Birds are animals which inspired many choreographers to produced beautiful Balinese contemporary dances. Their energetic and sometimes elegant movements combined with their beautiful feathers are never-ending source of inspiration and imagination for Balinese choreographers to depict in a dance or two. Here are some well known dances which draw their inspiration from birds.

Manuk Rawa dance, from flickr.com/photos/ceklek/

Manuk Rawa
Manuk Rawa dance was the first contemporary dance which based on the movements of the bird to make a great impression on Balinese. Manuk Rawa was created by I wayan Dibia in 1981 as a part of Mahabharata Sendratari (Balinese dance-drama) entitled Bale Gala-gala (house of wax). The dance depicts the life of a flock of waterbirds (manuk rawa) who play freely and peacefully in a pond deep inside the forest. In this dance the traditional movements of Balinese dance is combined with a dance from West Java which depicts the movement of a peacock.

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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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