Bali Dance

Barong-Rangda (Kris Dance)
Good, in the shape of lion-like Barong is in conflict with evil, the witch Rangda, Rangda's evil spell turns the knives of the supporters of good on themselves, but benign magic saves the day.
Kecak Dance
No other dance is as unnerving as the amazing Kecak. Up to 150 men simulate the orchestration of the gamelan. The only sounds are the hypnotic 'chak-a-chak' sounds, evolved from a ritual trance ceremony. Accompanied by this bizarre music of human instruments, the storyteller usually relates and episode from the Ramayana saga.

Legong Dance
The most graceful and feminine of all Balinese dances, telling the story of a little bird warning the king not to go to war.

Panyembrahma Dance
This dance is performed by two beautiful girls. They hold silver bowls full of flower petals. At the end of the dance, they sprinkle the petals occasionally, paying homage to the audience.

Baris Dance
This old traditional dance symbolizes how the Balinese soldiers in the ancient time prepared themselves before going to the battle.

Cendrawasih Dance
This dance represents the freedom enjoyed by the beautiful wild birds of the forest. They fly and share their happiness in the water spring.

Oleg Tambulilingan
This modern dance (1952) represents two Bumblebees in a beautiful flower garden. One is female and the other male, falling in love and flying merrily from one flower to another.

Frog Dance
This play is based on the story of a frog (Prince) who falls in love with a beautiful Princess. Long time ago in the Kingdom of Kahuripan there lived a Prince by the name of Jenggala. The Prince was very fond of catching dragon flies especially near Mount Kelud. One day without realizing, the Prince disappears into the thick rain forest in the mountains while trying to catch a very beautiful dragon fly. The Prince was never to be seen after that and was believed that he was transformed into a big frog. One day, the beautiful Princess of Daha was passing through the forest and was spotted by the Prince who fell in love with her immediately. The Prince proposed to marry her but the Princess would only do so if he would change himself back into the form of a human being. He then went into asceticism and with the grace of God Wisnu, he become a handsome young man again resembling the lost Prince of Jenggala. Finally they were married and lived happily thereafter in the Kingdom of Kahuripan, the new name of Jenggala.

Barong Buntut And Monkey Dance
This play is based on the story of good friendship between a Barong (good) and two monkeys. Deep in the rain forest the Barong and the monkeys were playing happily to the sounds of the insects and birds. After a while, the Barong decides to leave the monkeys and wonders of into the jungle to look for food. All of a sudden, a big Giant (evil) appears from nowhere and destroys everything in its way to get closer to the monkeys and starts to attack them. The monkeys put up a fight but the giant is too powerful for them to handle. The monkeys shout for a help and the Barong comes to their aid. A fight between the Barong and the Giant takes place and it goes on for a long time where the Barong defeats the Giant. The rain forest becomes calm and peaceful again.

Sanghyang Trance Dance
The Sanghyang Dedari is performance by two girls, and is very similar in style to the Legong; the main difference ence is that the girls are supposedly untrained and can keep in perfect time with each other, even though their eyes are firmly shut. In the Sanghyang Jaran, a boy dances around and through a fire, riding a coconut palm hobbyhorse. This is frequently called the "Fire Dance". In both dances, a priest is always on hand to help bring the dancers out of their trance-state at the end of the performance.