Kecak Dance : An unique dance from Bali

Tourist View - In Bali there is an unique dance played by men in the tens or more dancers, called Kecak Dance. The dancers sit in a circle, with a specific rhythm, they sound "cak" (in English you might say "chuck") and raising both hands. It's described as troops of the apes that help Rama's fight against Rahwana in the Ramayana stories. Rahwana is an evil giant who had ten heads. In that story Rahwana stole Shinta, Rama's wife. So there was a war when Rama retake her wife. Rama won the war because it is assisted by troops of the apes. I believe you know about this story even though just a little.

Kecak dance in Uluwatu temple, the famous one.

This dance is often called "the monkey dance" by the tourists, come from Sanghyang ritual. That's the tradition in which the dancer is unconscious because it communicated with the spirits of the ancestors. Indeed, Kecak Dance is very mystical. This dance is not accompanied by musical instruments, but only using kincringan (a string of small bells) on the feet of the dancers who wore a plaid cloth on their waist.

Kecak Dance is created in the 1930s by Wayan Limbak collaborated with a German painter, Walter Spies. They create it based on ancient Sanghyang tradition and take from other parts of the Ramayana stories. This dance became popular when Wayan Limbak and his Balinese dancers do a tour around the world to introduce it. Until now Kecak dance became one of the famous Balinese arts. Since 1970's Kecak dance in Bali has continued to experience changes and developments in terms of story and performances, not only based on the one part of the Ramayana but also on other parts of the story from the Ramayana.

Kecak dance festivals are often held in Bali, either by governments or by the art school. Number of dancers largest ever staged in the Kecak dance was recorded in 1979, which involved 500 dancers! At that staged, that dance took the story from Mahabharata, that illustrate a war between Kurawa and Pandawa. However, the record is broken by the Government of Tabanan regency, which organizes colossal Kecak dance to 5000 peoples on 29 September 2006, at Tanah Lot, Tabanan, Bali.

This dance is very mystical. Dancers who have been possessed can't be hurt by the keris (a kind of knife) because the dancers become immune to weapons. Because of its mystical, to organize this dance should be led by a priest.

Kecak dance can be found in many places in Bali, but that in Uluwatu is the most interesting to watch. Uluwatu Temple is a temple, which is rich in historical value and the value of mystic, that stood on the cliff with a height of about 30 meters in the middle of the Indian Ocean. Uluwatu is known as a good place to surf and spend time at the beach when sunset.

 

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