Seni Tari (Dance), Seni Kerawiatan (music), and Seni Pedalangan (the theater of wayang) are other forms of expression laden with religious connotations. The Trance Dance, for example, is performed when a village is suffering, say from an epidemic or bad harvest. The dance is intended to appease the gods and goddesses, with the hope that they will bless the village. Other dances also manifest the great complexity of Balinese daily lives which are never detached from their religious beliefs. Throughout the year, you can regularly find scheduled dance performances, especially the Balih-balihan or entertainment dances.

DANCES
Along with the Hindu religion, the Indian influence in Balinese dances is also significant. Balinese strong identity adapts these various influences with indigineous religion of animism and folklore traditions, creating an expression distinctively flavored by Balinese ethnicity.

Much like the training of gamelan orchestra players, dance training begins when one is still very young. The teacher will stand in front of the children and start dancing. The children will follow her every movement. Once the teacher feels that a child understands the basic sequence, she will stand behind the child, and direct the child by holding her wrists. Practicing with a gamelan orchestra will only happen when the dance is considered to have entered the student. The dancer must learn to fully express the character that she is dancing for; self expression is not a known concept.

Based on their religious functions, Balinese dances can be categorized into three:
  A. Wali (sacred) Dances
  B. Bebali Dances
  C. Bali-Balihan Dances


A. Wali (Secred) Dances
These dances are considered sacred, and must be performed in the inner court of the temple.
Rejang
Danced by females, Rejang dance is a procession of those who have just barely learned to walk to those who can barely walk, moving in a slow and stately fashion towards the altar, twirling fans or lifting their sashes. Their costumes range from a very simple attire to an elaborate dress complete with headdress as you would likely find in Tenganan.

Pendet
This dance is usually performed by married women, moving in very dignified and elegant way to carry and present offerings to the gods and the goddesses.

Sanghyang Dedari (Trance Dance)
This dance is normally performed to entertain the gods and the goddesses to appease them or to ask for their blessings. A bad harvest or an outburst of an illness may warrant such a dance. The preparation for this dance may take months, as prepubescent girls who have never danced are trained to relax their mind to be able to get into a trance state. Day after day they visit the priest at the local temple to receive their lessons. When the priest concludes that they are ready, and the time is right, the dance will be performed in the court of the temple. Dressed in elaborate attire and immersed in the smoke of burning incense, the two young girls slowly dance as the accompanying chant of the village women gradually relax them to get into trance. The gods and the goddesses will enter their bodies as they enter trance, and they will dance with movements that they have not mastered in their normal state. They may act and sound like a horse or a monkey; at times, they end up dancing while balancing their back on a piece of bamboo supported by two men on both ends. When they collapse, the village women will chant to ask the gods and the goddesses to peacefully leave the bodies of the young girls. If they refuse, dancing will continue until they agree, at which point the girls will simply collapse.

Sanghyang Jaran Dance
Sanghyang Jaran dance is performed by a man dancer who tramples on flaming coals riding a hobby horse made out of palm leaves. The red hot coals are scattered, and the dancer trances like a horse, snorting and neighing, seemingly unscathed by his torment.

The dance is believed to have the power to invite the gods or sacred spirits to enter the body of the dancers and put them in a state of trance. It dates back to the ancient Pre-Hindu culture, a time when Balinese people strongly believed that a dance could cure sickness and disease. Sanghyang Jaran dance is usually performed in the fifth or sixth month of Balinese calendar as it is believed that during these months, Balinese people are vulnerable to all kinds of illnesses.

Baris Dance
The word Baris means line, in the sense of a line of soldiers, and refers to the warriors who fought for the kings of Bali. Baris dance is a solo warrior dance which originally was a religious ritual dance, the dedication of warriors and their weapons during a temple feast.

The dancer must go through hard training to obtain the skill and flexibility that symbolizes the courteous style of the dance. The dancer must convey the characteristics of a warrior such as fierceness, pride, alertness, compassion, and regret. Baris dance is accompanied by a gamelan orchestra, and the gamelan must be entirely in tune to the changing moods of the warrior's will.

Barong Dance
Barong is probably the most well known dance. It is also another story telling dance, narrating the fight between good and evil. This dance is the classic example of Balinese way of acting out mythology, resulting in myth and history being blended into one reality.

The story is about Rangda, the mother of Erlangga, the King of Bali in the 10th century, who was condemned by Erlangga's father because she practiced black magic. After she became a widow, she summoned all the evil spirits in the jungle, the leaks and the demons, to come after Erlangga. A fight occurred, but she and her black magic troops were too strong that Erlangga had to ask for the help of Barong, the magical protector of Balinese villages. Barong came with Erlangga's soldiers, and fight ensued. Rangda casted a spell that made Erlangga soldiers all wanted to kill themselves, pointing their poisoned keris into their own stomachs and chests. Barong casted a spell that turned their body resistant to the sharp keris. At the end, Barong won, and Rangda ran away.

The masks of Barong and Rangda are considered sacred items. Before they are brought out, a priest must be present to offer blessings by sprinkling them with holy water taken from Mount Agung, and offerrings must be presented.

The are several versions of the Barong Dance during Galungan Kuningan festivals. There are Barong Ket, Barong Asu (Dog Barong), Barong Macan (Tiger Barong), Barong Gajah (Elephant Barong), Barong Bangkal (Pig Barong) - wanders from door to door to cleanse the territory of evil influences.

Barong Landung
Barong Landung is different from other Barong dances in Bali. In Barong Landung, the two dancers do not take the figure of animals, but of the two giant puppets, a male and a female. (Landung means tall).

The male giant barong is called Jero Gede (big person) and the female giant barong is called Jero Luh (female person). Each barong is played by a man. Jero Gede has a frightening black face, while Jero Luh has a comical white or yellow face. Together they perform a comic, opera sung in Balinese, with a story usually taken from history.

Barong Landung is derived from the folktale. On Nusa Penida Island, once lived an incestuous giant demon, Jero Gede Mecaling. One day, he went to Bali Island, followed by a horde of devils. He landed in South Bali in the form of a barong and waited there while the devils went inland to destroy. The people frightened and consulted a priest who told them to create another barong like Jero Gede Mecaling to scare away the demon. The people then made a big barong and succeeded in frightening the giant demon back to Nusa Penida. Since then, the barong has been used to exorcise illness and evil spirits.

Barong Landung is usually performed on Galungan days, around Denpasar and Serangan Island. In Southern Bali, Barong Landung is accompanied by smaller puppets which play the roles of prince and princess.

Calon Arang Dance
Calon Arang Dance refers to the struggle between Rangda (Calon Arang) and the great king Airlangga. Calon Arang was a widow of Girah who gave birth to a daughter in the jungle. Her daughter grew up to be the famed beauty Ratna Menggali. Calon Arang wanted her daughter to marry a prince from Airlangga's palace. However, no prince came along. Infuriated by this, Calon Arang learned the art of black magic and practiced it against the kingdom, causing many people to die.

When the king Airlangga heard of the epidemic in Girah, he consulted his high priest, Mpu Bharadah. The priest then sent his son to propose Ratna Menggali. Calon Arang was pleased, the curse ended, and the couple wed.

Calon Arang inscribed her black magic secret on a lontar (palmleaf book). One day, her son-in-law found it and gave it to his father. When Calon Arang found out that Mpu Bharadah had learned her secrets, she was furious and declared war upon him. The priest had no choice but to fight and, in a deadly struggle, destroyed the widow by casting a spell. Before she died, Calon Arang asked forgiveness. Mpu Bharadah forgave her and showed her the way to heaven.

Before Calon Arang Dance is performed by midnight, the audiences are gathered, listening to the Calon Arang music, played by a full legong orchestra amplified with large bamboo flutes. Offerings are made earlier and consultations are held so as not to offend Rangda (Calon Arang) and to determine whether it is safe to perform the dance which begins after midnight and lasts until dawn.

B. Bebali Dances
These dances are ceremonial, and usually performed in the middle court of a temple. In the spectrum of sacred and secular, these dances fall in the middle.
Gambuh
Gambuh is a danced drama. It tells the courtly story of a Javanese prince in his quest for a beautiful princess.

Legong Kraton
In legends, Legong is the heavenly dance of divine nymphs. Of all classical Balinese dances, it remains the quintessence of femininity and grace. The most popular Legong dance is Legong Kraton (Legong of the Palace). Formerly, the dance was patronized by local kings and held in a residence of the royal family. Dancers were recruited from the aptest and prettiest children. Today, the Legong dancers are still very young.

The dance is performed by three dancers: a female attendant of the palace and two identically dressed legongs who act the roles of royal persons. The story derives from the history of East Java in the 12th and 13th centuries. A king finds the maiden Rangkesari lost in the forest. He takes her home and locks her in a house of stone. Rangkesari's brother, the Prince of Daha, threatens war unless she is set free.

Rangkesari begs her captor to avoid war by giving her liberty, but the king prefers to fight. On his way to battle, he encounters a bird of ill omen that predicts his death. In the fight that ensues he is killed. The dance dramatizes the farewells of the King as he departs for the battlefield and his ominous encounter with the bird.

The dancers flow from one identity into the next without disrupting the harmony of the dance. They may act as the double image of one character and their movements marked by tight synchronization. Then they may split, each enacting a separate role, and come together again. In a love scene in which they rub noses, the King takes leave of Rangkesari. She repels his advances by beating him with her fan, and he departs in anger, soon to perish on the battlefield.

Mendet Dance
Mendet dance is a sacred processional dance which is performed in the inner sanctums of the temple by the married women of the village, though in some cases young women and girls join in as well.

The women carry offerings of arak (traditional liquor) and holy water to offer up to the Gods on their divine journey home. A procession is formed and the women weave around the temple grounds in stylized patterns to the gong music, stopping in front of each shrine to offer up their offerings.

C. Balih-balihan Dances
These dances are often considered secular and entertaining. They are performed in the outer court or even outside the temple.
Janger
Janger is performed by young girls. Peacock crown shaped headwear made from intricately woven gold-colored, dried coconut leaves rests gallantly on their heads. The girls are open shouldered, dressed in a piece of cloth wrapped around the chest, and a batik wrap on the waist down. Most of the dances are performed sitting down, with highly coordinated hand, shoulder, and eye movements.

Kebyar
Kebyar is usually danced by two women with beautiful, long, shiny black hair, accentuated at the top by a band of cempaka blossoms. Fans on one hand, they move dramatically. Feet are strongly grounded, and hands and feet move abruptly.

Legong
The dance of legong tells a story. It is the most feminine dance. It is usually danced by two females before they reach puberty (in fact, they must retire by the time they reach puberty).

Kecak
Kecak is a spectacular dance usually performed at night, surrounding a bonfire. The westerners called this dance The Monkey Dance, for the movements may remind us of monkey's movements. There can literally be one hundred or more bare chested men, sitting down on the ground surrounding the bonfire, led by a priest in the middle. The only music to accompany them are the beats of their palms hitting their chests, their thighs, or other parts of their bodies, or their claps, rhythmically accompanied by shouting and chanting.
The dancers move in unison, creating a spectacular choreographic performance. Either hands stretched out, pulled in, rested on the shoulder of the next person, or waists gyrated left and right, etc.


DRAMA (Music & Theaters)

Arja Dance
The dialogue of the Arja consists of songs, so this dance-drama is the Balinese dance-opera. Arja is a very popular performance in Bali. In the past, it used to be performed by men only, although the main character is the princess. Nowadays, Arja dance-opera is performed by women, except the clowns who are played by men.

Arja dance-drama developed around 1880 and its tragic themes basically are derived from the classical romances of the kingdoms of East Java-Kediri, Singasari and Majapahit. Although Arja dance-drama is a favorite among the villagers, it is difficult to follow for those who cannot understand the clowns' translations.

Arja dance-opera is filled with sentimentality and melodrama. Like so many great love stories, there is always some tragic issue at stake between two lovers such as their families prohibit the marriage, a jealous rival makes war on the hero, the princess is captured, the hero falls in love with another woman while under a magic spell. There are always long scenes of painful misery. After endless episodes of intrigue and misfortune, the lovers are at last reunited.

Wayang (Shadow Puppet Show)
The wayang (shadow puppet) show is perhaps the most famous Balinese theater. The wayang show is the door to BaliÕs unique world of myths, symbols and religious beliefs. The dalang (puppet master) tells the story by projecting on a white screen, the shadows of the puppets he manipulates in front of a big oil lamp. He plays several characters at once, singing and hitting his puppet box to mark the rhythm.

The dalang takes his narrative from the great epics of the Mahabharata, Ramayana, and other stories. He then creates his own episodes, usually about a heroÕs quest for a magical weapon, a godly secret, or a mate. The hero, accompanied by buffoons, eventually succeeds after long adventures in the wilderness and fighting against evil giants. There are two sets of puppets, those of the right for the heroes, and those of the left for the villains, symbolize the internal fight of good and evil.

Drama Gong
This popular dance-drama was created in the late 1960s. In Drama Gong, acting is the most important part while music and dance are downplayed. This dance-drama is the occasion for the Balinese people to socialize, therefore, Drama Gong has become more popular than Arja Dance.