Music, dance and drama are all closely related in Bali, in fact drama and dance are synonymous. The most important thing about Balinese dances, however, is that they're fun and accessible. Balinese dances are not hard to find; there are dances virtually every night at all the tourist centers.
The Gamelan Balinese music is based around an instrument known as the gamelan. The gamelan is such a central part of Balinese music that the whole 'orchestra' is also referred to as a gamelan. Gamelan music is almost completely percussion. Though it sounds strange at first with its noisy, jangly percussion it's exciting and enjoyable.
Kecak Probably the best known of the many Balinese dances, the Kechak is also unusual in that it does not have a gamelan accompaniment. Instead the background is provided by a chanting 'choir' of men who provide the 'chak-a-chak-a-chak' noise.
Barong & Rangda It's the most popular dance for tourists. A straightforward battle between good, the barong, and bad, the rangda. The barong is a strange creature, half shaggy dog, half lion, propelled by two men like a circus clown-horse. The widow-witch rangda is bad though and certainly not the sort of thing you'd like to meet on a midnight stroll through the rice paddies.
Keris Dance In the Barong play, Bali's mythical guardian, Barong, battles Rangda, the demon - Queen. barong's supporters are a group of Balinese men with the natural ability to enter a trance state. They are armed with a kris ( traditional sword). Rangda insults Barong and taunts the menenraged and in a trance they attack her! But her powers are so strong that they are knocked out. When they come to they are so distressed by their failure, that they try to impale themselves on their kris. But their trance state amazingly protects them from injury.
Legong It's the most graceful of Balinese dances. A legong dancer is known as young girl, often as young as eight or nine years, rarely older than her early teens. There are various forms of the Legong but the Legong Kraton is the one most often performed.
Baris The warrior dance, known as the Baris, is traditionally a male equivalent of the Legong femininity and grace give way to energetic and warlike martial spirit.
Ramayana Ballet Basically, it tells the same story of Rama and Sita as told in the Kechak but without the monkey ensemble and with a normal gamelan gong accompaniment.
Kebyar It's a male solo dance like the Baris but with greater emphasis on the performer's individual abilities. There are various forms of Kebyar including the Kebyar Duduk and Kebyar Trompong.
Barong Landung The giant puppet dance take place annually on the island of Pulau Serangan and a few other places in southern Bali.
Janger The Janger is a relatively new dance which suddenly popped up in the '20s and '30s. Today it has become part of the standard repertoire and no longer looks so unusual.
Topeng A mask dance where the dancers have to imitate the character represented by mask. A full collection of Topeng masks may number 30 or 40. Closely liriked to religious ceremonies and processions, and danced as a ritual interval, the Topeng dance ultimately takes on a sacred connotation. As a matter of fact, foreigners are allowed to see the dance only if they behave appropriately and respectfully.
Jauk Also a mask dance but strictly a solo performance.
Pendet It's an everyday dance of the temples, a small procedure to go through before making temple offerings.
Sanghyang (Fire Dance) The Sanghyang trance dance originally developed to drive out evil spirits from a village. The Sanghyang Dedari dance is performed by two young girls who dance a dream-like version of the Legong but with their eyes closed. The Sanghyang Jaran, a boy dances around and through a fire, riding a coconut palm hobby-horse. In both dances, a priest is always on hand to help bring the dancers out of theri trance -state at the end of the performance.
