History - Bali and Lombok - page 10

For a perspective on the state of dance in Bali today from one of its top
dancers, see the boxed text, p143.
Many tourist shows in South Bali hotels offer a smorgasbord of dances -
a little Kecak, a taste of Legong and some Barong to round it off. Some of
these performances can be pretty abbreviated with just a few musicians and
a couple of dancers.
Balinese love a blend of seriousness and slapstick, and this shows in their
dances. Some have a decidedly comic element, with clowns who convey
the story and also act as a counterpoint to the staid, noble characters. Most
dancers are not professionals. Dance is learned by performing, and carefully
following the movements of an expert. It tends to be precise, jerky, shifting
and jumpy, remarkably like Balinese music, with its abrupt changes of tempo
and dramatic contrasts between silence and crashing noise. There's little of
the soaring leaps or the smooth flowing movements of Western dance.
Every movement of wrist, hand and fingers is charged with meaning; and
facial expressions are carefully choreographed to convey the character of the
dance. Watch the local children cheer the good characters and cringe back
from the stage when the demons appear.

desperately trying to stab themselves. It's all a conspiracy to terrify tourists
in the front row!
Finally, the terrible Rangda retires and good has triumphed again. The
entranced Barong supporters, however, still need to be sprinkled with holy
water. Playing around with all that powerful magic, good and bad, is not
to be taken lightly. A pesmangku (priest for temple rituals) must end the
dancers' trance and a chicken must be sacrificed after the dance to propitiate
the evil spirits.

Belgian artist, Adrien
Jean Le Mayeur, married
renowned Legong (classic
Balinese dance) dancer
Ni Polok when he was
55 and she was 15. His
house of antique carvings
became a museum
(see p140 ).

Legong
This most graceful of Balinese dances is performed by young girls. It is im-
portant in Balinese culture that in old age a classic dancer will be remembered
as a 'great Legong'.
Peliatan's famous dance troupe, often seen in Ubud, is particularly
noted for its Legong Keraton (Legong of the Palace). The very stylised and
symbolic story involves two Legong dancing in mirror image. They are
dressed in gold brocade, their faces elaborately made up, their eyebrows
plucked and repainted, and their hair decorated with frangipani. The dance
relates how a king takes a maiden, Rangkesari, captive. When her brother
comes to release her, Rangkesari begs the king to free her rather than go to
war. The king refuses and on his way to the battle meets a bird with tiny
golden wings bringing ill omens. He ignores the bird and continues on, meets
Rangkesari's brother and is killed.

Balinese Music, by
Michael Tenzer, features
photographs, a
sonography and a guide
to all types of gamelan,
each with its own
tradition, repertoire and
social or religious context.

Kecak
Probably the best known of the dances, the Kecak has a 'choir' of men who
provide the 'chak-a-chak-a-chak' accompaniment, imitating a troupe of
monkeys. In the 1960s, the tourist version of Kecak developed. This is easily
found in Ubud and also at the Pura Luhur Ulu Watu (p132).
Kecak dances tell a tale from the Ramayana, one of the great Hindu holy
topics, about Prince Rama and his Princess Sita. The evil Rawana, King
of Lanka, lures Rama away with a golden deer (Lanka's equally evil prime
minister, who has magically changed himself into a deer). Then, when the
princess is alone, he pounces and carries her off to his hideaway.
Hanuman, the white monkey-god, tells Princess Sita that Rama is trying
to rescue her and gives her Rama's ring. When Rama arrives he is met by the
evil king's evil son, Megananda, who shoots an arrow that magically turns
into a snake and ties Rama up. Fortunately, he is able to call upon a Garuda
(mythical man-bird creature) who helps him escape. Finally, Sugriwa, the
king of the monkeys, comes with his monkey army and, after a great battle,
good wins out over evil and Rama and Sita return home.
Throughout the dance the chanting is superbly synchronised with an eerily
exciting coordination. Add in the actors posing as an army of monkeys and
you have unbeatable spectacle.

Sanghyang
These dances were developed to drive out evil spirits from a village -
Sanghyang is a divine spirit who temporarily inhabits an entranced dancer. The
Sanghyang Dedari is performed by two young girls who dance a dream-like
version of the Legong in perfect symmetry while their eyes are firmly shut.
Male and female choirs provide a background chant until the dancers
slump to the ground. A pesmangku blesses them with holy water and
brings them out of the trance. The modern Kecak dance developed from
the Sanghyang.
In the Sanghyang Jaran, a boy in a trance dances around and through a
fire of coconut husks, riding a coconut palm 'hobby horse'. Variations of this
are called Kecak Fire Dance (or Fire and Trance Dance for tourists) and are
performed in Ubud almost daily.

Dancing Out of Bali,
by John Coast, tells
of a ground- breaking
international tour by a
Balinese dance troupe in
the 1950s.

Other Dances
The warrior dance, the Baris, is a male equivalent of the Legong - grace and
femininity give way to energetic and warlike spirit. The Baris dancer must
convey the thoughts and emotions of a warrior first preparing for action, and
then meeting the enemy, showing his changing moods through facial expres-
sion and movement - chivalry, pride, anger, prowess and, finally, regret. It is
one of the most complex of dances requiring great energy and skill.
The Ramayana ballet tells the familiar tale of Rama and Sita but with a
gamelan gong accompaniment. It provides plenty of opportunity for impro-
visation and comic additions.
The giant puppet dances known as Barong Landung take place annually
on the island of Serangan and a few other places in southern Bali. The legend
relates how the demon Jero Gede Macaling popped over from Nusa Penida,
disguised as a standing Barong, to cause havoc in Bali. A huge Barong pup-

Barong & Rangda
This rivals the Kecak as Bali's most popular dance for tourists. Again it's a
battle between good (the Barong) and bad (the Rangda). The Barong is a
strange but good, mischievous and fun-loving shaggy dog-lion. The widow-
witch Rangda is bad through and through.
The story begins with Barong Keket, the most holy of the Barong, enjoying
the acclaim of its supporters - a group of men with kris (traditional daggers).
Then Rangda appears, her long tongue lolling, terrible fangs protruding from
her mouth, human entrails draped around her neck, and pendulous parody
breasts. (In fully authentic versions - which are rarely seen by visitors - the
Rangda is covered with real entrails from freshly slaughtered animals.)

The Richard Meyer gallery
in Seminyak ( p123 )
maintains a large
collection of historic
photographs of Balinese
life and culture. Some
are often on display and
others may be viewed by
request.