Bali Dance

Bali dance is a cultural treasure that enriches Indonesia.

Indonesia is a country rich in arts and culture. Music, painting, dance, and sculpture are also available

Every region in Indonesia has its own art and culture.

And one area that is very famous for its cultural arts is the island of Bali.

Bali not only offers its extraordinary natural beauty but also offers high cultural arts.

Many tourists who visit Bali end up not just enjoying the natural beauty of the island of Bali but also finally deciding to stay and learn Balinese art and culture.

And one of the famous arts from Bali is dance.

Many people want to learn how to do Balinese dances properly. but did you know that Balinese dance is not easy?

It takes time and patience to always practice in order to do good and correct dance moves.

There are many types of Balinese dance that you can learn..

And here are the types of dances:

1. Bali Dance-Kecak 

The first is the Kecak dance, which is the most famous dance and the most awaited performance by tourists

That’s why this dance must appear at every big event

This dance was created by Wayan Limbak in 1930

By the way, in the creation of this dance, Wayan Limbak collaborated with Walter Spies, a German artist

The hallmark of this dance is that the dancers are usually male with a number of tens of people.

It is namely the Kecak dance because when the rhythm of the music plays, the dancers will lift and move their arms while shouting the word “cak to cak to cak”.

The dancers will wear black and white checkered costumes.

2. Bali Dance-Barong 

Unlike the Barongsai dance which is a Chinese culture where it is symbolized by a lion animal, the Barong dance is symbolized by a bear animal.

The word Barong comes from the word Bahruang which means Bear.

Barong dance is an image that tells of a war between good and evil. In the end, good will always win.

This dance is usually played by 2 men. One plays the head and the other plays the tail.

3. Bali Dance-Pendet 

source : wikipedia

One of the famous dances from Bali is the Pendet dance. women are dancers.

This dance is a type of worship dance that is usually performed in temples where Hindus worship.

This dance is the aiming as a form of welcoming the arrival of God from the sky.

Several female dancers wearing Balinese traditional clothes are the players

4. Bali Dance-Legong 

source : museum Nusantara

The dance that is no less beautiful from Bali is the Legong dance.

Legong comes from ‘leg’ which means elastic and ‘gong’ which means gamelan or musical instrument.

So this dance uses gamelan as a musical accompaniment.

Legong dance is played by 3 people, one of which acts as the predecessor dancer and 2 of them as legong.

The dancers will wear fan accessories complete with frangipani flower decorations on their heads.

This dance Is so beautiful I think you will love it when you see it.

5. Bali Dance-Puspanjali 

Puspanjali dance is also a dance that is full of meaning because the Puspanjali dance is a dance for welcoming people.

The word Puspanjali comes from Puspa which means respect and Anjali which means flower.

So the meaning of this dance is to respect guests like a flower.

For Balinese people, every guest or tourist who visits Bali island is beautiful like a flower

6. Panji Semirang Dance

This dance is actually a story about sadness.

So this Panji Semirang dance tells about Princess Galuh Candrakirana.

This princess masquerades as Raden Panji during her wanderings to comfort her sadness after the death of her husband.

The hallmark of this dance is a female dancer masquerading as a male by widening her eyes with a smile.

7. TrunaJaya Dance

If the Panji Semirang dance is a dance that describes sadness, then the Trunajaya dance is actually a dance that tells about love.

`This dance tells the story of a young man who wants to attract the woman he likes

In this dance, the dancer will always widen his eyes with his firm dance movements.

This describes a man’s masculinity.

This dance is usually accompanied by gamelan gong Kebyar music.

The rhythm of this gong Kebyar music is a little fast and stomping to describe the spirit of the young man in getting the love of the girl he loves.

8. Baris Dance

As the name implies, this dance forms a lined position of dancers.

This dance is one of the dances which is a form of ritual. But for now, Baris dance has often been performed for entertainment purposes.

Baris dance depicts the courage of Balinese knights who are fighting to defend the King.

The dancer will move his body like a hero at war.

So this dance is a kind of war dance that describes the spirit of the soldiers in defending their kingdom

9. Margapati Dance

This Margapati dance is a dance that depicts anger and tragic things

Margapati comes from ‘marga’ which means road and ‘Pati’ which means death

So the meaning of Margapati is the path to death.

This dance depicts the mistakes of a woman’s life journey.

Female dancers will present male dance movements who are ready to stalk and ready to pounce on their prey.

So these 9 dances are some of the most famous Balinese dances and are often played.

If you are interested in learning Balinese dance, here are some dance studios that I can recommend

1. Sanggar tari Manik Mas ( Manik Mas dance studio )

In this studio, you can learn various Balinese dances that you like And you can also get to know more about Balinese culture.

The address is at Jalan Trenggana No. 150, Penatih, Kec. East Denpasar Denpasar City, Bali 80238.

2. Sanggar tari Bali Langlang Buana

Address at Gg. Langlang Bhuana, Tonja, Kec. North Denpasar, Denpasar City, Bali 80236

3. Sanggar tari Bali Nitya Kusuma

Address at Gg. Nuri IX No.12, Dangin Puri Kaja, Kec. North Denpasar, Denpasar City, Bali 80233, Indonesia
Telephone number 081805603051.

Those are the 3 dance studios that I recommend.

Of course, there are many Balinese dance studios in every region in Bali

But those 3 places that I know because they are located in Denpasar

So if you happen to live in Denpasar you can visit these 3 studios

Okay guys, hopefully, this information can help you get to know more about Balinese culture through dance