Dalang 101

aka Puppeteering lesson for the clumsy, stiff, ungentle western hands.

Moving these puppets is not easy. Dalangs make it look like the most graceful thing. They barely move their fingers and the puppets move entire arms like ballerinas. The puppet movements are much like dancing, especially Javanese dancing. I learned about 3 movements in 2 hours using both hands. Its not as bad as one thinks to use the left hand, but the whole thing is really hard. I started to get the hang of it and then the lesson is over. My back, hips (from sitting cross-legged), arms, shoulders and hands were sore. I learned 3 different ways of walking, a cancud and 3 entrances. The walking bit can ranges from really easy sliding using a slightly curved motion with arm raised high or bent towards the body to this other walk where the arm does these circular motions and moves and pops the elbow that is beautiful and really hard. A cancud (pronounced chanchoo) which is how the warrior fixes his clothes before going to battle and its a series of 6 movements that look like a dance. And I learned 3 different entrances/first step of a puppet which is how they are first presented to the audience. They do this little dance where they appear with one arm bent the other straight down and then the straight arm's hand comes up towards the face with a bent elbow and then reaches up, move the puppet up, then down, then bring arm down to a walking pose, walk 3 steps, then arm goes up and swoosh off the screen using a curving motion.
Its a dance in my mind. I think in 8 counts as if memorizing choreography. Did I mention its really hard? Next lesson, monday. I'm sure I'll practice walking. I'm really bad at making that look smooth. I know it seems like that would be a really simple thing to master, but its NOT. And you should see some of the things they do like flicking and spinning them around, its like cirque du soleil in minature.