The Nandir Dance is All About Love
The Nandir Dance originates from Taro Village, just north of Ubud. I hadn’t heard of it until someone mentioned that it was performed as a reconstructed ancient dance at the Bali Arts Festival 2016. It wasn’t until I was working in Taro, documenting an event, when I stumbled upon a group of dancers wearing bright costumes
Sanghyang Deling: The Possession of Puppets
The audience were sitting silently when the congregation, who sat on the stage of Kalangan Angsoka amphitheatre started singing a hymn, verses of a sacred song known as Gending Sanghyang. Gending Pangembak filled the atmosphere as the ritual began. The song is believed to have the power to summons deities and noble spirits, key to
The Sacred Gandrung Trance Dance
Bali is an island with numerous traditional dances, these are categorised into the sacred, classic and contemporary. Classic and contemporary style dances can be found throughout the island, performed on the commercial stage they are truly beautiful spectacles to enjoy. However, sacred dances are rarely for the general public and are reserved for religious ceremonies,
The Living Legend Of Bali’s Classic Dances
Bali’s dance scene wouldn’t be alive without constant regeneration as well as those who are superbly creative in creating new choreography based on classic Balinese Dances or reconstructing classic dances that are almost forgotten. The flourishing dance scene in Bali also has strong relations to the efforts made in introducing dances of the island to
Magoak-goakan: Chasing the Tail
In this modern world, traditional games seem to be forgotten. But this is not the case in the Buleleng Regency of north Bali, once the gateway of the island. Magoak-goakan is a traditional game that originated in the regency’s Panji Village. The game has deep connections to the historical moment when the Kingdom of Buleleng
Arja: Beauty in Complexity
There may be many destinations with nature and sights more exquisite than Bali has to offer, but this little island of the ‘Lesser Sundas’ has things that cannot be found elsewhere, one of them being its distinctive and rich culture. In Bali, dances, music and other performances and artworks are part of the culture, tradition
Oleg Tambulilingan: The Buzz of Bees
Every thing, tiny or big, on Earth or even in outer space, can be a great inspiration for human beings to create something beautiful, meaningful and useful. Mrs. Arini Alit, a Balinese dance maestro, once told me that every pose and routine of a Balinese dance is inspired by nature. Agem, the stationary pose, should
The Panyembrama: Flowers, Smiles and Gentle Gestures
Despite there being thousands of beautiful destinations in the world, Bali remains unique, thanks to its culture. The growth of the tourism industry in Bali goes hand in hand with the preservation and even elaboration of culture and art on the island. The word ‘art’, funnily enough, doesn’t actually exist in the local dialect. However
The Pendet: A Holy Welcome
In Bali, dance has been the opening to holy ceremonies for as long as we know. The Pendet was considered a sacred dance that was only performed at the temple during a holy ceremony. Following the development of tourism in Bali in 1967, I Wayan Rindi created a new choreography of the Pendet for public
The Dance of the Shepherd Boys
In 1983, a living legend of Balinese dance created a theatrical performance titled Stri Asadhu. A section of this fine performance highlights the daily activities of shepherds, but the plot thickens. The story begins with the shepherds busily working, when a lady comes asking for milk. A shepherd agrees to give the milk to the
Dancing with the Bulls
In Jembrana Regency, with a history of migrating Madurese fishermen to the area over the centuries, an assimilation of tradition occurred. These fishermen introduced their unique Madurese boat designs to the area, which can be seen anchored at the bay of Perancak Village. The Madurese introduced their famous bull races to Bali too. In Bali,
Pendet: A Beautiful Welcoming Dance
Dance has always been a part of many sacred ceremonies and traditional rituals in the island. Some dances are considered sacred as they are offered to the Gods or the deities, while others are simply performed for the audience. Pendet dance is a simple welcoming dance choreographed to welcome the audience. The dance is one
Jegog Bamboo
Bamboo is one commodity that plays an important role in balinese life, from being used to build a house, weaved into a roof or basket, used as the pole to make penjor – a special decoration erected in front of the house during galungan and kuningan holy celebrations – and also transformed into a set
