Bali dances

In Bali, there is a dance for almost every occasion, but certainly for many celebrations and ceremonies. There are over 200 known dances on the island and pretty much every village has its own dance group. The dances can not only be an expression of pure joie de vivre, but also have a deeply religious meaning.

Especially in Ubud, the dances, always accompanied musically by the gamelan orchestra, are as much a part of daily life as rice is to Balinese food. Be sure to bring enough memory on your camera or mobile phone - you will come back from such a performance with many, many pictures.

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Two of the most popular and regularly performed dances are the Barong and the Legong.

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Barong - good versus evil

‍The Barong, which dates back to pre-Hindu times, is dramatic beyond measure. In seven acts, the eternal struggle of good against evil is shown. The mythical creature Barong, protector of mankind and similar in form to a lion, embodies the good, while the terrifying witch Rangda personifies the evil. The climax of the drama is reached when Barong summons his helpers, men armed with the kris, a dagger with magical power. Rangda, however, puts the fighters into such a trance with her art that they turn the daggers on themselves. In dire need, Barong manages to break the spell and the dancers slowly awaken from the spell unharmed. And so the battle ends as it must, according to Balinese belief: with a draw. Good and evil always remain inseparable in order to keep the world in balance.

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Legong - Dance of the Divine Nymphs

‍In stark contrast to the almost hypnotic barong is the wonderfully graceful and elegant Legong, a kind of classical Balinese ballet that first emerged in the 19th century at the island's princely courts and is performed by two or three girls in opulent brocade robes. They appear as the embodiment of celestial nymphs, swaying like mirror images in circled steps and then separating into their own forms to pantomime a 13th century legend. It is about the story of a king's unrequited love for a princess. Every pose, every movement and every blink of an eye is precisely prescribed and rehearsed. Because of the prescribed purity, the legong used to be allowed to be danced only by girls before puberty, who performed at the age of about eight to ten.

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Immerse yourself in this mysterious world! Many of these dance performances take place in Ubud, as well as in Batubulan, where the performers already dance in the morning in front of a magnificent backdrop.

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If you want to learn more about Balinese dance, there are also dance workshops, such as the Bali Culture Workshop