Dances

DANCE

A temple feast , a wedding party, a cremation or an ordinary party is always enlightened by music gambelan and dances, sometimes lasting  for several nights. Music and dances are not only a tradition of the Balinese culture, but they are an integral part of their  God and ancestral gods, but their function too is for aesthetics and ethics. They are aimed at the search for a holy life and truth in the super natural world. However it does not include, that the creation of all Balinese dances is from their religion, for in fact some creations are more intended for the common people too. In Bali besides many  varieties of dance there are also many kinds of gambelan instruments which are grouped into various ensembles each having diverse characteristics and specific uses. We distinguish four main categories of Balinese dances, they are :

            Firstly : Ceremonial dances or temple dances, which are inseparable from temple rites. In fact all dance in Bali is an offering, because all dancing is religious in the sense that it is  connected with the temple and organic in the life of the village or dedicatedto a certain ceremony. To these dances belong the  Pendet, Gabor, Rejang and the like, mostly done by girls and women while the other devotional parts played by men or young men are  the ritual baris : Baris Gde, Baris Pendet, Baris Presi, Baris Tumbak, Baris Dadap, Baris Brandang, Baris Jojor and Baris Kupu.

            Secondly : Dances of Magic,which are closely related to mysticism and magic still deeply rooted in the conscience of the Balinese society. To these dances belong the Sanghyang dance, Barong, Calonarang. In which little/virgin girl are put into a state of trance by incense smoke and singing, where  men in a state of ecstasy attack themselves with their krisses (daggers). We can also see the eternal fight between the  good and the evil each represented by the barong and the rangda. As sid before all dancing in Bali has a religious background, whether it be an offering, a prayer , an exhibition or exorcism. In fact it is usually a combination of all these elements. It has something to deal with propagating evil spirits, magic practices and the life in the supernatural world.

            Thirdly : Dance-dramas, which are connected to the historical events, genealogy, mythology as well as folklore. They still have their ceremonial back ground, though they are more and more secularized towards performing arts. These kinds of dances are very popular and beloved , for their functions are as a means of educating the masses as well as entertaining simultaneously. They include are : Gambuh, Wayang Wong, Topeng, Arja, which usually take a couple of hours for a performance.

Fourthly : Recreational dances, which include many types of dances functioning more as amusement than for ritual purposes. To these kinds of dances belong all the contemporary dances describing the daily activities of the Balinese society such as , weaving, fishing, working in the rice fields or  portraying the beauty of the nature and the life of its fauna ( tari tenun, tari nelayan, tari tani, tari kupu-kupu). However it is impossible to make an accurate definition which type or category a certain dance belongs to since in any dance we still see the combinative elements enter wined.