Dancing Out of Bali by John Coast, foreword by David Attenborough

This wonderful book is  a fascinating personal account of a young Englishman who settled in a small house in Bali in 1950, at the age of 34, in  the midst of the political turmoil that gripped post-war Indonesia. There, he immersed himself in Balinese culture and made ambitious plans to bring a troupe of 44 Balinese dancers and musicians to Europe and America, which he did in 1952.
 
John Coast (1916-1989) was born in England. The author was interned by the Japanese during World War II and sent to work on the Thai-Burma railway. He wrote and later made a highly-acclaimed film for the BBC on his experiences there.
 
After the war, he became press attaché to the country’s first president, Sukarno, in the emerging Republic of Indonesia. He later shaped the “Dancers of Bali” company and brought it to the West in historic 1952/53 tour. After returning to London in the mid-1950s, Coast became a leading figure in international performing arts as impresario and manager to many well-known artists.
 
Reissued 50 years after its initial release, Dancing Out of Bali relates the young Brit’s daring and remarkable adventures that took him from revolution in Indonesia to the footlights of London’s West End and New York’s Broadway. Within a few weeks, the troupe had captured the hearts of audiences from coast to coast.
 
Here are photographs and stories of the performer’s magic island and of the enchanting dancers and musicians. Led by A. A. Agung Mandera, the Peliatan gamelan group and its young dancers, among them the beautiful 12-year-old Ni Gusti Raka, became stars overnight and delighted audiences everywhere during the troupe’s triumphant tour.
 
This is also a colorful story of life in Bali following the devastating Japanese occupation – of music and dancing, of many of island’s great performing dancers and musicians, and of the charm, humor and the ancient values of the Balinese people. As an anthropological, historical and cultural chronicle of Bali during the 1950s, the book is perceptive and absorbing.
 
The International Herald Tribune wrote: “Coast had a kind of word magic that almost makes the rhythm of Balinese music and the gestures of little dragonfly dancing Balinese girls come to life on the printed page.”
 
Dancing Out of Bali by John Coast, Periplus Editions 2004, ISBN 0-7946-0261-4, 22 pages, black and white plates, appendixes (glossary and pronunciation guide), index.
 
Available for Rp145,000 at Periplus Bookshops in the Bali Galleria and in the Matahari in Kuta, Warung Made in Seminyak, Ngurah Rai Airport (both international and domestic terminals), in Gramedia Bookstores, and in Ary’s, Ganesha and Periplus bookshops of Ubud.
 
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Copyright@2005 PakBill
 
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