THE
DANCES OF BALI
Selamat datang and Om
Swastyastu are two common phrases that you will
likely hear when you visit Bali. Selamat datang means welcome in the
Indonesian language, and Om Swastyastu is a phrase used by hindus that means
“My everything always in peace” , After you step onto the island of Bali you
may want to learn a little bit of the Balinese language or bahasa Indonesia as
it helps with bargaining and communicating with the local people.
In Bali there are many
beautiful dances that are very interesting to watch , one of them is Calonarang
performance, which is a combination of dance, drama, song and of course the
music as part of the performance that
was played in different kind of regency
in Bali. We show a very nice and beautiful dance performed by a young and
gorgeous lady, as you can see from performances dance there are fresh
frangipani flower in her hair and a long sarong between her legs, you may
consider joining dancing classes that are provided in some hotel in Bali. Dance
, music, drama are all closely related in Bali, in fact many of the dances that
you will see rely on music to give dramatic expression and many tell a story of
some form. However the most important thing about Balinese dance is that they
are fun and accessible to all who come to watch.
1. BARIS DANCE
The warrior dance, known as the
Baris, is traditionally a male
counterpart to the feminine legong with a group of energetic and warlike soldier parading in line holding spears or
brandishing other weapon such as a bow or kris, Depending on the variant
performed, wearing dramatic triangular hats they form lines that represent the
soldier who serve the king of Bali and look very powerful in their movement.
2. CALONARANG
DANCE
Calonarang dance is one of
dance and drama that classified as Balih-balihan that very known as a magic
theater, it cannot perform any times calonarang perform during midnight at a
special place which very close to a
grave yard, the climax that always waited by the audience is during the leading
role, calonarang perform her black magic call leak.
3. TOPENG
DANCE
A mask dance where the dancer
have to imitate the character represented by the mask they wear, these can be
single or group performance of up to 40 performance and show great creativity
in expression due to the variety of the character like king, old men, animal,
etc. Jauk is the solo version of this
form of dance.
4. SANGHYANG
DANCE ( FIRE DANCE)
The Sanghyang dances originally
developed to drive out evil spirits from a village, there are different form,
but all involve putting dancer into a trance through the use of chanting,
incense and prayers. In habited by either demonic or heavenly spirits, the
entranced dancer interact or animal, some may even walk through fire. A priest
is always on hand to help the dancer out of their trance at the end their
dance.
5. LEGONG
DANCE
It is the most beautiful and
graceful of Balinese dances, performed by girls as young as eight or nine years
of age and rarely by those older than their early teens, there are various
forms of the legong, but the legong kraton “palace” dance is the most often
prformed.
6. RAMAYANA
BALLET DANCE
Basically this dance tells the
some story as the “kecak” but without the monkey ensemble, however a dramatic
gamelan musical accompaniment steps into enliven the performance which is full
of interesting character , including kings , princes and princesses, different
gods and even clowns.
7. KECAK
DANCE
Probably the best known of the many Balinese dances, the kecak (
pronounced “KEH-CHAHK” ) is unusual in that it does not have a gamelan music
accompaniment instead the background is provided by a chanting “choir” of men
who verbalize the words “chack-a-chack-a-chak” in different ways to represent
the chanting of monkeys in each kecak
perfoemance, sometime over one hundred dancer play the monkey army, while the
beautiful female dancer portray the main characters of dewi sita and trijata.
8. BARONG
ANG RANGDA
At the most popular dance for
tourist but with deep spiritual meaning for the Balinese, this dance
representing the straight forward battle between good and evil as represented
by the barong for a good and rangda for evil, the barong is a strange mythical
creature based on a lion but with the characteristic og large “shaggy dog” which is propelled by two men
and the widow-witch rangda is an impressive white haired long toothed character
with the intestines of her victims strung from her neck.
9. KRIS
DANCE
In the barong dance the battle
between the forces of good and evil, as represented by the barong and rangda is
so intense that many of the barong’s supporters, who are all played by men, go
into a state of trance, they are armed with a “keris” ( a traditional dragger)
and as the witch insults the barong and taunts the men they attack her, but her
power is so strong that they are repulsed until the men are so distressed by
their failure that they try to impale themselves on their keris, what is
amazing is that their trance state present them from receiving any injury.
There are many beautiful dances you will see in Bali and do not
forget to always bring your camera where ever you go, enjoy your delightful
experiences in Bali and we hope it will not be your last.
