Dance Performances in Bali
Jun 16th, 2005, 11:10 PM
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Dance Performances in Bali
We've been going to Bali for nearly 20 years and try to see dance performances every time. When my son was very young he used to dance with the Barong. Now he's a college student with a passion for photographing and painting Balinese dancers.
People often ask me if I think dance in Bali has become commercialized. The answer is yes and no. Yes, because like all artforms it's evolutionary and some troupes have taken a more Westernized approach -- like an emphasis on drums and swirly costumes. No, because it's the performances especially for tourists that have kept the artform vibrant. This is how the troupes survive.
So, basically, venues like Ubud Palace and the performances that you see at your hotel can be topflight troupes, even if the audience is 100% non-Balinese. If you're lucky you can see the same troupes performing at local festivals in their own villages for a totally Balinese crowd. That is, you can if you can stay awake as these events often go on all night!
These are some of my favorites. I'd love to hear about yours.
Please note: days and times change often. Even if listed a performance may be cancelled if there's a festival going on. Double check and be flexible.
1. Kecak
This is a dance performed by males without an orchestra. The dancers chant a mesmeric chorus. It's usually performed by torchlight and is very dramatic. Two of the best Kecaks that I've seen recently have been at:
ARMA (Agung Rai Museum of Art) in Ubud
Performed at the new moon and full moon.
Krama Desa Adat Junjunganm Mondays
This is a small village around 45 minutes from Ubud. An astonishing performance!
2. BARONG
The village of Batubulan specializes in the Barong stories. Children especially love the animal dancers, but the dancing is top rate for anyone. There are several troupes, but I like the one called Sahadewa. Performances start at 9:30 AM (and are a nice way to begin a shopping day in the area). Get there early to sit in front.
3. Ubud Palace (Also called Puri Saren)
Since this is one of the most popular venues it attracts the top troupes. I find them uniformly good, but some get a little carried away on the flashiness. This place fills up so arrive early to sit in front. My favorites are LEGONG DANCE (Troupe: Sadha Budaya, Monday) and LEGONG OF MAHABRATA EPIC(Troupe: Sekaa Gong Jaya Swara, Sunday).
4. Puri Agung Peliatan Palace
This is lovely venue just outside of Ubud. The Saturday night Legong is especially good.
5. Calon Arang Dance
This is seldom performed anymore because the spirits are very powerful. If you have a chance see it!
People often ask me if I think dance in Bali has become commercialized. The answer is yes and no. Yes, because like all artforms it's evolutionary and some troupes have taken a more Westernized approach -- like an emphasis on drums and swirly costumes. No, because it's the performances especially for tourists that have kept the artform vibrant. This is how the troupes survive.
So, basically, venues like Ubud Palace and the performances that you see at your hotel can be topflight troupes, even if the audience is 100% non-Balinese. If you're lucky you can see the same troupes performing at local festivals in their own villages for a totally Balinese crowd. That is, you can if you can stay awake as these events often go on all night!
These are some of my favorites. I'd love to hear about yours.
Please note: days and times change often. Even if listed a performance may be cancelled if there's a festival going on. Double check and be flexible.
1. Kecak
This is a dance performed by males without an orchestra. The dancers chant a mesmeric chorus. It's usually performed by torchlight and is very dramatic. Two of the best Kecaks that I've seen recently have been at:
ARMA (Agung Rai Museum of Art) in Ubud
Performed at the new moon and full moon.
Krama Desa Adat Junjunganm Mondays
This is a small village around 45 minutes from Ubud. An astonishing performance!
2. BARONG
The village of Batubulan specializes in the Barong stories. Children especially love the animal dancers, but the dancing is top rate for anyone. There are several troupes, but I like the one called Sahadewa. Performances start at 9:30 AM (and are a nice way to begin a shopping day in the area). Get there early to sit in front.
3. Ubud Palace (Also called Puri Saren)
Since this is one of the most popular venues it attracts the top troupes. I find them uniformly good, but some get a little carried away on the flashiness. This place fills up so arrive early to sit in front. My favorites are LEGONG DANCE (Troupe: Sadha Budaya, Monday) and LEGONG OF MAHABRATA EPIC(Troupe: Sekaa Gong Jaya Swara, Sunday).
4. Puri Agung Peliatan Palace
This is lovely venue just outside of Ubud. The Saturday night Legong is especially good.
5. Calon Arang Dance
This is seldom performed anymore because the spirits are very powerful. If you have a chance see it!
Jun 16th, 2005, 11:37 PM
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We wanted to see something a bit out of the ordinary...so we went to a Jegog performance. It's somewhere just outside of Ubud in one of the villages...took 10 minutes from Alam Sari to get there...but other than that I really don't know where it was. It's a local group that do this performance for maybe a bit of money, but it seems like they do it more for fun, as there really aren't many people watching it, but the whole village seems to turn out to hang around, have a coke and a smoke and a chat. The performance is a mix of dance and music.
The most amazing thing about the Jegog performance was the giant bamboo gamelon-like instrument. This thing is enormous...maybe 2 men tall. The men playing use these enormous mallets and put their whole body into it. People are invited to come up on stage after they've played for a while, and WOW...my whole body was vibrating and humming...amazing. When the show was over, everyone, but especially the children, were invited onto stage to meet the performers and have photos taken if they liked. The girls just loved this!
One of the gamelon players (how do you spell that anyway) was our music teacher one day. One of the dancers taught my daughter and two friends some basics of Balinese dance. This is why we went a second time...to see our new friends perform, and it was even more amazing to see after having learned a bit about what they are doing.
The most amazing thing about the Jegog performance was the giant bamboo gamelon-like instrument. This thing is enormous...maybe 2 men tall. The men playing use these enormous mallets and put their whole body into it. People are invited to come up on stage after they've played for a while, and WOW...my whole body was vibrating and humming...amazing. When the show was over, everyone, but especially the children, were invited onto stage to meet the performers and have photos taken if they liked. The girls just loved this!
One of the gamelon players (how do you spell that anyway) was our music teacher one day. One of the dancers taught my daughter and two friends some basics of Balinese dance. This is why we went a second time...to see our new friends perform, and it was even more amazing to see after having learned a bit about what they are doing.
Mar 24th, 2006, 03:46 AM
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For something a bit different, (if you are interested in seeing the rising stars of Balinese dance for a change rather than the professionals) there are charming amateur performances in the library building just by the side of the football pitch in central Ubud.
We also went backstage at the Denpasar dance competitions. The Balinese tourist board usually list the festival events on a web page each year.
We also went backstage at the Denpasar dance competitions. The Balinese tourist board usually list the festival events on a web page each year.
Sep 7th, 2006, 04:35 PM
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We took our 2nd trip to Bali the 1st part of July. The Grand Hyatt ( the most beautiful resort we have ever been in, & we travel quite a bit) has dance troops on Tue. & Sat. nites. We booked Putu, Balifriend for 3 days & he took us to some fantastic festivals & Temple parades. Putu is a nice young man who speaks excellent english with no accent. He is also a photographer which is one reason I chose him. In addition to the Temple dance performances, he took us to mind bogling terraced rice patties, temples by the sea & so many other sights. In 3 1/2 weeks in Asia I shot over 3500 pictures, with about 2000 of them in Bali. As others have mentioned, the dancers are very friendly & my 14 year old granddaughter I believe posed with all of them. I'll be back.
May 8th, 2007, 04:11 PM
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Moving up for RobbKat. I'd especially recommend the Kecak in Junganan. If you go to the Ubud tourist center they will arrange for the villagers to pick you up and take you back to Ubud after the performance.
This is a very authentic performance. In the village under the banyan lighted by torches. Really spine tingling.
This is a very authentic performance. In the village under the banyan lighted by torches. Really spine tingling.
