Wolter Gerungan was born in 1965 in Bandung, Java, Indonesia. In 1968, when he was 2.5 years old, his family moved to Amsterdam, the Netherlands. When the family visited Bali for the first time in the summer of 1975, Wolter was mesmerized by the Balinese dances. After returning to Amsterdam, he took up lessons with Guswin Ida Bagus Oke Manuaba, an exchange student from Bali. Like the young boys in Bali, the first dance Wolter learned was the Boris. At that time, there was no Balinese Gong Kebyar orchestra present in Amsterdam, so lessons were conducted with recorded music.
In the summer of 1978, Wolter and his mother visited Bali again. He took private lessons to learn the Kebyar Duduk with I Gusti Ngurah Supartha, the director of Kokar Conservatory in Denpasar. In the summer of 1986, Wolter and his sister Estelle visited Bali again. By taking lessons with four different teachers, they improved and extended their knowledge of Balinese dance, learning not only the classics such as Baris, Topeng, Legong Kraton, and Tambulilingan but also modern creations.
Since he started to dance, Wolter joined several dance groups and orchestras. In 1997, he was invited by Sandi Sari, Gong Kebyar Amsterdam, to join them for their mask project, not only as a dancer but also as an orchestra member. This project sparked new energy and made him realize he could use his qualities not only as a dancer but also as a performer, organizer, teacher, and facilitator.
