The Sanghyang Dances

The Sanghyang is divine force that enters the bodies of entranced dancers. There are a number of Sanghyang dances, but the most common are the Sanghyang Dedari and the Sanghyang Jaran.
The Sanghyang Dedari is performed by two girls, and is very similiar in style to the Legong ; the main differences is that the Sanghyang Dedari girl are supposedly untrained and can keep in perfect time with each other, even though their eyes are firmly shut. The accompanying music is provided by afemale choir and a male Kecak choir.
In the Sanghyang Jaran, a boy dances around and through a fire, riding a coconut palm hobbyhorse. this is frequently called the "Fire Dance', for the sake of tourists. In both dances, a priest is always on hand to help bring the dancers out of their trance-state at the end of the performance.

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The Dramatic of Kecak Dance in Bali

The Kecak dance is one of the most famous of Balinese dances. It is unusual because it has no musical accompaniment like many other Indonesian dances do, the rhythm of the dance is produced by the chanting 'monkey' chorus. Instead, a troupe of over 150 bare-chested men serve as the chorus, making a wondrous cacophony of synchronized "chak-achak-achak" clicking sounds while swaying their bodies and waving their hands .From that chanting noise of "Cak-cak-cak", then it gave the dance its name Kecak. What makes the Kecak such a fascinating dance to watch are the fifty or so men in the checkered pants. They are both the choir and the props, providing the music for the story in a series of constant vocal chants that change with the mood of the actors. They don't sit still, either, they wave their arms to simulate fire, and reposition themselves around the stage to represent wind and fire, prison cells, and unseen hand of protection from the gods.

The dance is played in five acts and lasts roughly 45 minutes. It taken from the Hindu epic Ramayana, which tells the story of Prince Rama and his rescue of Princess Sita, who has been kidnapped by the evil King of Lanka, Rahwana and somehow with the help of the white monkey army, Rama rescues his wife and defeats the evil Rahwana.

Attending a Kecak recital is a must for any visitor to Bali. It is a wondrous experience, and a window into the musical and artistic culture that make the Balinese a special people.

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The Legong Dance

This dance tells the story of princess rangkesari who is held captive against her will by king Lakesmi. Rangkesari's brother, prince Daha, gathers an army to get her to rescue his sister. Princess Rangkesari then tries to persuade Laksmi to let her go to avoid a war, but he denies her freedom. On his way to battle, Daha is attacked by a raven, a bad omen, and is later killed in battled. The dance only takes the story up to the point where the king departs for battle, and it is performed by three people, two lwgongs and their attendant, the 'Condong'. The Legong is very classical and graceful dance, and is always performed by prepubescent girls, often as young as eight or nine years old.

from : www.bali-green.blogspot.com

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Barong Dance

This is basically a story about the struggle between good and evil. Good is personified by the Barong Keket, a strange, fun-loving creature in the shape of a shaggy semi-lion. Evil is represented by rangda, a witch, ultimately, the two characters engage in battle, at which point the Barong's keris-bearing followers rush in to attack Rangda. The witch, however, uses her magical powers to turn the keris knives in upon their owners, who fall into a trance and start trying to stab themselves. The Barong uses magic to protect his followers from the knives. In the end, the Barongriumphs and Rangda retreats to recuperate her strength for the next encounter. All that remains is for a priest to help the keris dancers out of their trance, with the help of a little holy water. The barongand rangda dance is a very powerful performance and is not taken lightly by those involved.

from www.bali-green.blogspot.com

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Gamelan

In Bali, traditional music is performed by a 'gamelan orchestra' with its typically piercing and shimmering sound. This percussion ensemble consists of bronze instruments with tuned metal keys, led by drums. There are a few wind and stringed instrument. The music is based on rhytmic and melodic cycles punctuated by gong. Most villages in Bali own at least one set of 'gamelan' instruments for ritual occasions. Some set are considered sacred and are played only during religious ceremonies.

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Balinese paintings

Despite the adoption of modern western painting traditions by manyBalinese and Indonesian painters, the neo-traditional Balinese painting
tradition is still thriving and continues by descedents/students of the artists of the pre-war modernist era (1928-1942). The schools of
neo-traditional Balinese painting include: Ubud, Batuan, Sanur, Young Artist and Keliki schools of painting Ubud has been the center of art for centuries, with the surrounding royal houses and temples as the main patrons. Prior to the 1920s, traditional wayang style paintings dominated the subject matters, although Jean Couteau (1999) believes that both secular and religious theme paintings have long been co-existing in the form of the expression of the unity of opposites (Rwabhinneda in Balinese belief system).The Batuan school of painting is practiced by brahman artists in the village of Batuan, which is situated ten kilometers to the South of Ubud. The Batuan artisans are gifted dancers, sculptors and painters. Major Batuan artists from the pre-modernist era include I Dewa Njoman Mura (1877-1950) and I Dewa Putu Kebes (1874-1962), who were known as sanging; traditional Wayang-style painters for temples' ceremonial textiles.The development of the Young Artist School of painting is attributed to the Dutch artist Arie Smit, a Dutch soldier who served during the 2nd world war and decided to stay in Bali. In the early 1960s, he came across children in the village of Penestanan near Tjampuhan drawing on the sand. He encouraged these children to paint by providing them with paper and paints.

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A glimpse Of Balinese arts

Bali is famous with it's wonderfull arts and artist. It's a great experience to have a chance to explore the rich variety of arts in this island, especially for the arts lover. You can find a glimpse in this blog. Hope you enjoy this blog.

eka bali

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