The classical legong is first mentioned in the lontar (palm leave manuscript), which deals with King Dewa Agung Jambe from Gel-Gel. This King has three sons, the first was named Sri Aji Wirya Sirikan, who lived in the palace at Klungkung; the second son was Sri Aji Madya Wirya, who lived in the palace of Sukawati in the House of Grogak. The third son Sri Urujawirya lived at Gel-Gel.

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The lontar tells further that Sri Aji Madya Wirya had three sons. The first was Cokorda Jambe, who lived in the Palace at Guang near Sukawati, the second was Cokorda Made Karna and the third son, who lived at Sukawati, was called Cokorda Gde Agung.

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A thousand spectators crowded the Esplanade Theater Singapore to witness the performance of a new contemporary dance, that produced by fusion of sacred Bedaya Ketawang dance, and mystical Legong Calonarang. The calm and meditative moves of Bedaya Ketawang were sweetly combined with dynamic and energetic movements of Legong Calonarang producing an excellent fusion that mesmerized thousand of audiences.

This contemporary dance was a depiction of a never-ending struggle between virtue and evil. The Legong Calonarang dancers led by Bulantrisna Jelantik played the antagonist role. The energetic movements of Legong Calonarang created a perfect picture of a wicked witch and her disciples who spread death and destruction in an ancient kingdom. The Bedaya Ketawang dancers led by Retno Maruti with their elegant and calm movements brought an image of saintly priest and his followers, the protagonist of the story.

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The sleepy fishing village of Sanur was developed as Bali’s first resort to accommodate the needs to international travelers. But long before the arrival of tourists, this enchanting beach front destination was home to renowned Belgian artist, Adrien Jean Le Mayeur de Merpres. His home
is now a museum and stands as an interesting site of historical significance located on the Sanur beach walkway just 30-meters north of the famous Bali Beach Hotel.

http://www.tropicalisland.de

Born in 1880, Le Mayeur was the youngest son of a noble Belgian family. As an adult he was passionate about travel and spent time exploring various countries before arriving on Bali’s shores in 1932. Spellbound by the sights and sounds of the island, he journeyed south to Denpasar
where he rented a small house and chose to live within a Balinese community, much to the displeasure to the ruling Dutch authorities.

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The Sanghyang dance is included in trance dance genre. This dance is believed to have the power to invite the gods or sacred spirits to enter the body of the dancers and put them in a state of trance. It dates back to the ancient Pre-Hindu culture, a time when the Balinese people strongly believed that by the help of Holy Spirit through a medium of dancer sickness and disease could be eliminated. The is dance is usually performed in the fifth or sixth month of the Balinese traditional calendar as it is believe that during these particular months, the Balinese are vulnerable to all kinds of illnesses, or in the time of plague, failed crops or disaster.

There are 6 kinds of sanghyang dance widely known by the people: Sangyang Dedari, Sanghyang Deling, Sanghyang Jaran, Sanghyang Bojog, Sanghyang Celeng and Sanghyang Grobogan.

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Between 1926 and 1958, the island of Bali was featured in several movies shot by Dutch, German and American film-makers. From early images of the “Island of the Gods” through to images of the “Island of Demons”, these films document the changing nature of Bali’s image. The 1952 movie The Road to Bali starring Bob Hope and Bing Crosby, is the ultimate amalgam of images of Southeast Asia and the Pacific. Under the guise of humour the movie managed to include cannibals, wild animals and a giant squid, as well as Humphrey Bogart and Katharine Hepburn pulling The African Queen. The ‘Bali Hai’ of South Pacific (1958) had nothing directly to do with Bali, but everything to do with Bali’s image. The island shown as Bali Hai was not in the right ocean, but the name and the soothing sea-breeze-like notes of the hit song were thought to be sufficiently close to something resembling “Bali”. Hollywood made Bali the paradise of paradises by combining all the ideals of the South Seas into one.

In the last ten years this island has been written about, filmed, photographed, and gushed over to an extent which would justify nausea. I went there half-unwillingly, for I expected a complete “bali-hoo”, picturesque and faked to a Hollywood standard; I left there wholly unwillingly, convinced that I had seen the nearest approach to Utopia that I am ever to see. (Geoffrey Gorer, Bali and Angkor. Or Looking at Life and Death, 1936: 42-43)

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On Sunday night at 8 pm, I was privy to see one of the most amazing dance performances ever in Bali. Spearheaded by Didik Nini Thowok, a former student of Gung Raka Saba (one of the greatest Legong teachers last century) in conjunction with Anak Agung Rai Saba, Ace Robin and Nunik Anurningsih supported by Maharani Records, four major legong dances were performed.

It began with Condong, followed by Bapang (performed by Didik and Dewi, a Senior teacher as well), Lasem Lengkap, Chandra Kanta and Semara Dhana. The dancers were, I assume, all from Saba (now, watch I¹ll be told they were all from ISI!). Aside from being in Legong heaven, the Pelegongan gamelan was sweet and superb (all new I was told) with most of the musicians younger rather than older, which is a tribute to the regeneration efforts in Saba.

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