Performance in Bali


Book Description

Unique in its examination of the techniques used in the training of performers, the book suggests how some of these techniques might be applied to Western training in drama and dance.




Balinese Dance, Drama & Music


Book Description

Discover the richness and beauty of Bali's many performing art forms. This book is a lavishly illustrated introduction to the most popular forms of traditional performing arts in Bali--among the most intricate and spectacular musical and theatrical performances found anywhere. Ideal reading for visitors to the island, as well as anyone interested in Balinese culture, this book presents the history and form of each performance--with 250 watercolor illustrations and full-color photos to aid in identification. Introductory sections discuss how the performing arts are learned in Bali and the basic religious and cultural tenets expressed through the arts. Subsequent chapters describe each form, including Gamelan Gong Keybar, Gambuh, Legong Keraton, Baris, Wayang Kulit and many more! Chapters include: What is Gamelan? Women in Non-Traditional Roles The Stories in Balinese Theatre Sacred and Ceremonial Dances And many more! Expert authors I Wayan Dibya and Rucina Ballinger discuss how the performing arts in Bali are passed from one generation to the next and the traditional values these performances convey, as well as their place within religious celebrations and how and when the performances are staged. In addition to including a bibliography and discography, the book is enhanced with over 200 stunning photographs and specially-commissioned watercolor illustrations from artist Barbara Anello.




Bali: Art, Ritual, Performance


Book Description

Featuring hundreds of full-color photographs, paintings, figurines, crafts, and furniture Bali: Art, Ritual, Performance is an exploration of the very best Balinese culture has to offer. For nearly a century, mention of Bali has evoked images of a tropical paradise. But it is not only the beauty of the island that has attracted artists, dancers, celebrities and scholars. Bali is also famed for its vibrant performance and ritual arts traditions. Although the island is so small it can be circled in a day, it is home to more than 20,000 temples, and each of these produces annual festivals. Where ritual is such a part of daily life, one cannot draw clear lines between the secular and the religious arts. Bali: Art, Ritual, Performance presents a holistic view of the ways that art, ritual, and performance interrelate within the seamless fabric of Balinese life.




The Kecak and Cultural Tourism on Bali


Book Description

"The Kecak is one of the most well-known dramatic dance performance practices on Bali. It is based on stories from the Old-Indian epic Ramayana, performed by an ensemble of male and female solo dancers and accompanied by a group consisting of approximately 100 men, who function both as musical accompaniment and living scenery that can be flexibly choreographed. Since its genesis in the 1930s the Kecak has been almost solely performed in a tourist context. This book gives a thorough analysis and description of the Kecak in its present form and explores how the Kecak became and stayed a tourist genre for more than 80 years. The book is divided into two parts. The first part focuses on the Kecak in its present form, including musical, choreographic, and dramatic elements. The connection between cultural tourism on Bali and Kecak performance practice is analyzed in detail, including the dependency between tourism professionals and artists and ways of promoting the kecak. Tourists' perspectives on the Kecak are addressed separately. The second part deals with the genesis and development of the Kecak from the 1930s onward"--




Performance in Java and Bali


Book Description

The studies in this book examine traditional performance genres in the Indonesian islands of Java and Bali. They cover puppet and human theatre, dance, sung narrative, narrative temple reliefs, and vocal and instrumental music, span a period of more than a thousand years, and range over four cultural complexes: Sundanese in western Java, Javanese in central and eastern Java, Chinese in eastern Java, and Balinese in Bali.




Performance in Java and Bali


Book Description

The studies in this book examine traditional performance genres in the Indonesian islands of Java and Bali. They cover puppet and human theatre, dance, sung narrative, narrative temple reliefs, and vocal and instrumental music, span a period of more than a thousand years, and range over four cultural complexes: Sundanese in western Java, Javanese in central and eastern Java, Chinese in eastern Java, and Balinese in Bali.




Balinese Music


Book Description

This book presents an introduction to more than a dozen different types of Balinese gamelan, each with its own established tradition, repertoire and social or religious context. The instruments and basic principles underlying the gamelan are introduced, thus providing listeners with the means to better appreciate the music. Scores of beautiful color photographs, a discography, and a brief guide to studying and hearing the music in Bali, will prove indispensible to visitors and gamelan afficionados around the world.




Performing Contemporary Indonesia


Book Description

Performance events have long had a central place in Indonesian societies in displaying power, affirming social relations, celebrating shared values, and at times conveying potent political critique. How have they responded to the momentous social and political changes of recent years - the dismantling of the centralised, authoritarian Suharto regime and its replacement with a more open, regionally-focused political system, the rapid expansion of global cultural influence? Investigations of diverse performance genres from different regions illustrate the way general socio-political processes play out locally, and how particular groups are responding. Exploring performed understandings of identity and community, such studies expand knowledge of a complex, contested period of change in Indonesia and the workings of contemporary performance in giving it expression. With contributions by Chua Beng Huat, Alexandra Crosby, Barbara Hatley, Ariel Heryanto, Brett Hough, Rachmah Ida, Reza Idria, Edwin Jurriens, Yoshi Fajar Kresno Murti, Neneng Yanti K Lahpan, Ugoran Prasad, Wawan Sofwan, Aline Scott-Maxwell, Fridus Steijlen, Alia Swastika, Denise Varney.




Performance in Java and Bali


Book Description

The studies in this book examine traditional performance genres in the Indonesian islands of Java and Bali. They cover puppet and human theatre, dance, sung narrative, narrative temple reliefs, and vocal and instrumental music, span a period of more than a thousand years, and range over four cultural complexes: Sundanese in western Java, Javanese in central and eastern Java, Chinese in eastern Java, and Balinese in Bali.




Voices in Bali


Book Description

A scholar and trained performer of Balinese vocal music and dance, ethnomusicologist Edward Herbst brings unique talents to bear in this provocative book. The lessons of his Balinese masters enable him to offer fresh insight to this culture's aesthetics and cultural elements. Appropriating John Cage's effective style of "mixing theory, anecdote, context, philosophy, and humor," Herbst crafts an accessible body of work, compelling in substance and form. By merging the "Balinese concept of place-time-context with Cage's concepts of structure, method, and form, [Herbst] returns to the critical issue of what scholars and intercultural artists are doing, and 'what' is their 'object' under study." Undergraduates and scholars in fields as varied as theater studies and anthropology will find this book and companion CD (in print editions) an important resource not only for its knowledgeable treatment of Balinese culture, but as an example of a more personal and engaging style of scholarly discourse. The ebook edition includes embedded audio.