The arts of Bali
The arts of Bali are expressions of their deepest beliefs. Art for the Balinese is a from of worship, and most Balinese are skilled craftsmen or performers. Their performing arts are always sacred in felling and at once graceful and dynamic to look at. Dances can be grouped into three main categories : The temple dances, dances reserved for religious ceremonies and those that are performed for entertainment.The main dances forms are ; kecak dances, which illustrates the story Rama and Sinta taken from the Ramayana epic against a background of about 150 chanting people. The Barong-Kris dance is more drama than dance with the key characters, a mythical lion-like creature, the Barong, and the evil with, Rangda. Toward the end of performance, young men get into a trance, and stab themselves with krises.
The trance dances, sanghyang dedari, perfomed by two girls in trance yet moving in perfect unison, and the sanghyang jaran, where boy dances on the bed of flaming coals. Legong dances is considered to be he most complex and graceful of dances, performed by young girls at the most 13 years of age and who began training since they were five years old.
Ubud is the center of Balinese painting and is popular as an artists’ village. Its newest attraction is an Elephant park which is also a conservation center for the Sumatran giants. Located between Ubud and Mas, Peliatan is known as the center of traditional music and dances. Mas is the village of wood-carvers, where many of Bali’s old masters still live. Batuan is known for its dancing, wood panel carvings and paintings. Northeast of Denpasar, the village of celuk is noted for its gold and silverworks of jewelry made using age-old techniques.
Those in search of batik, clothing or material should not miss Gianyar which has at least 40 textile factories.
