Here is an interesting excerpt on legong dance and its survival which is taken from a thesis entitled “The role of Westerners in the conservation of the Legong dance” by Stephen Davies.

The Legong dance achieved its modern form in the 1920s and 30s. Yet it was under threat from the outset. A new type of orchestra, gong kebyar, was invented in the north about 1918. It became increasingly popular and soon spread to other parts of the island. It did so at the expense of the pelegongan or semar pegulingan orchestras that accompanied the Legong dance. By the mid-1930s, many of these older orchestras were melted down and recast as gong kebyars (Seebass 1966). Even as late as 1966, the famous pelegongan orchestra of Binoh was threatened with the same fate (Dr. Wayan Sinti, pers. comm.). In the early 1990s, only a “handful” (Tenzer 1991) of pelegongan or semar pegulingan orchestras survived. And while the Legong dance can be and usually now is accompanied by gong kebyar, that orchestra’s weightier tone and different tuning are universally deemed unsuited to the dance.

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Here is an interesting excerpt on legond dance and its recent history which is taken from a thesis entitled “Balinese Legong:Revival or Decline?” by Stephen Davies.

Legong is a genre of Balinese dance accompanied by gamelan. Traditionally, the dancers are three young girls: the servant (condong) who dances a prelude, and two legong, identically costumed in gilded cloth and wearing elaborate headdresses and accessories.

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When the gong kebyar composition first appeared in Northern Bali with the avant-garde villages such as Bungkulan, Jagaraga and villages at its vicinity in 1915, No one ever dreamed that this genre of Balinese gamelan become the most favorite kind gamelan to be played by women. As a matter of fact at that time no one would ever dreamed that Balinese women have any chance to play gamelan.

In the past, gamelan is a privilege for men and the involvement of women in the realm of art was restricted in dance and drama performance area. However, in the last three decades, it is important to note that there has been a significant democratization process within the Balinese art world. Women begun to be given wider chance to participate in every genre of Balinese traditional art; and nowadays the once male-dominated art world has been transformed into free for all art domain.

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Early in 20^th century many new forms of dance and drama were introduced as a result of the introduction of modern elements to Balinese dance and drama. Among the successful new forms of dance and drama, Prembon is considered to be sum of all dance-drama of Bali. This new form of drama is a combination of previously separate dance and drama genres, a hybrid and composite form of Balinese dance and drama.

Prembon dance drama. Photo courtesy http://www.gsj.org/

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Drama Gong is still the most popular theatrical performance in Bali. For the last four decades, it enjoys a great popularity all over the island. Since early days of its development, Drama Gong has attracted enormous number of audience because of its simplicity in language and story and of the generous sprinkle of jokes and humors.

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In the 1960s, a famous dancer and actor, Anak Agung Raka Payadnya from the village of Abianbase, Gianyar, initiated a new form of theatrical performance created by blending several pre-existing theatrical performances such as sendratari, modern theater, and arja accompanied by the gong kebyar orchestra with its dynamic and energetic rhythm. This new form of theatrical performance was named Drama Gong by the Director Kokar (Karawitan Konservatorium), I Gusti Bagus Nyoman Panji.

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WORCESTER, Mass. The Holy Cross departments of theatre and music presents their famed Balinese gamelan orchestra, Gamelan Gita Sari, under the directorship of visiting fellow in Balinese performing arts, I Wayan Dibia, in concert on Dec. 1 at 8 p.m. in the Brooks Concert Hall. These semi-annual concerts, free and open to the public, are routinely standing room only and provide for a thrilling evening of Balinese music and dance. This performance will include several short pieces and a longer piece, Sunda Upasunda, a dramatic tale of two brothers whose love for the same mysterious woman leads to their destruction.

Gamelan Gita Sari was founded in 1999. Gita Sari translates as the essence of song. The company is composed entirely of students and faculty from the College. The group performs on its Gong Kebyar gamelan, built for Holy Cross in 1998 by master Balinese craftsman Pande Made Sukerta. Following a blessing ceremony in Mengwitani, the gamelan was shipped to Massachusetts, where a second ceremony was conducted in July 1999. This coincided with Holy Cross being awarded a Henry Luce Foundation Grant to fund a Balinese scholar-artist-in-residence for four years.

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