Oakton Visiting Artist Series feature Balinese culture April 25

Indonesian Dance of Illinois Artistic Director I Gusti Ngurah Kertayuda will delight audiences with his performance and demonstration of traditional Indonesian dance and music 9:30 a.m. Thursday, April 25, at Oakton Community College, 7701 N. Lincoln Ave., Skokie, Rooms P103-104. The Visiting Artist Series event is free and open to the public.

“Kertayuda’s performances promise to be charismatic and provide a unique insight into Indonesia’s complex cultures,” Oakton Chair of Art and Design Lou Pierozzi says. “He is one of Bali’s most respected master dancers and is well admired for his work around the world.”

Kertayuda received the 2014 Artist Fellowship Award for ethnic and folk art from the Illinois Arts Council Agency and has performed for visiting heads of state, including President Ronald Reagan and Queen Beatrix of Holland. He has toured three continents with the Pak Sampan Dance Troupe. In addition, Kertayuda served as the artistic and choreographic dance director for the Indonesian Consulate General of Chicago, where he promoted the Indonesian cultural arts and taught free dance and music classes to the community for more than two decades.

Kertayuda, a faculty member at Northern Illinois University’s School of Music, is a graduate of the National Performing Arts Institute (KOKAR) in Denpasar, Indonesia. He is versed in several forms of traditional dance and music from Indonesia.

The Visiting Artist Series is hosted by Oakton’s art department and made possible by a generous grant from the Oakton Educational Foundation.

For more information, call 847-635-1838.