Dance and Music

Pesta Kesenian Bali, organized by the government of the province, started in 1979 and has taken place each year. The last event, that just finished in early July, charmed thousands of visitors on each day and caused a successful amount of traffic. Apart from performances by the groups of artist from the island, participation from

The charm of Balinese traditional dance has captured the eyes and hearts of so many visitors to the island. There are an assortment of dances and music from Bali that are performed on stage regularly in several areas in the island, such as in Ubud, Batu Bulan, Uluwatu, Tanah Lot and other tourism destinations. However,

Tradition, culture, ancestors’ spirits and a strong belief in a supreme God are elements that are respected in various forms through the practices of the Balinese Hindu. Those elements cannot be detached from each other as they complete each other, and the Balinese consistently acknowledge the importance of those elements in their life as well

The island is host to countless dance performances; some are performed as a tourist attractions while others remain sacred and can only be performed in a temple or during a holy ceremony. rejang The Rejang dance can only be performed during a particular holy ceremony, such as Betara Turun Kabeh, an annual ceremony at the

Among the many Barong Dance performances on the island, the Barong and Keris Dance of Batubulan remains unique due to its focus on the Kunti Seraya story, a play that has been performed since the 30’s. An interesting documentation of this play was once written by Walter Spies in his book Dance and Drama In

It looks far from beautiful; a mask displaying an old mans face with bucked teeh. Not every mask dancer is worthy of wearing this mask to dance though. It’s not down to the dancing skills, but more about the sacredness and the soul of the mask dance itself. That particular mask dance is called Topeng

Leather puppet shows, locally called Wayang Kulit, are one of the ancient art performances of Bali. The puppet show is not merely a performance but also a media to spread religious teachings, positive moral value and important information about social and even environmental problems. During Bali’s early years, puppet shows used to be performed only

Watching a Topeng Dance (mask dance performance) we might think that the dance is far less complicated than other dances of Bali. But, actually to perform a mask dance, a dancer should go through a long and tough learning process. Not only to master a numbers of dance skills, but also to immerse themselves into

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

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

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,