"Saman" the most popular dance in Aceh and the dance that has become well-known abroad with the name "Thousand hands". It has its origin from the Alas ethnic group and is normally performed to celebrate the birthday of the Prophet Muhammad S.A.W. and other important occasions. Eight to twenty male performers kneel in a row on the floor and make different kinds of torso movements accompanied by songs, clapping hands, slapping chests, slapping hands on the floor, etc. The songs are praises to Allah or prayers. The dance starts with slow movements and increases its tempo gradually to great speed and finally come to a sudden stop. There are many different regional versions of "Saman"
Rapa'i Geleng
"Rapai" is the name of a tambourine used to accompany songs and dances. "Rapa-ii Geleng" is a dance specially developed with this tambourine in mind. The movements are almost the same as in the "Saman" dance, but the 11 to 20 dancers handle one tambourine each, which gives the dance a very distinct and enjoyable flavour. A song with Islamic teachings accompanies the dance.
Originating from West Sumatra, two dancers or a group of dancers perform Tari Piring of the Saucer Dance. It has a variety of quick movements and sometimes the soft clicking of the saucers. This dance portrays happiness, joy, togetherness, well-being and the prosperity of Minang Kabau people. The Gantar or Giring-Giring Dance is usually performed by men and women in pairs. The dancers wear beautiful regional dress and each carries one or two pieces of bamboo filled with grain. The long slender pieces of bamboo produce a sound when they are moved, and it is this sound that determines the rhythm. The accompanying music is usually a simple string-instrument Kangkanong (Gamelan) and drum. The Gantar Dance is a dance offered to the Goddess of Rice and held after harvest as a token of gratitude. Formerly, after this performance the dancers would stab a buffalo prepared for the occasion. It was believed that the more blood coming from the buffalo, the stronger the rice to be planted. Ronggeng Blantek is dance piece that was originally part of a dance/theatre of Betawi and influenced by Chinese culture and even European music during the Dutch occupation of Indonesia. During the early 90's, this dance was reconstructed and choreographed in a contemporary way and has become popular throughout Indonesia especially on the island of Java. Ronggeng Belantek has developed into a hallmark of Jakarta's traditional culture and is recognized as a national dance. This dance is an adaptation of Ajeng music, which developed itself on the outskirts of Betawi (also known as Batavia in the olden days). Ajeng music uses strikes on percussion accompanying Betawi wedding ceremonies, which are the inspiration for the movements of the Ngarojeng Dance. The dance comes from Betawi, the former name of Jakarta, Indonesia's Capital. The folk art of the people living in this gateway to Indonesia was influenced by many different foreign cultures. Among them are Arabic, Indian, Dutch and Chinese. Renggong Manis Dance, representing the beauty and a gaiety of young girl making merry together, is an adaptation from the movement and music of the folk dances of the Betawi ethnic group. This is an assembly of traditional Sundanese musical instruments dominated by a play of various kinds of drums called Kendang, played by a group of drummers who also move beautifully as they play intricate interlocking rhythms. Lugay dance is a form of Jaipongan, which is a dance style of working-class origins from the Sundanese region in West Java. It integrates martial art movements but in a subtle way. The music and singing have Arabic influences. Originally this dance was performed in the villages for weddings. A female dancer would improvise and then invite the guests to dance. The Jaipongan has again become very popular and is performed for diverse occasions. The dancer stops and dances according to the beat of the drum in Lugay dance. There are many pauses for a couple of seconds in this dance, which then gives the name of the dance Lugay, which is a Sundanese-dialect word for "stop". The Tari Merak or Peacock dance is a female dance. Merak means peacock and the choreography is inspired by the beautiful movements of a peacock. Raden Tjetje Somantri, who was one of the most important choreographers who created Sundanese style dances in this period, created the choreography of the Tari Merak in the 1950's. In 1965, Dra. Irawati Durban Ardjo, a teacher of a dance academy in Bandung, West Java, created a new choreography with altered movements, structures, music and costumes.
This dance shows an imagination of a peacock's life in a form of a dance. The gestures of a peacock are beautifully blend together with the classical movements of the Sundanese dance and thus making the dance a colourful _expression of the proud peacock, which is showing its beautiful feathers. This dance shows an imagination of a butterfly's life in a form of a dance. Tari Kukupu symbolises the beauty of nature and its creatures and intents to draw our attention to it and to convince us to dedicate our work to this world the beauty of nature and its creatures and intents to draw our attention to it and to convince us to dedicate our work to this world. Tari Topeng or the Mask Dance has its own outstanding characteristics. The dancer who puts on the mask acts out the physical and the spiritual being of the mask. More than one dancer can also perform the Mask Dance and tell us the audience a story through the dance.
This dance originates from Cirebon, West Java. Originally this dance has around five mask characters. The masks may appear in different colours and each colour has its own definition. The Topeng Kelana (the red mask) represents greed, anger and evil.
This dance is a new creation from Yogyakarta and tells us about young maidens who are entering womanhood. One can see from this dance's coquettish movements and teasing gestures that the girls are trying to attract the attention of young men. This is a court dance where the dancers represent young princesses showing their complex gracious movements, alternating with the more expressive movements and rhythm that represent make-up and applying clothing. One can find the elements from other cultures that influence Javanese dancing culture. These are, for example, the deep knee bowed position and the fluid changes of weight from the Chinese Tai Chi and Japanese Aikido movement. The gracious and expressive arm-hand movements are based on the old Indian dance art. This dance tells the story of arrogant yet beautiful princesses of the court. With glamorous jewellery, majestic red-golden kebaya, gold belt and knee-length batik skirts, they go about the daily routines of their lives in the palace. The dance movements are detailed and intricate, the dancers are moving all the time and they flow like water. Belibis Dance represents centuries of this all-important facet of Balinese culture. The Belibis is one of the most jubilant dances carried out in this fascinating archipelago, where the graceful choreography reflects the joy and natural innocence of young herons in the middle of the pond flying here and there looking for food. Suddenly, a new heron comes in, which is a transformation of the prince Prabu Angling Dharma. The prince has been cursed by his powerful wife and banned to live as a heron. After a while, the other young herons sense that the newcomer is a transformation of a human being and take their leave. It is usually performed by a group of teenage girls who carry silver bowls filled with flower petals. At the end of the dance, the dancers shower the audience with the flower petals as a welcome. Pendet is usually performed to welcome guests or to begin a show. Originally, it was danced by only one girl and called Oleg, a general term meaning the swaying of a dancer. Later, a male part was added to make it a duet, and the dance gained a new theme depicting two bumblebees (tambulilingan) flirting in a garden. The female enters first. In light, quick steps she circles the stage, fluttering the long silk scarves that hang from her sides. At one moment, she is moody and temperamental, her eyes narrow and her lips spread slightly into a seductive smile. The next, she is scornful. She turns, snubbing her viewers-only to return as the most feminine creature with a whimsical air of innocence.
The female's solo is a strenuous one. Her movements must flow from subdued and delicate to tense gestures of haughtiness and disdain. At one point, she dances in the seated position. The sensuous sweeps of her hands, the tremble of her fingers and the fluctuating moods that pass and change, incarnate the idea of woman. The male enters unnoticed, eyes her, and cocks his head with a half-smile of affirmation. He moves forward to make a conquest. At first, they shy away from the moment of contact, yet woo with a display of their graces while pretending to be unaware of the other's fascinating presence. As the circle of flight grows smaller, the flirting increases. The female teases him, he moves forward, she draws back in feigned surprise, yet is secretly pleased with her success. They come together, bringing their faces close in an affectionate caress, then swirl apart in retreat, only to return to one an other again. In the end, they fall in love and leave together. The Legong Legend is the heavenly dance of divine nymphs. Of all classical Balinese dances, it remains the quintessence of femininity and grace. The highly stylized Legong Kraton enacts a drama of a most purified and abstract kind. The story of Legong Kraton is performed ' by three dancers: the condong, a female attendant of the court, and two identically dressed legongs (dancers), who adopt the roles of royal persons.
The dance tells about Condong, who is looking for the nicest flower to be presented to the princess. She moves with infinite suppleness, dipping to the ground and rising in one unbroken motion, her torso poised in an arch with elbows and head held high, while fingers dance circles around her wrists. Slowly her eyes focus on two fans laid before her and, taking them. The fans symbolized the flowers she has been looking for.
|
