Faculty of Language and Arts, Universitas Negeri Yogyakarta (FBS UNY) held the Dalang Cilik X Festival to revitalize the UNY's 57th Anniversary. It took place at the Ki Nartosabdo Building, FBS Karawitan Laboratory, which will take place from Tuesday, June 8 - June 12, 2021.

32 little puppeteers aged 10-14 years from the Special Region of Yogyakarta, Central Java to East Java demonstrated their skills in this event. However, due to the current situation of the Covid-19 Pandemic, this event only streamed via the Humas FBS UNY YouTube channel.

Prof. Dr. Sumaryanto, M.Kes. (UNY's rector) emphasized that the Dalang Cilik Festival proves that UNY maintains noble cultural standards. It also aims to develop the psychomotor cognitive-affective aspects of children.

"One of the benefits of this event is that it can teach Javanese culture," added Professor Sumaryanto.

Sukisno, M.Sn. (committee) said that the importance of holding this Dalang Cilik Festival is to make a children's forum. It consists of those who have had the talent to become puppeteers. They have routinely practiced at home or in a studio to present their respective abilities. Each so that superior seeds emerge who will later become professional puppeteers.

Sukisno also emphasized that the world of wayang itself is an art that deserves preservation because there are various positive elements such as protection, utilization, and development.

"In the wayang shows, it contains educational values ​​that can be directly learned and understood by children. They are such as distinguishing between good and bad traits, which later can directly happen in everyday life," Sukisno concluded.

The Little Dalang Festival event also applies a fairly strict Health Protocol. In addition, all participants must bring a Covid-19 free certificate. (Khairani Faizah, ts-Arfian, Alina)

Source LInk : https://www.uny.ac.id/berita/festival-dalang-cilik-meriahkan-dies-natalis-ke-57-uny