompiang Metri-Davies was introduced to Balinese
dance at the age of five in her village of Ngis in Eastern
Bali, Indonesia. She was the lead dancer of and played music
with the premier American Balinese dance and music ensemble
Gamelan Sekar Jaya for ten years before forming her own ensemble,
Gadung Kasturi. She has also been involved in a number of
cross-cultural, cross-media collaborations, including: Chitresh
Das' East as Center (2003) and Abhinaya Dance Company's production
of The Ramayana (1997) which both mixed Balinese and South
Asian Indian dance; and Shadow Light Production's Sidha Karya(1996)
and In Xanadu(1997) which incorporated dance and shadow puppetry.
In 1998, she worked with Yasmen Sorab Metha on a piece entitled
The Piper and in 1996, she choreographed an original dance
piece with composer Dudley Brooks called Lithe Spirit. Metri-Davies
was a featured dancer in the presentation of the vintage film
Dance of the Virgins, which was accompanied by live music
by the Clubfoot Orchestra at the World Trade Center in 1999.
She was also a finalist for the Isadora Duncan Dance Award
in 1999 for both individual and ensemble performance. Metri-Davies
has been invited to dance with the University of British Columbia's
Balinese Gamelan Ensemble, Gong Gita Asmara, in Vancouver
in 2001, 2003, and 2004. She also dances for the Consulate
General of Indonesia in San Francisco for various events,
such as their annual Indonesian day festival each summer.
In 2005, she wrote and performed the piece Liku-Liku Hidupku:
the Story of my Life, an autobiographical work that was featured
in the Asian Pacific Islander United States of Asian America
Festival. Metri-Davies also has extensive experience teaching
dance. She has taught workshops at Sonoma Academy for three
years, weekly classes for Asian Youth Promoting Advocacy and
Leadership in Oakland for one year, and this summer she is
teaching for Danceversity Camp at Ashkenaz in Berkeley. Since
November of 2006, she has been offering free classes for youth
at the Indonesian Consulate, and this Fall, she will begin
teaching weekly at the Mahea Uchiyama International Dance
Center. Besides dancing and teaching, Metri-Davies designs
and constructs dance costumes, as well.
Joyce Lu
Joyce Lu has been studying Balinese dance
since 1997 with teachers such as, Ni Ketut Arini, Ida Ayu
Diastini, I Nyoman Cerita, Emiko Susilo, I Gusti Agung Ayu
Warsiki, and most recently, with Gadung Kasturi's Artistic
Director, Kompiang Metri-Davies. She has also studied music
with I Dewa Putu Berata and Hardja Susilo. Joyce danced with
Gamelan Sekar Jaya from 2000-2005. She holds a BA in Theater
and Studio art from Occidental College, a MFA in Asian Performance
from the University of Hawai'i at Manoa, and a Ph.D. in Performance
Studies from UC Berkeley.
Irene Wibawa
Irene Wibawa has studied Balinese dance since 2004 with
I Gusti Agung Ayu Warsiki, Tjokorda Istri Putra Padmini
and Ni Ketut Arini, Kompiang Metri-Davies, and Bulantrisna
Djelantik. She has performed with and served as dance coordinator
for Gamelan Sekar Jaya for one year. She currently dances
with Gadung Kasturi.
Rotrease Regan Yates
Rotrease Regan Yates has been dancing with Gadung Kasturi since its inception. Ms. Regan Yates studied ballet and modern dance as an undergraduate student at The Pennsylvania State University. It was there that she began exploring cultural diversity through the art of dance with the Penn State International Dance Ensemble, and served terms as Costume Coordinator, Audition Instructor, and Assistant Dance Director. After graduation, she performed extensively in the Philadelphia area with the Monique Legaré International Dance Ensemble, and Janosik Polish Dance Ensemble.
After several years, Ms. Regan Yates relocated to the West Coast and began training and performing in the San Francisco Bay area with Leianuenue and Ka Ua Tuahine Polynesian Dance Ensembles, Nevá Russian Dance Ensemble, Lowiczanie Polish Dance Ensemble, Westwind International Folk Ensemble and Lestari Indonesia.
Rotrease began her study of Balinese dance with the renowned Balinese music and dance company, Gamelan Sekar Jaya in 1994 and performed with the group as a principal dancer until 2004. During her tenure with Sekar Jaya, Ms. Regan Yates served terms as Vice President, Costume Coordinator, and Dance Coordinator. Ms. Regan Yates has studied Balinese dance intensively during lengthy stays in Bali, Indonesia working with such dance masters as Ida Ayu Sukmawati, Ni Ketut Arini, Ida Ayu Diastini and I Nyoman Cerita.
Ms. Regan Yates has explored dances from other regions of Southeast Asia as well. Ms. Regan Yates has also studied Javanese classical dance at the Cultural Arts Center in Yogyakarta, as well as with Javanese dance teachers, Leny Tri Astuti, and Ninik Kunti-Utami Dierauf. In April 2003 in the Bay Area, Ms. Regan Yates performed a Cambodian dance duet with acclaimed Cambodian dancer Charya Burt, for the world premier of Ms. Burt's creation "The Magic Peacocks".
Noni Andarawati Gunarsa
Noni Gunarsa has been learning dancing since she was 5 years
old. Her first teacher was a local teacher, I Ketut Sumantra,
from Penasan in Klungkung - Bali, and later she also has other
teachers. When she came to the US, she danced with Gamelan
Sekar Jaya and had opportunities to learn more from most of
the dance teachers whom GSJ invited from 1996 to present.
Presently, she is joining Gagung Kasturi.
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