The Jakarta Post
BALI, INDONESIA, July 17, 2003: Chieko Komatsu and a number of other Japanese women came to Payangan, a famous art village, inviting 100 farmers to collaborate with them on a multi-cultural art project. The women are artists currently studying Balinese traditional dances at the Bali Institute of Arts in Denpasar. And the Payangan farmers are not only skillful at cultivating rice fields but also gifted and proficient dancers and gamelan players. The collaborative performing art project presented 100 farmers as Cak dancers, while the Japanese artists played roles from Japanese mythology. The art project, titled Cak Amaterasu, attracted a huge crowd during the 25th Bali Arts Festival in Denpasar on July 13. The story centered on the Japanese tale of three gods: Amaterasu (the God of the Sun), Tsukuyomi (the God of the moon) and Susanoo (the God of the sea). The concept of these Japanese Deities is similar to the Balinese Hindu concept of Trimurti — Brahma, Vishnu and Siva. The Cak or Kecak dance is a traditional Balinese dance first performed in the 1930s. The Cak dance is open to any kind of story and frequently features stories from the Ramayana.