Thurrock Trailblazer Cultural Catalogue 2019-20

GAMELAN
ANAK LEDJAR
KS1 KS2 KS3 KS4 KS5
SEND
WALLACE & THE ISLANDS
Gamelan Anak Ledjar delivers arts education projects focused primarily on the music, arts and
crafts of Indonesia by bringing our instruments, puppets and screens into schools and delivering
high quality and thoughtful education experiences.
Our projects are centred around playing music together on a beautiful set of gamelan instruments
(Gamelan Anak Ledjar - which translates as “The Gamelan of the Child of Happiness”) and
performing with a set of shadow puppets (Wayang) from the island of Java, Indonesia.
“It has been unlike anything we have done before and children have
learnt a host of new skills”
The Gamelan can seat up to 16 players, or up
to 30 if sharing/swapping instruments in each
session. Day plans are flexible and adaptable,
formulated in consultation with school.
Suitable for groups of up to 15 students with
SEND with appropriate support.
LEARNING OUTCOMES
The use of Shadow Puppetry enables students
to find an inner confidence for acting and
performance - the separation by having a
screen between the audience and performers
releases them from inhibition and encourages
them to speak up, developing creativity and
spontaneity.
Playing Gamelan encourages teamwork and
enhanced listening skills amongst the students
- avoiding the use of notation makes it a very
accessible musical form and while it delivers
challenges, it delivers musical achievement
across the spectrum of ability.
These are intensive courses and may require
teachers to spend some time outside of the
sessions preparing for the next steps.
Each 5 day intensive project will have a
pre-project meeting to introduce class
teachers to the content, develop opportunities
for CPD and provide opportunity for whole
school INSET.
Each 3 day intensive project will have either
an INSET session for school staff or an after
school session for parents.
The Gamelan requires the use of a large
classroom or school hall with ground floor
access that is lockable and secure when not in
use. The Shadow Puppet Screen requires an
accessible power supply and minimum ceiling
height of 2.5m.
Participants are expected to remove their
shoes and sit on mats or cushions to play the
gamelan. Please let us know if participants
have particular mobility problems.
ABOUT THE PROJECT
WALLACE AND THE INDONESIAN ISLANDS
This project aims to charge the students’
enthusiasm and imagination with the story of
an explorer and world famous scientist
Alfred Russel Wallace - performed through the
gamelan music and puppetry from Indonesia.
Students will learn that Thurrock has a shared
history with this remarkable man.
Students will use the stimulus of Wallace’s
travels to Indonesia to create a storyline and
dialogue for the shadow play, researching the
fauna of the islands he visited. Along side this,
students will learn to play an example of the
special dramatic gamelan music and song used
to accompany shadow plays.
In the 5 day intensive project, students will be
guided through the design and make of
shadow puppets puppets to illustrate the
animals, humans, transport and locations,
leading to a performance. In the 3 day
intensive project, students will have a puppetry
taster with authentic puppets from Indonesia.
SUITABILITY
Targeted at KS2 & KS3.
Please note that aspects of the project can be
adapted and scaled to suit KS1-5 and
accommodate SEND provision. We would be
happy to tailor the projects to suit the needs of
individual schools.
DATES, LOCATION & FORMAT
Available from September – December 2019.
5 DAY INTENSIVE
Residency in school, includes after-school CPD
session for staff on Day 1 and an after-school
session for parents. The project will consist of
daily sessions and culminate in a performance
combining the students’ puppet story
performance with gamelan accompaniment, on
the final afternoon. Schools have the option to
open up the afternoon for gamelan sessions for
other classes, if required, to broaden the
impact of the project across the school.
Includes materials for puppet making for 30
students.
3 DAY INTENSIVE
Residency in school, includes either CPD for
staff or parents’ group session after school on
Day 1. Schools have the option to open up the
afternoon sessions on Day 1 and 2 for gamelan
sessions for other classes, if required, to
broaden the impact of the project across the
school. Day 2 focuses on puppetry taster
sessions. Day 3 returns to gamelan and
culminates in an informal sharing.
Please note - both the Gamelan and Puppet
Screen require an opportunity before the start
of the project to deliver and set up the
instruments.
CROSS-CURRICULAR LINKS
• ART: developing fine motor skills in drawing
and cutting, understanding colour and light
• MUSIC: developing listening and musical
interaction skills, playing as a group,
understanding musical forms and
structures, experiencing and playing music
from another culture, understanding cueing
and using music to accompany visual and
dramatic action
• DESIGN AND TECHNOLOGY: designing
and creating effective and robust shadow
puppets using tools and materials,
investigating light and shadows
• ENGLISH: creative writing, developing
a storyline from a stimulus, deriving a
workable script
• DRAMA: ‘finding’ and ‘becoming’
characters, developing puppeteering
skills, instigating and following direction,
developing dialogue and improvising
• The Project also links with topics in Science,
History and Geography
TEACHER COMMITMENT & TRAINING
Teachers are expected to engage and
participate fully alongside the children. No
prior experience of either artform is needed,
just an enthusiastic approach to thinking
creatively and overcoming barriers to
performance.
WHAT HAPPENS AT THE END?
5 DAY INTENSIVE
The students will perform a Wayang-style
shadow play, based on the travels and
discoveries of Alfred Russel Wallace, using
puppets they have made themselves, and
accompanied by their classmates on the
gamelan.
This can be an in-school event, for parents or
the wider public. Students will keep the
puppets they have made, and schools are
welcome to photograph and record the
performances (subject to appropriate
permissions).
The experience and skills the students have
gained in devising a storyline and script, and
designing and creating puppets, will give them
the ability to continue to create new puppets
and new stories.
3 DAY INTENSIVE
The students will perform gamelan pieces from
the Wayang repertoire in an informal sharing.
Some students will be able to demonstrate the
Indonesian shadow puppets.
The experience can act as a springboard for
further development of puppet making and
music making skills.
Both projects form the foundation for further
investigation of Wallace’s legacy and of the
amazing islands of Indonesia.
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