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HONOLULU (Sept. 18) – Students from three island schools got a rare opportunity Monday when the East-West Center (EWC) took them on a visual and aural trip back in time. Way back in time.
The 130 middle and high schoolers from Campbell High, Waianae Middle, and the Waldorf Academy “got a unique look at a form of music and dance that has been around for well over 12-hundred years,” notes EWC Arts Program outreach coordinator Patti Dunn. “They experienced something that even most Japanese students never get the chance to do.”
And that experience was gagaku, literally “refined music,” that has symbolized the ritual and spiritual aspects of the Japanese Imperial Court for well over a thousand years. A proscribed, intricate, and elaborate musical form that made its way from India, through Southeast Asia and China to Japan centuries ago.
Darren Taylor, a Campbell High School student, said, “the music gave me goose bumps” with its haunting tones. Classmate Zachary Lagrimas found the music and dance “very spiritual.”
Waianae Middle School teacher Quincie Burgess sees the experience in cultural terms. “It allows our students to open their eyes to other cultures … to expose them to something more than the Polynesian and Hawaiian traditions they have grown up with in Waianae.” One of her students, Todd Rodrigues, agrees. He says the demonstration of music and dance was “good because it gave us a look at other cultures.”
And, while the music was not something normally heard in East Honolulu or on the Leeward coast, it did hit a few good notes with the student audience.
Waldorf Academy student Forrest Marshall admitted the gagaku was “hard to understand, but was interesting.” That summed up the feelings of a few Waianae students, too. To Jensen Dela-Cruz the music was “different, but nice.” Landon Kamaka said he was surprised “the music was kind of good.”
Most of the students agree that while the music may be an acquired taste, the dress certainly caught their eyes.
Zane Devillanueva of Waianae emphatically voiced his approval of the ancient Court dress of the musicians and dancer, “I really liked the costumes and the mask.” And, the most energetic applause was offered to the elaborate silk and brocade clad solo dancer who performed Ranryo-o, the ancient story of a Vietnamese prince who was so handsome he had to wear a mask into battle to be taken seriously.
Something not lost in translation was the fact that music, gagaku included, can bring people together. The performers were from Japan, Germany, France, Taiwan, China, and Colombia. And, that according to Waianae’s Burgess “gives our students hope and a dream … that they too can become much more than just the labels people put on them.”
Patti Dunn can be reached at (808) 944-7584 or via email at dunnp@EastWestCenter.org
Click here for EWC Arts Program schedule of events.
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