Yogyakarta, July 26th 2026 — The Performing Arts and Visual Arts Studies (PSPSR) Master Program of the Graduate School of Universitas Gadjah Mada (SPs UGM) successfully held the International Workshop on Gamelan and Traditional Dance. This educational arts and cultural event took place on Sunday, July 26th 026, at the 5th Floor Auditorium of the SPs UGM Building. The event took place at 13.00 to 16.00 WIB. The workshop successfully attracted high enthusiasm from 22 international students. These participants were representatives from various countries across continents, ranging from the Asian region to the African continent. Some of the participants’ countries of origin included China, Gambia, Philippines, Sudan, Myanmar, Madagascar, Ethiopia, Yemen, Malaysia, South Korea, Cambodia, Vietnam, Tanzania, Kazakhstan, Pakistan, and Nigeria.
The series of events was officially opened with a warm welcoming speech from the Dean of SPs UGM, Prof. Ir. Siti Malkhamah, M.Sc., Ph.D. “Welcome to the UGM Cross-Disciplinary Graduate Program, and enjoy learning arts to gain new cultural experiences,” said Prof. Siti Malkhamah in front of the dozens of foreign participants. Afterward, the agenda continued with a speech by Agung Dian Kharisma, S.Pd., M.Biotech., Ph.D., and the Chief of the PSPSR Master Program, Dr. Rr. Paramitha Dyah Fitriasari, M.Hum. Dr. Rr. Paramitha emphasized that this activity is an integral part of the internationalization efforts currently being intensified by the program. She also added that this kind of international collaboration is crucial to be continuously developed in the future. This is believed to be able to expand academic networks and simultaneously serve as an effective means to introduce the charm of Indonesian culture to the global stage.
The core session of the workshop was the international students gained a valuable opportunity to learn and directly practice the regional arts of the archipelago. This learning process was carefully guided by several students from the PSPSR Master Program who acted as instructors. The gamelan instrument introduction session was directly mentored by Yuwono, Ketawang, Ilham, and Ara, while the traditional dance class was directed by Shabrina along with Damas. “We are happy to share our knowledge with fellow students from various countries, and this is also to introduce Indonesian traditional arts to the outside world,” expressed Yuwono, representing the other instructors. The entire arts and cultural activity was observed to run very vibrantly, interactively, and joyfully for all parties involved. As the highlight of the event, all participants collaborated to perform gamelan and traditional dances simultaneously before finally concluding with a documentation session.
Author: Berlian Belasuni