Sanghyang Djaran (Trance Dance) Performance at Pura Dalem Taman Kaja, Bali.

Sanghyang Djaran (Horse Trance Dance). Ubud, Bali. (By Gustavo Thomas. 2009)

"The word Sanghyang means celestial and refers to trance dance rituals whereby the performers enter an altered state of consciousness called kerawuhan (descent or arrival) or nadi (becoming).  ...  The purpose is to restore order back to the village and to exorcise spirits of chaos." (1)

After reading the last quotation you can suppose that in these days trance dances are rare in Bali (and elsewhere in the world).

What I saw in Ubud after the Kecak performance at Pura Dalem Taman Kaja, the Sanghyang Djaran (or horse trance dance), in July 2009, was a performance for tourists; yes, the dancer was "acting" the trance. For us, ignorants about Balinese rituals, there is almost no difference, but for those who know and appreciate Balinese rituals there are.

So, what's the point of publishing here? Simple: this is a Blog about theatre and performing arts, and I'm sure, this "trance dance for tourists" I saw that evening in Ubud was both of them.

Even though there wasn't a real trance it was a very a good "external" example of it and, indeed, a very interesting one, specially in visual terms. Usually in these kind of works with religious origin Balinese performing artists keep the general and basic structure of the original ritual, and we can see example of it all over Bali.

So, from my point of view, this video is worth to watch, but mostly I think this is another good opportunity to see for first time and enjoy one more of those fantastic and special Balinese performing arts.

Video: Sanghyang Djaran (Horse Trance Dance). Ubud, Bali. (By Gustavo Thomas. 2009)

Sanghyang Djaran, A Balinese Trance Dance Performance at Pura Dalem Taman Kaja, Bali (2009) from Gustavo Thomas on Vimeo.
Sanghyang Djaran, A Balinese Trance Dance Performance at Pura Dalem Taman Kaja, Bali (2009)

(1) Balinese Dance, Drama and Music. A Guide to the Performing Arts of Bali. I Wayan Dibia and Rucina Ballinger. Perilus. Singapore, 2004.

Texts, photographs and videos in this Blog are all author's property, except when marked. All rights reserved by Gustavo Thomas. If you have any interest in using any text, photograph or video from this Blog, for commercial use or not, please contact Gustavo Thomas at gustavothomastheatre@gmail.com.

Kecak Performance at Pura Dalem Taman Kaja, in Bali (2009)

(Photograph by Gustavo Thomas. 2009)

Kecak (called also Cak) is one of the best known Balinese Performing Arts, a mix between a religious choral piece, a theatre play and a choreographed dance, based on a choir of local men. It is not an old form, it was created from some ancient Sanghyang (trance) forms during the 1930s, adding a theatrical story. Some give the credit to German visitor Walter Spies, while others give it to two Balinese masters, I Gusti Lanang Oka and I Nengah Murdaya.

Miguel Covarrubias (who was there around 1930) didn't know about Kecak, but did know about Sanghyang and the use of the word "kecak" in its chants as an accompaniment of the trance dance. Kecak developed into a theatrical form when it was separated of the trance and stories, wether from the Ramayana or from other Hindu epics, added to it. 

Even when Kecak is the theatrical form without trance, its performance is completed with a short trance piece, the "Sanghyang Djaran" or Trance Dance of the Horse, a piece about which I'm going to talk about in the next post of these Bali performing arts series.

(Photograph by Gustavo Thomas. 2009)

To talk about the rhythms in Kecak I'm quoting the book "Balinese Dance, Drama and Music"(1):

"The polyrhythmic vocal chanting that makes up most of the performance is sung in interlocking parts. Most chorus members know at least four different rhythmic patterns: syncopated cak telu (three syllables), cak lima (five), cak nem (six) and the simple non-syncopated pattern cak ocel (three and seven syllables). There is also improvised panyelah (five syllables). Syncopated rhythms require three voices: polos (down beat), sangsih (upbeat) and sanglot (in between). The interlocking patterns of three and six strokes are chanted within one gong cycle and are marked in the melody by a gong-like sound, sirrrrr. The five-stroke and non-syncopated pattern are freer. All patterns are laid over the kajar and the melody. The kajar is the time-keeping gong, vocalized in Kecak with a pung sound. The melody is chanted as yanger yangur yanger yanger yang sir."

What I saw that night at Pura Dalem Taman Kaja in Ubud was a performance by Taman Kaja Community. Most of the members of that group, as its name says, were from the same neighbour (called Desa), in this case Desa Pakraman Taman Kaja. 

That was a powerful and energetic performance, full of life and interesting images, visual and vocal images. Yes, the voice of those a hundred men chanting is still in my memory today, their sound provoked to my whole body a vibration difficult to forget. It was a very unique experience watching this also very unique theatrical form. 

Luckily I was able to record almost the whole performance, so you can see photographs and video of it. You have to understand that night it was raining and the visibility was poor, plus my seat was very close to the stage.

Program of Kecak performance at Pura Dalem Taman Kaja, Ubud (2009)

This is what the program says about the story to see (original redaction):

The story is a fragment from the Ramayana, the hindu epic. (...)

Prince Rama, heir to the throne of the kingdom of Ayodya, and his wife Sita have been banished from the kingdom by King Dasarata as a result of trickery by Rama's stepmother. The story begins with the arrival of Rama and Sita accompanied by Rama's brother Laksmana in the forest of Dandaka.

The trio have been observed by the demon Rajwana, King of Alengka, who lusts after the beautiful Sita. Rahwana sends his prime minister Marica to try to isolate Sita so that Rahwana can kidnap her. Marica's magical powers turn him into a golden deer and he enters the forest and when Sita sees the golden deer she is so enchanted by it that she asks Rama to capture it for her. Rama chases after the deer leaving his brother Laksmana behind with strict instructions to protect Sita. When Sita thinks she hears a cry for help from Rama she forces Lasmana to go after Rama by accusing him of cowardice and he goes off to help Rama with great reluctance after drawing a magic circle on the ground and telling Sita that she should not under any circumstance step outside the circle.

Sita, left alone in the forest becomes an easy prey to the trickery of Rahwana who has disguised himself as an old priest and begs Sita for some food as he is cold and hungry. Sita falls for his trick, she steps outside the circle to give the old priest some food and Rahwana grabs her and takes her to his palace.

Once back in his palace in Alengka Rahwana tries everything he can to seduce Sita without any luck.

In the meantime Hanoman, the white monkey, a good friend of Rama, is searching everywhere for Sita.

In the palace of Alengka Sita pours out her heart about her cruel fate to Rahwana's niece Trijata, who had come to love Sita, when Hanoman appears telling her that he is Rama's envoy and proving it by showing her Rama's ring. Sita gives Hanoman a hairpin to show that she is still alive and sends him back to Rama with a message to come to her rescue.

In the meantime Rama and Laksmana are wandering in the forest looking for Sita when Meganada, Rahwana's son, appears and engages Rama and Laksmana in battle. Meganada uses his magic powers and shoots of an arrow which magically turns into a dragon which overpowers rama and Laksmana and they are trussed up in ropes.

The bird Garuda, King of all the birds, a good friend of King Dasarata, has observed the trouble Rama is in from high up in the sky and comes to the rescue freeing hte brothers from the ropes.

Rama and Laksmana continue on their way to rescue Sita and are joined by Sugriwa, King of the monkeys, and his monkey army.

This fragment of the Ramayana comes to an end with the battle between Sugriwa and his monkey army and Meganada and his demon army which ends with the defeat of Meganada.

Video: Kecak performance at Pura Dalem Taman Kaja, Bali (2009)

Kecak Performance at Pura Dalem Taman Kaja, Bali (2009) from Gustavo Thomas on Vimeo.

Photographs of the performance

(1) Balinese Dance, Drama and Music. By I Wayan Dibia and Rucina Ballinger. Periplus Editions, Singapore, 2004.

Texts, photographs and videos in this Blog are all author's property, except when marked. All rights reserved by Gustavo Thomas. If you have any interest in using any text, photograph or video from this Blog, for commercial use or not, please contact Gustavo Thomas at gustavothomastheatre@gmail.com.

Barong and Keris Theatre Performance (2009), and some original documents of the 1930's by Rose and Miguel Covarrubias.

Barong performance (By Gustavo Thomas. Bali, 2009)

In the summer of 2009 I recorded several performances of a large variety of Balinese Performing Arts.  Since then I've been publishing many of those videos linked with some documents, recorded in the 1930's, by Mexican Researcher Miguel Covarrubias. Today I want to retake 'the Balinese subject' with a very attractive and in some way very impressive performance of Balinese theatre: Barong, and Keris.  

I called it 'Barong and Keris theatre performance' instead of 'dance performance' because they are actually a mix (as we Westerners see Performing arts) between dance and a theatre play, which are usually not differentiated in Balinese performing arts.

The Barong is a character of Hindu-Balinese mythology, the name of a mythic Balinese lion, a divine monster. It is a very recognizable figure everywhere in Bali because of its costume, so impressive and spectacular, with its long body (similar to that of the traditional Chinese festivity lion) made with different types of palm threads, its vivid and horrid mask, and its decoration with gold and mirrors (see Covarrubias's description bellow). Every visitor to any temple or palace in Bali feels the inevitable need to stop and observe that impressive Barong costume hanging in its pedestal over the Gamelan instruments, waiting for the evening performance.

Barong costume at Ubud Royal Palace (By Gustavo Thomas. Bali, 2009)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0NwPaMueND4

Keris (kris or kriss), meaning 'knife' or 'dagger'  is the name of a trance dance, famous for its dancers hurting themselves with a 'keris" while they are in trance. One of the most striking photographs of a Balinese performer is that of a Keris dancer performing, published in "A Dictionary of Theatre Anthropology" by Nicola Savarese.

Keris performer (A Dictionary of Theatre Anthropology. Nicola Savarese Archive.)

MIGUEL COVARRUBIAS

In the 1930's Covarrubias filmed one of many versions of Barong performed during a temple festivity. Here are the only 50 seconds that are known to remain from of those recordings (the voice is not part of the original):

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uR7rI7fWokk

Covarrubias also wrote in his book "Island of Bali" a comprehensive description of Barong, the character, and of its dance, including the final "Keris", a description I'd like to share with you as an introduction of the performance you are going to see:

"The witch has a contender for supremacy in a fantastic animal, a mythical "lion" called Barong. Because of an ancient feud with Rangda, he sides with human beings to thwart her evil plans, and the Balinese say that without his help humanity would be destroyed. While Rangda is a female, the magic of the "left", the Barong is the "right", the male. Rangda is the night, the darkness from which emanate illness and death. The Barong is the sun, the light, medicine, the antidote of evil.
Every community owns a set of the costumes and masks of both characters. These masks have great power in themselves and are keep out of sight in a special shed in the death temple of the village. They are put away in a basket, wrapped in a magic cloth that insulates their evil vibrations, and are uncovered only when actually in use, when the performer-medium is in trance and under control of a priest, and not before offering have been made to prevent harm to the participants. At the feasts of the death temples their masks are uncovered and exhibited in one of the shrines. It is good precaution to sprinkle these masks with holy water when someone is sick in the village.
Like the Rangda, the Barong is treated with great respect and the Balinese address him by titles such as Banaspati Radja, "Lord of the jungle", or as Djeró Gedé, "The Big One", rather than as Barong, which is only a generic name for his sort of monster.
Despite his demoniac character, the Barong materializes in a trance play in which he is made to act foolishly and to dance for the amusement of the crowd. His costume consists of a great frame covered with long hair, with a sagging back of golden scales set with little mirrors. A beautifully arched gold tail sticks out of his rump and from it hang a square mirror, a bunch of peacock feathers, and a cluster of little bells that jingle at every move. Under a high gilt crown is his red mask, too small for his body, with bulging eyes and snapping jaws. The power of the Barong is concentrated in his beard, a tuft of human hair decorated with flowers. The Barong is animated by two specially trained men who form the front and hind quarters of the animal, the man in front operating the mask with his hands.
In Penetjutan the Barong play began with a performance of djauk, a group of boys wearing grinning white masks, who danced to the delicate tunes of a legong orchestra called in this case bebarongan. After the dance the two Barong performers went under the costume that lay inanimate on two poles, the mask covered  by a white cloth. Like a circus prop-horse, the Barong danced, wiggling his hind quarters, lying down, contracting and expanding like an accordion, snapping his jaws, and in general behaving in a comic, rather than undignified manner for his awesome character. After his gay outburst of animal spirits, he began a long dance, staring around as if astounded by magic visions that filled the air. He was constantly on the alert of invisible enemies, growing more and more alarmed, clicking his teeth like castanets as the tempo of the music increased. Firecrackers began to explode at the far end of the arena, startling the Barong, and when the smoke cleared, the figure of Rangda appeared, yelling curses at the Barong, who appeared humiliated by her insults. But eventually he reacted and they usually rushed at each other, fighting and rolling on the ground until the Barong was made to bit the dust.
In the meantime a group of half-naked men sitting on a mat went into a trance. They were assistants of the Barong against Rangda. A priest consecrated some water by dipping the Barong's beard in it, and sprinkled the men, who shook al over as if an epileptic fit. With their eyes glued on the Rangda, they got up, drawing their krisses, advancing like fidgety automatons towards the witch, who awaited them ready with her white cloth, her weapon, ready in her raised hand. Suddenly she ran after them, but just then one of the priests on watch noticed something unusual in her behaviour and passed the word the she was out of control. She was caught by a group os strong men and led away, but not before she had put a spell on the entranced men by joining the thumbs of her outstretched hands and yelling a curse.
By the spell, the krisses on the hands of the men turned against them, but the magic of the Barong hardened their flesh so that, although they pushed the sharp points of the daggers with all their might against their naked chest, they were not even hurt. (...) Some leaped wildly or rolled in the dust, pressing the krisses against their breasts and crying like children, tears streaming from their eyes. Most showed dark marks where the point of the dagger bruised the skin without cutting it, but blood began to flow from the breast of one, the signal for the watchmen to disarm him by force.
(...) To take the men out of the trance, they were led, one by one, to where the Barong stood; someone sucked the bleeding chest of the wounded man and stuck a red flower in the cut. The pemangku wiped the face of each man with the beard of the Barong dipped in holy water, and gradually the hysterical men came out of the trance, dazed, simply walking away as if they did know what had happened to them."


ROSE COVARRUBIAS

Now, some photographs of Barong and Keris by Rose Covarrubias (Miguel's wife) taken during their travel to Bali in the 1930's. You can notice part of the 'process' of the trance in the Keris performers:

Barong and Keris Performance (By Rose Covarrubias)

Barong and Keris Performance (By Rose Covarrubias)

Barong and Keris Performance (By Rose Covarrubias)

Barong and Keris Performance (By Rose Covarrubias)

Barong and Keris Performance (By Rose Covarrubias)

THE PURA KLONCING PERFORMANCE

What I saw in July 2009 at Kloncing Temple (Pura Kloncing) in Ubud was undoubtedly Barong and Keris, but with a change in their original motor as a religious work, now performed like any other theatre play addressed to tourists, even though its original structure remains almost intact (as you will see it if you compare my recordings with Covarrubias's description), resulting in a spectacular and surprising performance. 

This is what the performance's program says about the story to see (some parts of it were illegible):

"The drama performed by the Truna Suka Duka troupe is drawn from an early story in the Mahabarata epic, though the opening scene of the Barong and the monkey serves only as an introduction.
The story begins once the Sisian dancers appear. The Kurowa brothers, who are the antagonist in the Mahabarata, have petitioned the goddess Durga to spread disease and destruction in Indra Pasta, the kingdom of the five heroic Pandawa brothers. The Sisian, as Durga's servants, fulfill the Kurowa's request.
Meanwhile, in the palace of the kingdom of Indra Prasta, the Pandawas are meeting to decide how to respond to the disruption of the family temple ceremony by the Sisian. (...) Kunti, the mother of the Pandawa brothers becomes possessed by one of Durga's demons and in a fit of rage demands that the Primer Minister sacrifices Sahadewa to Durga. Initially, the Prime Minister resists, but he becomes possessed and attacks Sahadewa.
Sahadewa faints while being beaten and tied up by the Prime Minister, but is visited by a High Priest while unconscious. The priest is an emanation of the god Siwa and has been sent to empower Sahadewa so Durga cannot kill him.
Durga arrives in the middle of the night, accompanied by her Buta Kala demons, intent on killing and eating Sahadewa. When Durga discovers that she cannot kill Sahadewa, she recognizes that he was blessed by her husband, the god Siwa. She then asks Sahadewa to free her from her earthly physical form so that she can be reunited with Siwa.
(...)
After killing Durga, and while on his way back to the palace, Sahadewa meets Durga's servant Kalika on the road. Kalika also requests a purifying death as a way of entering heaven, but Sahadeva refuses, knowing that Kalika's responsibility is as the guardian of the graveyard and the king of the Buta Kala demons.
Enraged Kalika challenges Sahadewa to battle, but it is not strong enough to win and turn to flee. He turns himself into a pig and the a Garuda bird to escape, but Sahadewa still pursues him. Finally, he transforms himslef into Rangda, who is an emanation of Durga. When Sahadewa becomes the Barong, an emanation of Siwa, the forces of chaos and order are rebalanced and the story concludes.
The closing event of the drama is the emotionally charged Kris trance, during which the Barong and Ragda, as representatives of Siwa and his consort Durga, reestablish equilibrium. (...)"




PHOTOGRAPHS OF THE PERFORMANCE


The following slideshow offers a comprehending view of the performance (you can see each of the 113 photographs on my flickr page, just click the link). Thanks to the possibility of taking still photographs from the video, and adding those images I couldn't take with my camera, I was able to reconstruct almost the entire line of the events of the performance.

Slideshow: Barong and Keris Performance. Pura Kloncing, Ubud, Bali. July 21st, 2009.

VIDEO OF THE PERFORMANCE

I split the whole recording in three parts, specially to avoid making it a strenuous watching (I know real life is not the same in video), and I also cut a short musical introduction and a 5-minute offering dance, but the whole performance is there, I didn't edit anything as it was possible to record it all from the beginning to the end. The first two videos are only short looks of what happened before the performance. Take your time and enjoy it little by little:

Video: Barong before the performance.

Barong before the performance (Bali, 2009) from Gustavo Thomas on Vimeo.
Barong before the performance (Bali, 2009)



Video: Priest blessing the musicians.

Balinese Priest blessing musicians before a Barong performance (Bali, 2009) from Gustavo Thomas on Vimeo.
Priest blessing musicians before a Barong performance (Bali, 2009)


Video: Barong and Monkey Introduction Dance (15 minutes)

2009-07-22th Bali Ubud Pengtegal Baris Dance Introduction from Gustavo Thomas on Vimeo.

Video: Barong Play (38 minutes)

Indonesia and Bali: Barong Performance from Gustavo Thomas on Vimeo.

Video: Keris Dance (4 minutes)

Keris Dance Performance in Ubud, Bali from Gustavo Thomas on Vimeo.

Topeng Tua Dance Performance at Ubud Royal Palace, Bali

Topeng Tua Dance is part of a group of mask dance-dramas in Bali named Topeng, which literally means "to close or press against the face"(in reference to the use of a mask, of course). Covarrubias depicts these dances as "masked actors playing local historical plays (babad); mostly pantomime, but with dialogue by the comic characters"(1) 


According to I Wayan Dibia and Rucina Ballinger "Topeng is done for Odalan (temple festivals) and a myriad of other rituals. In a traditional performance, five men play all the roles (called Topeng Panca, meaning "five dancers") simply by changing masks and headdresses. The drama begins with the panglembar or introductory characters who pave the way for the entrance of the king. The dancer show off his virtuosity through pure dance movements. The three most popular masks are Topeng Keras, a strong primer minister character with red or brown face denoting strength and courage; Topeng Keras Bues, strong yet goofy with bulbous eyes and large, humorous movements; and the beloved Topeng Tua, an old man who remembers his youth. He stumbles, wipes the sweat off his brow, breathes heavily with exertion and blows his nose"(2) It is a long ritual dance-drama festivity where these three characters, the king and clowns interact with the people in a rather comic way.


That evening at Ubud Royal Palace's stage, in July 2009, I only had the opportunity to see the Topeng Tua Dance, the dance of the old men remembering his youth, a short choreography (6 minutes) among the 9 other dance performances, so it was only a small bite of the Topeng dances. From my point of view it wasn't the best choreography of that night, especially after have seen the Legong Kraton and the Baris Tunggal dances, but it kept my attention very well and I enjoyed it.

Slideshow: Topeng Tua Dance Performance at Ubdu Royal Palace, Bali. July, 2009

You will see in the video I recorded how the old character, Topen Tua, as they said (I Wayan Dibia and Rucina Ballinger) "stumbles, wipes the sweat of his brow, breathes heavily with exertion and blows his nose", but also how he picks up a head lice from his white long hair, kills it with his finger nails and then shakes it off his fingers only to come back to his hair and pick another one. I have no information about weather this was a change of the original dance or simply our writers didn't want to embarrass anyone mentioning it as a part of the choreography. I can remember the same kind of actions missing in narrations of Chinese Theatre by Chinese writers in reference to spitting. 

What it is remarkable in the technique of this dance is the continuous use of codified movements and series of physical actions with a minimum of improvisation, what it seems to be one of the secrets of its every night success.

Video: Topeng Tua Dance Performance at Ubud Royal Palace, Bali. July, 2009.

You can find many videos of the other Topeng dances in Youtube.

Atribución-Licenciamiento Recíproco

(1) Island of Bali. By Miguel Covarrubias.

(2) Balinese Dance, Drama and Music. By I Wayan Dibia and Rucina Ballinger.

    

Taruna Jaya Dance Performance at Ubud Royal Palace, Bali.

Taruna Jaya dance (Ubud, Bali. July, 2009)

"Taruna Jaya (The energy of youth). I Gede Manik was a student of Pan Wandres and in 1952 (1) he choreographed Taruna Jaya ("Victorius youth") out of Kebyar Legong. At that time, it was danced by two women, but today it is usually done as a solo. This dance requires immense energy for the numerous changes in speed, dynamics and mood that the dancer must capture.

"Taruna jaya describes many moods of a youth: coyness, bashfulness, irritability, sweetness, and of course, energy. Strong eye movements are a prominent feature, and often include nelik (a wide eyed stare). At one point, the dancer flings her extended kain to the side and sidles up to the drummer to flirt with him. He may either resist her advances or play along. The costume (usually dark purple) uses a headcloth with a unique shape, a log-sleeved tunic and a kain pleated on the left side with the end dangling. There are many moments when the dancer picks up the end of the cloth to emphasize a musical point or mood. She also uses a fan to its greatest advantage."(2)

The version I saw at the Ubud Royal Palace (last July 2009) is practically the same that Balinese usually see in their village religious events.

It was impossible to record more than a few seconds of video and only the photographs can show what it has been described before. I added two more videos (from Youtube), a solo and a two-women version, to give a wider appreciation of this dance.

Slideshow of Taruna Jaya Dance Performance. Ubud.

Video (very short) of Taruna Jaya Performance at Ubud Royal Palace (July, 2009).

Taruna Jaya dance, a solo.

Playlist of videos (2) of Taruna Jaya dance. Version for two dancers

(1) That's why I don't mention Miguel Covarrubias in this post. This dance wasn't born yet. Covarrubias' last travel to Bali was in 1932.

(2) "Balinese Dance, Drama and Music. A Guide to the Performing Arts of Bali" by I Wayan Dibia and Rucina Ballinger. Page 90.

Legong Dance. Documents from 1930's and a modern performance in Ubud, Bali.

"As the archetype of the delicate and feminine, the legong is the finest of Balinese dances. Connoisseurs discuss the comparative excellence of various legongs as intensely as we discuss our dancers, and I have heard solemn arguments among princes as to wether the group of Bedulu was finer than that of Saba, or the school of Sukawati superior to that of Badung"

Miguel Covarrubias.(1)

Learning Legong. Photo by Rose Covarrubias.(1930)

No doubt, legong is the most famous of all Balinese dances. Although not the most spectacular or dramatic, it is the most beautiful and most prominent for the fineness of its movements and has become the representative image of Bali and its performing arts: the image of the little beautiful graceful dancer wearing a dramatic headdress, her body twisting and seemingly about to fall, while her gaze is turned sideways and her hands' fingers making movements impossible to imitate.

Balinese historians already identify it as a recognizable style since 1811. According to some mythical Balinese stories legong dance was born as a prototype of dance and music, that is, it was with it that these arts were created. (2)

When Covarrubias visited Bali in the 1930's, legong had already quite established itself as the first Balinese dance, and our Mexican explorer never failed to express his wonder about what he saw in it; he explores, moreover, its origin, and also tells us that the structure and movements of legong may originate in shadow theater, the Wayang kulit, as an attempt by humans to imitate the way stories were told with puppets in shadows (3). If this theory were true then Balinese dance would have the same origin than Chinese traditional theater or Chinese opera (4).

Covarrubias does a descriptive study of the costume and headdress of legong dancers, plus a full plate of the basic positions of the choreography.

Illustraded notes about the costume and headdress of the legong dancer in M. Covarrubias's diary. (5)

Plate with illustrations of body postures in legong dance. M. Covarrubias. (6)

Some of the most beautiful paintings by Covarrubias were inspired on legong dance; the beauty of the figure of the dancer was more than fascinating and he translated it into ink and watercolor (I can not say whether into oil as well).

Video: "Dressing the dancer", a painting by Miguel Covarrubias at ARMA Museum, Ubud.

"Legong Performance under Bayan Tree" painting by Miguel Covarrubias.

"Legong Dancer" watercolour by Miguel Covarrubias.

"Kneeling Legong Dancer with Headdress" watercolour by Miguel Covarrubias.

And, of course, Miguel also left us a filmed document of the dance itself in performance. The extract published here is part of an edition of early 2000, narrated in English with texts extracted from Covarrubias's book Island of Bali:

Miguel Covarrubias. Film Document about a legong performance at the village of Saba, Bali, 1932.

Rose Covarrubias, wife of the Mexican artist and a dancer herself, in turn devoted herself to photographically document the different types of legong dance and, thanks to her, we have dozens of photographs on the subject during that period (1930-1932). Here I show some which were published in Island of Bali. These photographs (and of course the film footage) are fantastic examples of how tradition keeps movements and postures almost intact during the years.

(Please, notice that you can click on each photograph and see it in a larger size.)

Legong dance photos, by Rose Covarrubias.

Finally, I share what I saw at the performance at Ubud Royal Palace in July 2009, Legong Kraton (or Keraton). The photographs are very interesting, showing some of the physical postures and various stills of eye and hand movements; I think they portray the strength of the projection of the dancers on stage. The video, however, is very short, I had problems with the camera and recorded only a few moments, but it's worth watching.

Slideshow of Legong Kraton dance performance at Ubud Royal Palace (Bali 2009)

Video: Legong Kraton dance at Ubud's royal palace (Bali, 2009)

(1) Island of Bali. Miguel Covarrubias.

(2) Balinese Dance, Drama and Music. A Guide to the Performing Arts of Bali. I Wayan Dibia and Rucina Ballinger.

(3) Island of Bali. Miguel Covarrubias. Page 228.

(4) See my post on Chinese funerary puppets and the origin of traditional Chinese theatre:

http://gustavothomastheatre.blogspot.com/2010/02/approaching-to-origin-of-chinese.html

(5) Covarrubias in Bali. Adriana Williams and Yu-Chee Chong. EDM, Singapore. Pages 130, 131.

(6) Island of Bali. Miguel Covarrubias. Illustration.

Baris Gede Dance and Baris Bedil Dancers During a Religious Ceremony in Bangli Village, Bali

Miguel Covarrubias: "Baris Gede"

In 1930's Miguel Covarrubias wrote about the warrior dance called Baris Gede:

"An indispensable part of the ritual feast of the old villages is the baris gedé, a stately war dance in which ten or twelve middle-aged warriors with their heads covered with flowers, wearing magic scarves, and carrying long spears tipped with peacock feathers, dance in double line, grimacing and striking heroic poses until the music becomes violent, when they enact a sham battle with their black and silver spears.

(...)

The music for the baris, played by a gamelan gong, consist of striking standard melodies with contrasting interludes that indicate the steps and the moods portrayed by the dancer. Every part of his body, from his toes to the tips of his fingers, is in action during the dance. Every muscle of his face is controlled at will to render the storm of passions expressed by the quick tempered warrior;expression of admiration and wonder at an invisible magic world all around him, surprise and rage at imaginary enemies, pleasure, tenderness, and love. But as the music grows more violent, the dancer becomes more and more tense, raising himself on his toes until he gives the impression of growing in height; his eyes seem ready to jump from their sockets, his whole body trembles, making the flowers of his head shake violently. So raised on his toes and with his whole body at high nervous tension, he slaps his tight and points an accusing finger at his enemy, as with wild yells of "Wah!" "Adoh, adoh!" he draws his kris and struts aggressively towards his foe, who comes forward at the same moment; before they meet, the dancer stop defiantly, cursing each other, and when the clash comes, with tiger-like grace they perform a stylized duel of music, in which the routing of one of the characters indicates the end of the dance." (1)

With the same intention but in the different way he tried to depict in drawings each of the main movements of the dance (click on the image to see it in a big size). Notice the attention he had to show those tensions of the dancer's shoulders and fingers and the singular physical posture of the body during the dance:

Miguel Covarrubias: "Movements of the Baris (Gede)"

The next video is what Covarrubias filmed of a Baris Gede performance (the footage is without sound, music was added in 2004 and the narrator is reading words from Covarrubias's book, Island of Bali):

Baris Gede (or Gedhé). Miguel Covarrubias's film, 1930.

During my travel to Bali in July 2009 I missed the opportunity to see a performance of Baris Bedil (a variation of Gede); we arrived late to a religious festivity (a Market Ceremony) at Malangting Temple, in Bangli Village, and I only could take video and photographs of the dancers and musicians at the end of the festivity (when the final procession was starting); at least you can see a big part of the procession with our dancers in costumes (interesting and beautifully coloured) and compare them with what you saw in Covarrubias's film. Notice that in Baris Bedil in bangli Village wooden riffles are used instead of spears (2):

Baris Bedil Dancers during a Market Ceremony in Bangli. Village. Bali, 2009.

video: Market Ceremony procession at Malangting Temple, Bangli Village, Bali.

Video: Religious procession. Bali, 1930. Miguel Covarrubias.

Now you can see a video (recorded just one month before my visit to Bali) of a Baris Gede performance in Klungkung Village; after 80 years it is pretty much the same choreography:

Video: Baris Gede Dance performance. Klungkung, Bali. June, 2009.

Covarrubias in his book mentions 4 kinds of Baris Warrior Dance: Baris Gede (ritual), Baris Pendét (secular), Baris Tumbak (ritual) and Baris Tekok (ritual). Today in Bali we can find around 30 different kinds of this dance, most of them ritual dances, but one variation of Baris Pandét, the secular style, has become very known around the world; it is a solo dance called Baris Tunggal, and that is what I saw at Ubud Royal Palace.

In my next post I'll show a video of the Baris Tunggal performance in Ubud and I'll try to find why Baris Tunggal is the most known and why is the most technically detailed of all of them.

(1) "Island of Bali" by Miguel Covarrubias.

(2) In this photo by Garrett Kam (Balinese Dance, Drama and Music. A Guide to the Performing Arts of Bali) you can see very well how the Baris Bedil dancers work with a wooden riffle:

Baris Bedil in Bangli Village, Bali (by Garrett Kam)