Balinese dance is a traditional and sacred dance. It is rather danced theater, accompanied by feminine and masculine voices and a gamelan (except Sanghyang dedari, dance of trans, and Kecak: photo on the right).
The most common is the Legong, which according to tradition represents the celestial ballet of nymphs. A feminine and graceful dance, of a very great precision of the movements of the head, eyes, hands and fingers. Generally the shows are long and deal with demon, wars, divinity …
Some are about Rangda the witch and Barong the lion or the dragon that represents the good.
Others are also animation created for certain purposes, such as welcoming visitors to the island: Pendet welcoming. (I also attended theater and dance / comedy theater presented all day and all night during a ceremony of the dead during and after burial.)
The gamelan is a traditional instrumental ensemble consisting of percussions: gong, metallophones of different types (saron, peking, demung, slentem, gender), xylophone (gambang), drums of various types (targeton, kendang). There may also be flute, called suling, and stringed instruments such as a spike-fiddle, or plucked as the kacapi, which is like a zither. The practices are done every day, in the place where the gamelan is.
I had the opportunity to see in the street and participate in Bali to Ubud particular. A gamelan does not move because it is designed and created according to the place, its energy, giving its vibration with that of the place …
The dance is taught from an early age open and free (at the time) in an amateur manner, and families rent costumes for performances, too expensive for them to own. They are made of beautiful handmade batik assembled in a particular order, flowers in the hair, animal masks …
