Bali Performance

Bali Performance information with schadule and location.

Barong Dance
Barong is the magical protector of Balinese village. As "Lord of the forest" with it's long mane and fantastic fanged mask, he is the opponent of Rangda the witch, who rules over the spirits of Darkness. Barong and Rangda are opposed in a never ending fright, that of the God and Evil.
The fight of Barong and Rangda is also the topic of traditional narratives, usually performed in the temple of the dead. The most famous is the story of Calonarang the widow from Jirah is furious because she can not find a proper husband for her daughter Ratna Mengali. The youths are all scared of her Black Magic. She vents revenge by wreaking havoc over the kingdom of Daha. The King, Airlangga, tries to punish her, but all his attempts fail. All the soldiers his sends to destroy her are killed by the furious Calonarang.

Kecak Dance
"Cak - Cak - Cak" The obsessive sound of a choir from beyond the dust of ages suddenly rises between the lofty trees. Darkness looms over the stages. Hundreds of bare - breasted men sit in a circle around the flickering light of an oil lamp chandelier. "Cak - Cak " they start dancing to the rhythmic sound of their own odd voices, their hands raised to the sky and body shaking in unison. This is the unique Kecak, perhaps the most popular of all Balinese dances.

Legong Keraton
The Legong Dance proper is the epitome of classical female Balinese Dancing. A court dance, it was created in the 18th century in the circle of the principality of Sukawati. Any good dancer of the Legong will be able to pick up without the difficulty all the modern "Free Creation" (Tari Lepas). The Legong is usually the first dance taught to beginner. Months of training is needed to master the perfect mix of posture (Tangkep), movements (Ageng - with dancing hands), and mimicry. Highly dynamic, The Legong dance is usually performs by three dancers in glittering costumes, one Condong Lady - in - waiting and two princesses whose role may change according to the narrative. Ancient Legongs were a companied by a story teller, but now it has become dance only performance.

Gambuh
gambuh is the oldest classical dance of Bali. It is thought to have been introduced to Bali with the Javanese classical Majapahit culture. A dance moving mostly at a hauntingly slow tempo, the Gambuh Drama tells episodes of the story of Panji's search for his lost beloved across the kingdoms of eastern Java. Preserved in a few villages, and in particular in Batuan and Pedungan, the Gambuh combines the best of female and male Balinese dances, another of its particularities is the use of long Bamboo flutes, instead of the complete set of Gamelans and Gongs.

Topeng Mask Dance
The mask dance is performed to tell the stories of Balinese and Javanese ancestors, who descend to inhabit the mask. Nowadays, the stories proper, with their princes and clowns, are preceded by a set of solo mask dances, which are the best of Balinese male dances : the "Topeng Keras" or dance of the "strong warrior". the "Topeng Tua", a fantastic dance showing the advance of old age in the king's old counselor, the "Topeng Dalem" or king in all his poise and balance, and an array of clowns worth those of the Comedia Del Arte.

Pendet and Penyembrama
These dances are performed as a welcome to the visiting gods, who are presented with offerings of flowers. Nowadays, the showering of flowers is also addressed to tourists.

Kebyar Dances
The renewal of the arts of the thirties saw a surge in dance creativity which produced dances which are still the most popular of Bali : swift, glittering, short non-narrative dances inspired by the dynamism of the Gong Kebyar, a new gamelan orchestra originating in northern Bali.

Joged Dance
The Joged Bumbung is one of the few, exclusively secular dances of Bali, during which the flashy-dressed joged dancer invites men from the crowd to dance with her in a pretence of seduction. The music is made with Bumbung bamboo instruments. This is a dance highly popular with tourist groups.

Wayang or Shadow Puppet Show
The Wayang puppet show is perhaps the most famous show of the whole Balinese theatre, albeit the most difficult to understand. Basically narrative, it is the door to Bali's unique world of myths, symbols and religious beliefs. The puppet master, or Dalang, tells his story by projecting on a white screen, the shadows of the puppets he manipulates in front of a big oil lamp. He plays several characters at once, shifting from Old-Javanese to High- and Low-Balinese, singing and hitting his puppet box to mark the rhythm. He must be successively learned, funny and sad. A one-man-show.

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BALINESE DANCES SCHADULE AND PLACES

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