Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
performed by three prepubescent girls who are bound tightly in sarongs and chest cloths of
opulent green or pink, with gilded crowns filled with frangipani blossoms on their heads. The
Legong is considered the acme of Balinese femininity and Legong dancers have always en-
joyed a special status, a reputation that endures long after they retire at the onset of menstru-
ation. In the past, many a Legong dancer has ended up as a raja's wife or, later, as an expatri-
ate artist's muse.
The dance evolved from a highly sacred Sanghyang trance dance and takes several different
forms. By far the most common is the
Legong Keraton
(Dance of the Court), based on a
classical twelfth-century tale from Java. It tells the story of King Laksem, who is holding a
princess, Rangkesari, captive against her will. Rescue is on the way in the form of Prince
Daha, who plans to wage battle against King Laksem. The princess tries to dissuade the king
from going to war, but he sets off anyway. As he leaves he is attacked by a raven, an ex-
tremely bad omen, after which he duly loses the battle and is killed.
The
performance
begins with a solo dance by a court lady, known as the
condong
(dressed
in pink and gold). She picks up two fans from the ground in anticipation of the arrival of the
two
legong
(literally “dancer”). Dressed identically in bright green and gold, the two
legong
enact the story, adopting and swapping characters with no obvious distinction. The
condong
always returns as the raven, with pink wings attached to her costume. The final fatal battle is
never shown on stage.
Sanghyang: trance dances
The state of
trance
lies at the heart of traditional Balinese dance. In order to maintain the
health of the village, the gods are periodically invited down into the temple to help in the
exorcism of evil and sickness-inducing spirits. The deities reveal themselves by possessing
certain individuals, sometimes communicating through them with words, which may have to
be interpreted by a priest, and sometimes taking over the whole physical being so that the
medium is moved to dance or to perform astonishing physical feats. The chosen medium is
put into a trance state through a combination of priestly chants and protective mantras, in-
toned exhortations by the a cappella choir, and great clouds of incense wafted heavenwards
to attract the gods' attention. Trance dances are traditionally only performed when the village
is suffering from a particularly serious bout of sickness or ill fortune - the versions that are
reproduced at tourist shows have none of the spiritual dynamism of the real thing, though it
is said that performers do sometimes slip into trance.
One of the most common trance dances is the
Sanghyang Dedari
, in which two young girls
become possessed and perform a complicated duet with their eyes closed; though they have
never learnt the steps, the girls usually perform in sync, sometimes for up to four hours. In
the Sanghyang Dedari performed at tourist shows, however, the girls have almost certainly
rehearsed the dance beforehand and probably do not enter a trance state at all. They wear the
