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Books in Hamilton Library
Balinese Dance, Drama and Music by I. Wayan Dibia; Rucina Ballinger; Barbara Anello (Illustrator)
Lavishly illustrated, this book introduces the most commonly seen traditional performing arts in Bali. the gamelan music, dance, drama and puppetry covered here are sure to mesmerize Western readers. Ideal reading for visitors to the island as well as for anyone interested in Balinese culture, the book fully explains the history and function of each performance genre. the book is enhanced with a bibliography, a discography, and over 150 specially prepared watercolors of Balinese performers and performances.
Bali by Natasha Reichle
Featuring hundreds of full-color photographs, paintings, figurines, crafts, and furnitureBali: 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.
Dances of Bali by Kartika D. Suardana
In English
Journal Articles
Tradition and Transformation in the Pelegongan Dance Repertoire
Authors: Azmi, Azti Nezia Suriyanti
Source: Asian Theatre Journal. Fall2008, Vol. 25 Issue 2, p329-343. 15p. 2 Black and White
Abstract:
The pelegongan dance repertoire in Bali remains one of the most performed and rigorously taught forms in Balinese dance. What elements define this form and what degrees of variation within these elements, in turn, are allowable? In other words, what makes a legong dance a legong? For the present study I explore this question by looking at "Legong Gering," a new legong dance created in 2005 by I Nyoman Cerita for Odalan Bali, a North American touring concert by Çudamani, a performance troupe from Pengosekan village, Ubud, Bali. The study begins with an analysis of the context and visual elements of the piece (including costuming, choreography, and musical accompaniment). It then uses an explicit approach in explaining the motivations behind creation: it defines the pelegongan form and then analyzes how closely "Legong Gering" follows these "standards." "Legong Gering" is governed by both new and preexisting social and religious concepts." Legong Gering," much like the Odalan Bali performance, is an aestheticization of ritual itself. As a corollary to this short study, I also entertain the possibility of studying the "implicit" nature of dance knowledge and creation with reference to the legong dance form. Azti Nezia Suriyanti Azmi has studied Balinese dance with Ida Ayu Ari Candrawati, Kadek Dewi Aryani, Maskar, and I Nyoman Catra. She attended Wesleyan University as an undergraduate, where she also studied Javanese dance with Urip Sri Maeny while earning a BA in economics. She has served as a dancer, teacher, and coordinator for Gamelan Dharma Swara and coproduced two of their productions at the Symphony Space in New York. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
MODERN PERFORMING ARTS AS A REFLECTION OF CHANGING BALINESE IDENTITY
Authors: Putra, I Nyoman Darma
Source: Indonesia & the Malay World. Mar2008, Vol. 36 Issue 104, p87-114. 28p.
Scholarly studies on the performing arts in Bali have been heavily focused on traditional dance and drama. Modern theatre therefore has not only become a neglected subject but is treated as though it is non-existent. This study focuses on the development of modern performing arts in Bali from the late 19th century until the 1960s. It begins with the arrival of the popular Malay theatre styles, stambul and later tonil, from Java, and describes the nature and impact of these two styles on Bali. It then proceeds to show how they were changed into sandiwara during the Japanese occupation and the period following independence, when western-style theatre was also introduced. The final theatre form discussed is drama gong, created in the late 1950s and achieving great popularity in succeeding decades. It discusses how these modern performing arts act as a barometer of changing ideas of Balinese identity, particularly in regard to drama gong which was considered modern when initially performed in Indonesian, but was then regarded as a 'traditional' form when performed in Balinese as a reflection of an increasing sense of regional identity.
Tradisi and Turisme: Music, Dance, and Cultural Transformation at the Ubud Palace, Bali, Indonesia.
Authors: Dunbar–Hall, P.1
Source: Australian Geographical Studies. Mar2003, Vol. 41 Issue 1, p3-16. 14p.
Abstract:
This article investigates relationships between music and place through analysis of performances for tourists at a prominent site, Puri Saren Agung (the Ubud Palace) in the Balinese village of Ubud. These performances are representative of ways in which Balinese traditional cultural representation is transformed when it is packaged for tourist consumption. Through a number of readings of the palace, potential meanings for music are shown to be dependent on the past and present identities of this site. This is heightened by a view of changes in the palace’s status and uses as a metaphor for ongoing developments in Balinese music and dance, and thus of ways in which tourism has been, and continues to be, a force in Balinese cultural production.
Liminality in Balinese dance.
Authors: Siegel, M.B.
Source: TDR: The Drama Review. Winter91, Vol. 35 Issue 4, p84. 8p.
Abstract:
Discusses the performance and our western understanding of Balinese dance. Why Bali has fascinated researchers throughout the 20th century; It can't be viewed under Western definitions of art; What we know about Balinese dance; Different dances in the Balinese style: Legong, Baris, and Keybar; Comparing different versions of Legong; More. INSET: A note about photographs (why there are such scanty photographic.
Balinese Mask Dance from the Perspective of a Master Artist: I Ketut Kodi on Topeng.
Source: Asian Theatre Journal. Fall2005, Vol. 22 Issue 2, p199-213. 15p.
Abstract:
The article presents an interview with Ketut Kodi, who is a Balinese topeng (mask) dancer/performer. Kodi discusses his education as a performer and what his obligation is as a mask dancer in contemporary Bali. He also notes that as Balinese society is altering, the balance between teaching and entertaining is changing. In the interview he also discusses how taksu, which is the spiritually generated energy that makes for a talented performer, plays a role in his own performances.
Looking to the Future: Training a New Generation for Balinese Arja.
Authors: Collier, Bethany J.1
Source: Asian Theatre Journal. Fall2014, Vol. 31 Issue 2, p457-480. 24p.
Abstract:
Steady changes in Bali's social, cultural, and political landscapes impact the status of the traditional performing arts, and globalization's potentially stifling effect on the Balinese arts remains a concern. This article examines how today's teachers of the operatic dance-drama arja modify traditional pedagogical models as they work with young performers in the context of globalization and change. It considers some of the implications of these technology-based adaptations, explores the teachers' ideological motivations, and argues that training teenagers to perform this challenging genre is an effective tactic for reinforcing their sense of Balinese identity.
