South Bali, Indonesia Travel Guide
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Bali Cultural Performances
Fire and Trance Dance in Bali
Overview: One of the pleasures and must-do activities in Bali, whether you’re in south Bali or in Ubud, is to see a traditional Bali cultural performance. These are some of the many types live performances throughout Bali: barong dance performances, legong dance, kecak dance, fire & trance dances and shadow puppet shows, known as wayang kulit. The performances include a local, “gamelan” orchestra that adds music – voice and/or instruments – throughout the shows. A storyteller is usually somewhere in the back or the side of the stage with a microphone, acting as the voice to each character.
BARONG DANCE
The Barong Dance is the most well-known and popular live performance in Bali. The Barong Dance is based on the mythical battle between the gods of good, barong, and evil, rangda. This myth is central to Bali’s culture. The performance reenacts the story of the banishment of Rangda, the mother of the King of Bali, to the jungle for practicing black magic. She gathers all the evil entities in her power and seeks vengeance. King Erlangga summons Barong, the protector, to help fight Rangda. Rangda puts a spell on Erlangga’s soldiers to turn kill themselves with their own daggers. But, Barong protects the soldiers from killing themselves. Good wins in the end.
Locations: There are many performances of the Barong & Keris Dance but a couple of the most famous performances in held in Batubulan Village for Rp50,000 and Ubud at the Ubud Water Palace for Rp80,000.
There are also Barong performances on Tuesdays and Thursdays at the Oberoi Hotel in south Bali.
LEGONG DANCE & RAMAYANA
The Legong Dance & Ramayana is about a princess, Sita, who gets abducted by an evil king, Rahwana. The drama carries on with Prince Rama and the monkey warrior, Hanuman, attacking the king and defeating him, thus, saving Princess Sita. This is a wonderful performance, showcasing the artistry and grace of Bali’s performers – both the gamelan orchestra and actors – and the culture and imagination of Bali’s people. See the Legong Dance & Ramayana section in Ubud for more details.
Location: See the Ubud section for details on the Legong Dance & Ramayana performance schedules and costs.
KECAK FIRE & TRANCE DANCE
This story incorporates the story of Ramayana, which is described above. After the story of Ramayana, a pile of coconuts are placed in the middle of the courtyard and lit on fire. A man carrying a horse head comes out and dances around in a “trance,” kicking the burning pile around and walking over the burning coconuts. This is one spectacular show and the gamelan orchestra is amazing. There are no musical instruments used throughout the performance. The gamelan orchestra chants and sings during the entire performance. See Kecak Fire & Trance Dance section in Ubud for more details.
Location: See the Ubud section for details on the Kecak Fire & Trance Dance performance schedules and costs.
SHADOW PUPPET
There are a few types of shadow puppet shows and theaters but the main ones are wayang kulit and wayang golek. As with the dances mentioned above, these shows act out the Ramayana epic. The website, Murni’s Ubud, Bali has an excellent description of the shadow puppet show and its origins.
Website: http://www.murnis.com/culture/articlewayangkulit.htm