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"Goodlander presents an intimate, detailed account of her studies to become a dalang, contextualizing her experiences with those of the few Balinese women dalangs. She contends that this incursion must ultimately be perceived within the gendered power systems of Balinese culture. Summing up: Recommended." - CHOICE Wayang kulit, or shadow puppetry, connects a mythic past to the present through public ritual performance and is one of most important performance traditions in Bali. The dalang, or puppeteer, is revered in Balinese society as a teacher and spiritual leader. Recently, women have begun to study and perform in this traditionally male role, an innovation that has triggered resistance and controversy.In Women in the Shadows, Jennifer Goodlander draws on her own experience training as a dalang as well as interviews with early women dealing and leading artists to upend the usual assessments of such gender role shifts.