Today we were very lucky. It was our second museum day here in Ubud. We visited the Agung Rai Museum of Art. Apart from the really wonderful art work that is exhibited this is a cultural centre for many purposes. On this Sunday morning there were classes going on for traditional Balinese dancing. Two goups, boys and girls separated. Eight to ten year olds. Gamalan music from a cassette. We were very impressed and really moved by the intense concentration of these kids and their effort to perform well. Then, on another site, was a gamalan class going on. Same age group, one teacher. And they played well. The main instruments are big sets of bronze bells, there are a lot of xylophones, drums and big gongs. They have no written music in front of them, and sometimes they seem just to beat around. But it always sound well and each time they ended together and in tune. It just couldn’t last long enough.

Swollen chest, blown cheeks and fierce eyes.

A bit more gracious.

The gamelan class.

Concentration.

And I play the bass!