Beautiful Bali Dance

Theater and dance is an integral part of Balinese culture. Balinese dances are famous all over the world and the Balinese themselves take them very seriously. Birthdays, weddings, and temples festivals are all occasions for dramatic performances and dance is inextricably linked with the Balinese religion. The commercial performances for tourists that are today offered on a daily basis in several places of Bali do, of course, not have the same religious significance and atmosphere of a dance that is performed at a real temple festival.

1. KECAK DANCE
The Kecak is an unusual Balinese dance for a couple of reasons. First, there is no musical accompaniment. The gamelan is not there. Rhythm is provided by a chanting 'monkey' chorus. The polyrhythmic sound of the chanting provides the name, 'Ke-chak'.

The story line for tohe Kecak is taken from the Ramayana.
Prince Rama goes hunting for a golden deer and his beautiful wife is kidnapped by the evil Rawana.



Story is secondary in this performance, though. If you want to see the story of the Ramayana, you should see a Ramayana performance.
The Kecak is a triumph of style and mood, rather than story. Watch the faces of audience members. More than any other Balinese dance, the Kecak turns every viewer into a child, wide-eyed and transfixed.

The fifty man chorus gathers in a ring around a flame, to create a stage. They also act as various monkey armies in the story, and become a undulating snake in one of the pivotal scenes.
With only the flame as lighting, this performance takes on a primeval fell, especially when staget outside of a hotel setting.
Secondly, the kecak is one of the only dances that was invented for tourist. It’s almost never watched by the Balinese.

2. BARONG DANCE


Picture: rri-online.com

If black magic prevails, a village fails into danger, and extensive purification ceremonies become necessary to restore a proper equilibrium for the health of the community. Dramatic art is also a mea of cleansing the village by strengthening its resistance to harmful forces through offerings, prayers and acts of exorcism.

Such is the symbolic play of the two remarkable presences-the Barong and Rangda. Barong, a mystical creature with a long swaybackand curved tail, representstheaffirmative, the protector of mankind, the glory of the high sun, and the lavorable spirits associated with the right and.
white magic

Source: 99bali.com