Music, dance and drama are well practiced in Bali and often connected with each other. In dance, as story is been told with movements, music and expressions. Often, the dancers are not specialist, but practice for hours in their spare time and started when they were kids.

Balinese dance is very different from western dance. The movements are precise, shifting and jumpy and are led by gamelan music, which is a strange mix of sound and silence and the rhythm is often hard to find. The dancers are often dancing individually and there’s hardly any physical contact between them. Expressions are brought by well practiced facial movements and the positions of the wrist, hand and fingers.

Kecak
Kecak is probably the most famous of all dances and is a great fun to watch and especially, listen to (see image above). With this dance, the music is made by ’singing’ men, each making a different tone and sound. The most heard singing is the ‘chack-a-chack-a-chak’ noise, in variations of speed. The choir sits often in a circle on the ground and are making movements with their arms in the air. They are bare-chested and are wearing a black and white sarong around their waist.

The modern Kecak was developed in the 1930’s in Bona, nearby Gianyar. Before it was a part of a trance dance. The story is about a Prince named Rama. His wife Sita was kidnapped by a King of Lanka named Rawana. Rama and the king of monkeys, Sugriwa, are heading for Lanka to rescue Sita together with an army of monkeys.

Kecak can be seen in Denpasar and Uluwatu. The Kecak in Uluwatu is quite spectacular because it’s right at the cliff with the sunset at the background. But watch out for the cheeky monkeys over there.

Barong & Rangda
The Barong Keket is a mythological creature and Rangda is his enemy. This strange Barong figure is presented as some sort of lion and is played by two people. The Barong is a playfull Lion , a little bit like a clown and is supported by some men with krises. When the Rangda comes, a scary woman with great magical powers. the duel begins. The Barong is now the protector of the place. The men with krises will try to help the Barong, but the Rangda will put them into trance. This part can be dangerous for the dancers, they will be rolling around with their krises, trying to not stab themselves, but they’re almost forced to. After all the strugle, the good always wins from the bad, so the Barong and his support win and the trance is over.

above: the Lion Barong Keket

Legong
The Legong dance is the most graceful of all dances. This dances comes in  many variations, but the Legong Kraton (or Legong of the palace) is the most common. The dance involves just three female dancers; two identical Legongs and one attendant (the Condong). The Legongs are often dressed in gold fabrics and the make up is very colorful and extreme.

The dance is only a small part of a bigger story; A King captures a maiden and the brother of the maiden demands the king to set her free. The king refuses and goes into a war. On his way to the battle, a bird comes to bring ill omens. At the end of this story, the King will be murdered by the brother of the maiden. In the Legong dance, you will only see the Legongs dancing, relating to the sad departure of the king and the request of the maid’s brother. At the end, the Condong will come, with golden wings, just like the bird of ill fortune.