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Bali Music and Dance
Keris Dance
In the Barong play, Bali's mythical guardian, Barong, battles Rangda,
the demon - Queen. barong's supporters are a group of Balinese men
with the natural ability to enter a trance state. They are armed
with a kris ( traditional sword). Rangda insults Barong and taunts
the menenraged and in a trance they attack her! But her powers are
so strong that they are knocked out. When they come to they are so
distressed by their failure, that they try to impale themselves on
their kris. But their trance state amazingly protects them from
injury.
Legong
It's the most graceful of Balinese dances. A legong dancer is known
as young girl, often as young as eight or nine years, rarely older
than her early teens. There are various forms of the Legong but the
Legong Kraton is the one most often performed.
Baris
The warrior dance, known as the Baris, is traditionally a male
equivalent of the Legong femininity and grace give way to energetic
and warlike martial spirit.
Ramayana Ballet
Basically, it tells the same story of Rama and Sita as told in the
Kechak but without the monkey ensemble and with a normal gamelan
gong accompaniment.
Kebyar
It's a male solo dance like the Baris but with greater emphasis on
the performer's individual abilities. There are various forms of
Kebyar including the Kebyar Duduk and Kebyar Trompong.
Barong Landung
The giant puppet dance take place annually on the island of Pulau
Serangan and a few other places in southern Bali.
Janger
The Janger is a relatively new dance which suddenly popped up in the
'20s and '30s. Today it has become part of the standard repertoire
and no longer looks so unusual.
Topeng
A mask dance where the dancers have to imitate the character
represented by mask. A full collection of Topeng masks may number 30
or 40. Closely liriked to religious ceremonies and processions, and
danced as a ritual interval, the Topeng dance ultimately takes on a
sacred connotation. As a matter of fact, foreigners are allowed to
see the dance only if they behave appropriately and respectfully.
Actually, some performances are staged only for the benefit of the
tourists, but do not enjoy the same following of the Barong and
Kechak dances. Peculiar components of the Topeng dance are the masks
used to hide the faces of the dancers. Specific attributes are used,
instead, to identify the characters (a mustache and thick eyebrows
for the elder, arrogance and defiance for Patih, and so on). The
rhythm of movements (perfectly in accordance to the age and role of
the character) is underscored by a large orchestra, the garnelan,
which is essential for the success of the performance.
Jauk
Also a mask dance but strictly a solo performance.
Pendet
It's an everyday dance of the temples, a small procedure to go
through before making temple offerings.
Sanghyang (Fire Dance)
The Sanghyang trance dance originally developed to drive out evil
spirits from a village. The Sanghyang Dedari dance is performed by
two young girls who dance a dream-like version of the Legong but
with their eyes closed. The Sanghyang Jaran, a boy dances around and
through a fire, riding a coconut palm hobby-horse. In both dances, a
priest is always on hand to help bring the dancers out of theri
trance -state at the end of the performance.
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