SBY heads to Bali for 3 cultural events

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta | Fri, 06/10/2011

President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono left for Bali on Friday morning to officiate three cultural events, including the 33rd Bali Arts Festival and the Bali World Culture Forum.

The President is also slated to open the Utsawa Dharma Gita national Hindu singing competition in Bali, presidential spokesman Julian Aldrin Pasha said Friday in Jakarta, as quoted by tempointeraktif.com.

Julian said Yudhoyono was to leave Jakarta from Halim Perdanakusuma Airport at 10 a.m. on Friday morning, before opening the three events at the Denpasar Cultural Park on Saturday.

The Bali Arts Festival, which will take place from June 11 to July 9, will feature 334 art groups and 15,000 artists, including from the US, Japan, Australia, India, Malaysia, Singapore and Thailand.

Dancers with hearing disabilities perform the intricate Pendet welcoming
dance at the Bali Arts Festival in Denpasar on Friday. Since the artists
cannot hear the accompanying gamelan orchestra, they must time their
steps perfectly. (JG Photo/J.P. Christo)