YOGYAKARTA – The artistic team of English study programme in the UGM Vocational School has participated in the dance and gamelan festival called Festival of Colours of the World (FESCO) and Ensemble of Gamelan (EOG) at Universitas Teknologi Petronas, Malaysia, from 10-14 April. The 14 students joining GASITA team earned Silver Award, becoming Best International Performance Team. They won RM 500 prize money. “In this festival, the UGM team was the only performer using Malay gamelan,” said dance teacher and manager of the study programme,” Dewi Cahya Ambarwati, MA., Friday (19/4).
The festival was joined by 14 participants from a number of universities including Universitas Kebangsaan Malaysia, Universiti Sains Malaysia, Universitas Teknologi Mara and Universitas Teknologi Petronas. The gamelan festival consists of 7 orchestra groups with Gasita performing Mong song by Nanang Karbito, S.Sn., and Shri Tumurun dance.
According to Dewi, their participation was a way to generate cultural players, especially from the young generation so they can positively participate in their own country. “Through FESCO, friendship, cooperation and collaboration are expected to grow and the young can become culture ambassadors,” she said.
She added that the cultural even could create and refine the young generation with big dreams, high dedication and commitment to preserve their respective cultures and respect others.