DANCE IN BALI

The Art of a People

F1154DVD

Study Guide
Categories of Balinese Dance
At the heart of Balinese culture is Hinduism. This unique religion
is the foundation of Balis rich art forms and dance in Bali not only
serves as an offering to the Gods but also as entertainment for
human beings. In Bali, dances are divided into three
categories based upon the religious significance of a particular
dance and the place of its performance. The three categories of
dance in Bali are:
Wali means ritual and refers to forms of music and dance
that must be performed during religious ceremonies or
festivals. These sacred dances are the oldest forms of dance
in Bali. Usually, these dances are performed in the jeroan,
the innermost, and holiest, courtyard of a Balinese temple.
Bebali means offering and refers to ceremonial forms of
music, dance and drama that are not necessarily a required
part of a ritual but serve to accompany a ceremony. Bebali
dances are held in the jaba tengah, the middle courtyard of
a Balinese temple.
Balih-balihan means performance or spectacle and
refers to secular dances that act as entertainment in Bali.
Into this category fall all dances that are not wali or bebali.
These dances are, however, often associated with religious
ceremonies and can be performed in the jaba, the outer
court of a temple.

The Art Of A People

Four Secular dances, known as Balih-balihan, are featured on
this disc: Teruna Jaya, Arja, Joged and Kecak. Although
enjoyed as entertainment, these dances are art as metaphor and
fulfill a rich function in society as a purveyor of morals and
ethics.
Teruna Jaya was choreographed before 1920 in north Bali
by I Gede Manik. It means victorious youth and is a
dynamic and sophisticated dance which is very challenging
to the dancer and gamelan orchestra.
Arja is known as Balinese opera. The dance drama is sung
in Balinese which gives it direct accessibility to its audience
(Kawi, the ancient Javanese tongue, is used in much
of the theatre in Bali which must be then translated for the
audience) and allows for the introduction of many contemporary
topics.
Joged means female dancer in old Javanese. A very
improvisational dance structured around basic Balinese
dance movements, but inviting audience participation

which often times becomes very flirtatious and amusing.

Often performed at ceremonial occasions, such as weddings,
or for celebrating community works, such as harvest.
Kecak was developed in the late 1920s. Based on the
Sanghyang trance dance, the German artist Walter Spies
and the Dutch author Katherine Mershon collaborated with
the village Dance troop of Bedulu and I Wayan Limbak.
Often known as the monkey dance, it unfolds the exploits
of the monkey king Hanoman from the Hindu epic the
Ramayana. The Kecak shown here is a more contemporary
creation by Sardono W. Kusumo from 1972. It plays out the
drama, again from the Ramayana, of the brother monkey
kings, Subali and Sugriwa.

Suggested Further Reading

There exists a vast range of literature concerning traditional
Balinese arts and culture. Below are suggested books that will
allow you to find out more information relating to Balinese
dance and music:
Originally published in 1938, Dance and Drama in Bali by
Walter Spies and Beryl de Zoete (2002, Hong Kong and
Singapore: Periplus Editions) contains a large selection of
both pictures and stories relating to various forms of
Balinese dance-drama.
A more recent book on Balinese dance is The Sacred
Dances of Bali by Christian Racki (1998, Denpasar: CV.
Buratwangi). This book contains colour photographs and
provides the reader with short introductions to many
Balinese dances.
To find out more about the music that accompanies many of
the various forms of Balinese dance Michael Tenzers
Balinese Music (1998, Berkley: Periplus) provides an
excellent introduction and is presented in an easy to understand
manner.
For more in-depth information regarding Balinese dance I
Made Bandem and Fredrik E. de Boers Balinese Dance in
Transition: Kaja and Kelod. (1981, Kuala Lumpur: Oxford
University Press) and Colin McPhees Dance in Bali.
(1970, in Traditional Balinese Culture edited by Jane Belo,
pp. 290-321. New York: Columbia University Press) provides
a more technical and analytical approach.

Glossary
Alus - refined
Arja - a secular form of Balinese Operetta
Baris - to line up or to file
Baris Gede - a male ensemble dance for ritual ceremonies
Baris Tunggal - a secular solo male warrior dance
Barong - a mythical character, part lion and part bear who
represents the positive side of humankind
Bondres - clown characters in the Topeng dance drama
Calonarang - a dance-drama performed in times of illness
or magic
Gamelan - an orchestra of metallophones, flutes, gongs

and drums
Gambuh - an ancient form of Balinese dance originating
from 14th Ctr. Java
Jaran - horse
Joged - a flirtatious and amusing form of secular dance
Kawi - a form the old Javanese language
Kebyar - a style of Balinese music and dance dating from
the 1920s
Kecak - a performance deriving from the cak choruses of the
Sanghyang trance dances
Keras - rough or hard
Keris - Indonesian sword, often inbued with magical power
Legong Kraton - a style of dance originating from the
Balinese royal courts
Manis - sweet
Rangda - a mythical character who represents the negative
side of humankind
Sanghyang - holy or deity
Teruna Jaya - a dynamic dance that portrays a young man
in love
Topeng - mask; also denotes a form of Balinese
mask dance-drama
Topeng Dalem - the king in a Topeng dance-drama; a
refined character with a white mask
Penasar - the storyteller with a half-mask in a Topeng
dance-drama
Topeng Keras - a strong character with a red or brown mask
Topeng Keras Bues - a strong, yet humorous character often
with goofy teeth
Topeng Panca - a Topeng dance-drama involving five
performers
Topeng Pajegan - a Topeng dance-drama involving a single
performer
Topeng Tua - the old man from a dance-drama

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