The first day of Classical Dance and Drama Performance (9/27/2007) was a kind of traveling back to the forgotten era of Balinese dance and drama performance. The performances which took place in Art Centre Denpasar, began at 7:30 PM, on an open stage, luckily no there was no rain pouring down.

The first performance that night was Leko dance from Jembrana regency. Leko is a type of social dance, may be a flirtation dance as a matter of fact, the ancestor of widely popular Joged Bumbung dance. In old days, Leko was a palace dance, designed for the entertainment of the king, nowadays it is a popular social dance that anybody can enjoy and participate. It is performed by a pairs of female dancers and usually involves the audience.

The Leko performance that night was surely an entertainment, a pair of beautiful dancers danced with the accompaniment of rindik (an ensemble in which the instruments are made of bamboo) orchestra.

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The history of establishment of wayang wong* began at about the beginning of 19^th century. At the time, the king of Klungkung, I Dewa Agung Sakti, ordered the establishment of dance group consisting of thirty six people, half which were to play the role of simian army of Rama, and the other half was act the role of Rahwana’s army giants. At the time of its establishment, the group members all wore masks which characterized their role as monkeys or as giant, in the performance. The clothing worn by the monkeys was made from plant fibres (prasok) to stimulate fur.

Wayang Wong performance on The Annual Bali Arts Festival 2006

This dance group depicted stories from the Ramayana dealing with the fight between the simian and giant armies. The performance was known as Barong Blasan or Barong Kedingkling. This Barong became very popular not only in the palace but also in the village especially when performed on the holiday. The performers in monkey masks and costume would enters the village and go from house to house, clowning and entertaining the people as they went, the villager donated some money, a coconut or other kitchen utensil. The simians would even climb the coconut trees and fetch the donation themselves. These performances were always greeted with great enthusiasm by the villagers for reason other than mere enjoyment and entertaining spectacle.

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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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The term Wayang Wong comes from the two words wayang meaning shadow and wong meaning man. Wayang Wong, which translates to shadow men, is a human dramatization of the Wayang Kulit (shadow puppet) show, wherein the dancers imitate the jerky movements of the puppets. Wayang Wong is one of several Balinese performance art forms which meld dance, drama and music. In Bali, there are two kinds of Wayang Wong, Wayang Wong Parwa which adapts stories from the Mahabharata for the stage, and Wayang Wong Ramayana, which takes stories from the Ramayana.

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Wayang Kulit is a very popular traditional art performance uses the shadow of leather puppets in its performance. The origin of wayang kulit can be traced back to the days of King Ugrasena in 896. As its name suggests wayang kulit is made of processed cow hide. Some wayang kulit characters especially the jesters (Sangut, Delem, Merdah and Tualen) are made from special cow hide (hide from cow that had been struck to death by lightning or unborn calf). This cow hide is made into puppets representing various characters. The differences among characters are produced by the differences in shape and in intricate carving that symbolize each character.

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Daily photo journal of Bali Arts Festival 2006

Day 25, Tuesday, 11 July 2006

Time: 10.00
Event: Wayang Wong by Pasraman Pradesa Bangli Regency
Venue: Kalangan Ayodya

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