Join Gamelan DanAnda (GDA) and friends for a free, all-ages celebration of music, dance, and delicious Indonesian food at Coburg Lake on Sunday, 6 September!

Pack a picnic mat, and drop in or stay all arvo. The site is right by the playground, making it the perfect Sunday afternoon out for the whole family.

Free entry — no ticket required.

Pre-order your food — local Indonesian-food legends Diana's Kitchen are back! Their meals always sell out, so pre-ordering below is highly recommended. Gluten free, vegetarian and vegan options provided.

What to Expect

• Live 25-piece Balinese Gong Kebyar Gamelan Orchestra: Traditional and contemporary tunes from Naarm's own Balinese gamelan orchestra, Gamelan DanAnda, with dance by Suara Dance, Sanggar Lestari and Anandam Graha.

• Interactive Dance Classes: Jump in and learn the moves with special guest Balinese dancers Ni Kadek Ayulinda Gayatri and Ambara Jaya Kaswara from Suara Dance, and learn Balinese kecak vocal percussion with Gamelan DanAnda.

• Immersive Art: Experience a brand new interactive work by longtime GDA collaborator and former Artist in Residence, Ria Soemardjo.

• Gamelan Meets Rock and Roll: Stick around for a cross-genre collaboration with Ready New Gang, featuring Scott Owen (The Living End) and Dave Williams (Augie March).

Poster design by Adelista Widjaya

Run sheet

12:15

Acknowledgement of Country

Gilak Pemendak

12:30

Balinese dance class w/ Ayulinda Gayatri from Suara Dance - Tari Puspanjali welcoming dance - All-ages, all abilities

Tari Puspanjali ft. Sanggar Lestari

1:10

Crucuk Punyah (Introduction to Balinese Gamelan Music)

Wira Yudha - Kids & Parents Ensemble

Balinese dance class w/ Ambara Jaya Kaswara from Suara Dance - Wira Yudha warrior dance - All-ages, all abilities

1:45

Ria Soemardjo - Premiere of new work Kodok-Kodok

Tari Topeng ft. Ambara Jaya Kaswara

Tari Margapati ft. Ayulinda Gayatri

Tari Puspa Banksia ft. Sanggar Lestari

2:45

Ready New Gang

3:15

Kecak workshop - all ages, all abilities

3:45

Closing

Access & Facilities

This is an all-ages, family-friendly event. Coburg Lake is a wheelchair-accessible outdoor venue. The stage faces a grassy hill, though it is visible from paved pathways. An accessible toilet is available.

Alcohol will not be served at this event.

Security and first aid have been contracted for this event.

Sensory Information: Those with sensitivities to noise, including young children, may be more comfortable with hearing protection. We will have a limited number of standard foam earplugs available on the day, but we would recommend bringing your own hearing protection (we will not be insulted!).

For any specific access needs, please contact: gamelandananda@gmail.com

Supporters

This event is generously supported by the Victorian Department of Families, Fairness and Housing through the Multicultural Festivals and Events program, and Ria Soemardjo's Residency with Gamelan DanAnda is supported by the City of Darebin.

Bios

Gamelan DanAnda (GDA) is a Balinese gamelan percussion orchestra based in Darebin, Naarm. They mostly perform in the traditional Gong Kebyar style, which features shimmering cascades of metallic sound, virtuosic rhythms and breathtaking crescendos. 

Modelled on a Balinese organisation style known as a Sanggar and with a community orchestra at their core, beginners and experienced players, students and professional performers come together to create a dynamic network of musical ensembles under one roof. Head down to their studio in Thornbury to give it a shot sometime, more info on lessons here. 

GDA regularly perform at Australia’s leading festivals including OzAsia Festival, Brunswick Music Festival, AsiaTOPA, the National Folk Festival, Port Fairy Folk Festival and more. Recently they have been taking this music to new spaces and audiences with collaborations with Oz hip-hop legend Joelistics, Balinese-Australian neo-soul singer/producer Komang, and electro-jazz-fusion band Firetail. 

“A new–and thoroughly beguiling–musical language”, “wooden hammers dancing in perfect unison or forging intricate, interlocking patterns on shimmering metallophones, bamboo xylophones, gongs and double-headed drums”. The Age. 

“mind-boggling polyrhythmic avalanche of shifting pulses…This was a music fusion like no other…I cannot recommend this show highly enough.” BroadwayWorld review of Saudara Sound System at OzAsia Festival.

===========

Ria Soemardjo is a Melbourne based musician with a passion for collaborating with artists across diverse range of genres and artforms. Ria is Gamelan DanAnda's 2026 Artist in Residence supported by a grant from the City of Darebin. Her distinct, haunting vocal style reflects her Australian/Indonesian cultural heritage and she draws on her fascination for Indonesian musical traditions in her song writing and collaborative projects.

===========

READY NEW GANG is Gamelan-fusion that only Naarm (Melbourne) could create. Adding western beats and grooves to repertoire from Bali’s famous Wayang shadow-puppet theatre, RNG blends a range of modern styles with tradition, creating music that traverses multiple sound worlds. RNG aims to reach an Australian audience more familiar with pop, rock, and jazz by adding basslines from Scott Owen (Living End) and drumkit grooves by Dave Williams (Augie March) which transform the traditional 5-tone bronze quartet into an entirely unique entity.

===========

Ni Kadek Ayulinda Gayatri is a Balinese dancer, choreographer and cultural arts practitioner based in Australia. Her work focuses on preserving and promoting Balinese performing arts through performance, education and cross-cultural engagement. She has collaborated with Indonesian cultural organisations, educational institutions and community groups across Australia, creating opportunities for Australian audiences to experience Balinese dance and culture. Through her artistic practice, Ayulinda is committed to strengthening cultural connections between Indonesia and Australia and supporting the continuation of Balinese arts within multicultural communities.

Ambara Jaya Kaswara is a Balinese dancer, performing artist and musician, and a graduate of the Indonesian Institute of the Arts (ISI) Denpasar, Bali, with a background in traditional Balinese dance and gamelan. Based in Australia, he has contributed to cultural performances, workshops and community events alongside Indonesian arts organisations and cultural groups. His practice supports the presentation and preservation of Balinese performing arts while encouraging cultural exchange between Indonesian and Australian communities.

===========

Suara Dance Suara Dance brings Indonesian dance, music and culture to audiences across Australia and beyond. Blending traditional knowledge with contemporary artistic practice, Suara creates vibrant experiences through dance, body percussion and song.

==========

Sanggar Lestari is a traditional Indonesian dance group based in Melbourne, Australia founded in 1989. We specialise in traditional and modern Indonesian dances from the East to West and perform dances with our group of adults and children throughout Australia and abroad. Sanggar Lestari specialises in Indonesian Culture including Angklung, Batik, Dance & traditional fashion parades for school incursions and workshop settings.

==========

Anandam Graha is a Melbourne-based community organisation sharing the joy and wisdom of Bali. The name means “abode of bliss,” reflecting our aim to create spaces of connection through music, dance, and ceremony. We explore how Balinese wisdom can harmonise with the Naarm surroundings, blending tradition with the beauty of this land.