Research Catalog

Details

Additional authors

1. Burton, Deena
2. La Plante, Skip.

Description

1. 1 videodisc (NTSC) (33 min.) : sd., col.; 4 3/4 in.

Summary

1. On an open-air stage, Deena Burton presents an excerpt from the Javanese version of the Ramayana, the Hindu epic, utilizing the spoken word and Javanese topeng or mask dance. Skip La Plante provides musical accompaniment on homemade instruments. Wearing different masks and headdresses, Burton plays multiple roles: the narrator, the hero Prince Rama, his wife Sita, the demon king Rahwana, and the white monkey Hanuman, as well as two additional female characters. The final 6 min. of the recording depict a mime performance by a male performer identified only as Akim, whose face is painted gold. Recorded at night, this segment also captures a fireworks display.

Series statement

1. Deena Burton Collection

Subject

1. Dance
2. Tōpéng
3. Dance > Indonesia > Java
4. Video
5. Mask dances
6. Open air performances

Genre/Form

1. Dance.
2. Video.

Call number

1. *MGZIDVD 5-4319

Note

1. Title supplied by cataloger.

Event (note)

1. Recorded in performance at South Street Seaport, New York City, on Oct. 6, 1996.

Funding (note)

1. Funding for the preservation and cataloging of the Deena Burton Collection was provided in part by the Friends of the Jerome Robbins Dance Division.

System details (note)

1. DVD.

Source (note)

1. Skip La Plante.

Biography (note)

1. Deena Burton, 1948-2005, was an American dancer, choreographer, and scholar of Indonesian dance. During her first trip to Indonesia in 1976-1980, she studied a variety of Indonesian dance styles. After returning to New York City, she obtained a master's degree in arts administration from Columbia University in 1982. Working with several dance, music, and theater groups, she staged both original and Indonesian choreographies, and founded her own company, Bali-Java Dance Theater. She frequently collaborated with composer Skip La Plante, whom she later married. She was among the founders of the New York Indonesian Consulate Gamelan ensemble, later called Gamelan Kusuma Laras. She was a major force behind the not-for-profit organization Arts Indonesia. At the New York Public Library, she edited the Tassilo Adam films, an invaluable collection shot in Indonesia in the 1920s, and received a Fulbright Scholarship to take the edited films to Indonesia in 1989-1990. She received a Ph.D. in performance studies from New York University in 1997, writing her dissertation on Claire Holt. For a fuller biography, see: http://www.gamelan.org/deenaburton/deenabio.html.

Title

1. [Deena Burton and Skip La Plante in performance at South Street Seaport] [videorecording].

Imprint

1. 1996.

Series

1. Deena Burton Collection

System details

1. DVD.

Performer

1. Performed by Deena Burton, Skip La Plante, Akim [possibly Akim Ndlovu, also known as Akim Funk Buddha].

Event

1. Recorded in performance at South Street Seaport, New York City, on Oct. 6, 1996.

Funding

1. Funding for the preservation and cataloging of the Deena Burton Collection was provided in part by the Friends of the Jerome Robbins Dance Division.

Biography

1. Deena Burton, 1948-2005, was an American dancer, choreographer, and scholar of Indonesian dance. During her first trip to Indonesia in 1976-1980, she studied a variety of Indonesian dance styles. After returning to New York City, she obtained a master's degree in arts administration from Columbia University in 1982. Working with several dance, music, and theater groups, she staged both original and Indonesian choreographies, and founded her own company, Bali-Java Dance Theater. She frequently collaborated with composer Skip La Plante, whom she later married. She was among the founders of the New York Indonesian Consulate Gamelan ensemble, later called Gamelan Kusuma Laras. She was a major force behind the not-for-profit organization Arts Indonesia. At the New York Public Library, she edited the Tassilo Adam films, an invaluable collection shot in Indonesia in the 1920s, and received a Fulbright Scholarship to take the edited films to Indonesia in 1989-1990. She received a Ph.D. in performance studies from New York University in 1997, writing her dissertation on Claire Holt. For a fuller biography, see: http://www.gamelan.org/deenaburton/deenabio.html.

Source

1. Gift; Skip La Plante.

Local subject

1. Tōpéng.
2. Mask dances.
3. Open air performances.

Added author

1. Burton, Deena, dancer.
2. La Plante, Skip. Instrumentalist

Research call number

1. *MGZIDVD 5-4319