Balinese Dance, Drama & Music. I Wayan Dibia

Balinese dance roles. For most female dances and refined male roles, the arms are bent at 90 degree angles with the wrists lower than the elbows and the hands bent back at the wrist. The right hand is level with the eyes; the left hand is level with the breast and the head is tilted slightly to the right. The left agem is the opposite. For a strong male style, everything is bigger: the forearms cut through more space and the shoulders are lifted close to the ears. In the female agem, the feet are one fist length apart; the refined male agem has the feet two fist lengths apart and the strong male agem is very wide.

      The posture is a reminder of the importance of balance in Balinese culture. Since the agem is unbalanced, it is difficult to hold, with the weight usually centered on one or another foot, not both. It thus demonstrates human control over imbalance, even if transitory. An agem is where all dances begin and end and all movements progress from it, but the position is held only momentarily.

      Transitions from one static posture to another (tangkis) come in a variety of moves. A locomotive as opposed to a stationary transition is called tandang. A common one in Kebyar style is called angsel: the feet and arms do quick, energetic bursts of movement from one side to the other, reflected in the music.

      Seledet, Keeping Your Eyes on the Eyes

      Throughout Indonesia, only Balinese dance utilizes eye movements. Many people believe that its origin is East Indian although there is no concrete evidence of this. In an eight-count phrase, the eyes dart to the side on count six or seven and return to the center on eight, marked by the strike of a gong.

      Ni Komang Suharriati depicting the many moods of youth in the Taruna Jaya dance. This dance is one of the more difficult in the repertoire due to the rapid changes from strong to soft movement, as well as fleeting changes in mood reflected in bodily and facial expression.

      Learning How to Walk

      Dance students spend hours just learning how to walk. The walking pattern for women (ngumbang) is a sensual swaying of the hips stemming from the knees. The body traces a figure eight (luk penyalin) or an S pattern (ombak segara, literally "ocean waves") on the floor. The lower the dancer can get to the ground (ngaad), the better. For males, learning how to "walk" can take weeks, if not months. This is the pokok, where one's strength originates from. In the basic male walk (malpal), the legs are turned out in a diamond-shaped pattern with one heel lifted towards the opposite knee. The chest and shoulders are lifted up and the torso remains still. It is imperative to be as low as possible. The Balinese live close to nature, so this striving to become one with the earth is evident in the dance. Contrast this to ballet where the dancers defy gravity with every move.

      Breath is the vital force of the dance and is reflected in the movements. The up and down movement of the agem, called meangkihan, symbolizes breath itself. Dancers are trained to control their breath, hold it and expel it consciously in order to give maximum power to the movement.

      Facial and body expressions (tangkep) are also crucial, although today's dancers tend to neglect this part of their training. The mouth should be in a semi-smile with the eyes alive and vibrant. To denote anger the shape of the mouth changes to a more neutral expression and the eyes widen (nelik). The body also expresses emotion and must be full of bayu (energy). A dancer whose performance is lackluster will be called car a anak won ("like someone worn out").

      Movements from Nature

      Very few hand gestures have symbolic meaning. Only a few movements actually depict specific things: ulapulap (peeping), nuding (sending a message or being angry) and manganjali (both hands in a prayer position in front of the chest in a gesture of welcome). Many movements are abstractions of things in nature, such as ngelo (ripe rice stalks blown by the wind), kijang rebut muring (deer swatting flies from its face), lasan megat yeh (lizard skittering above water), and capung manjus (dragonfly bathing). There are abstractions with little reference to content or plot. Many of the movements are named after their function: adjusting the flowers in the headdress (nabdab gelungan), lifting up the dance cape (nyingsing), and touching the bracelet (nabdab gelang hand). In fact, performers are constantly adjusting their costumes while on stage.

      No Balinese dance is complete without the quick, fluttering vibrato of the fingers. Princess's fingers may quiver elegantly, a warrior's with pulsating energy. This is symbolic of the bayu radiating from the dancer's center. It weaves its way up and out into the fingers. In a master dancer, this happens naturally; in student dancers, it must be taught.

      The fan is an essential part of both Legong and Kebyar style dances. It is made out of a number of small bamboo sticks covered with gold-painted cloth. Each side of the fan is a different color, adding to the beauty of the movements. There are various names for how the fan is held. Musical punctuation can be exaggerated with the fan. The fan can be static, twirled, held at the chest or closed and pointed at someone in anger or in threat.

      There are many variations in the eye movements of dancers: to the side (seledet leser); to the upper corners (seledet tegeh); to the ground and back to the center (nyegut, describing the center vein of a leaf); with the neck and head tilted to the side and returned to the center with the eyes squinting, then widening, symbolizing a tiger awakening from a nap (ngeliyer); and when the dancer catches the eye of a member of the audience, looks away shyly and then focuses again on that person (seledet nganceng).

      Make-Up and Costuming

      A large component of stage performance is costuming and make-up. The Balinese take this quite seriously and would never consider performing on stage without elaborate alterations in their presentation. Hours can be spent on transforming into princesses, demons and animals. Each dance and every character have their particular type of dress and headdress which clues the audience into knowing who is what. Pots of various colors, hair extensions, false mustaches, razor blades, hair pins and the very necessary safety pins are all part of the dancer's cache.

      Backstage, a female dancer portraying a sisya or student of the witch applies her make-up using low lighting and a small mirror. The effects are as dazzling as if she had a professional dressing room at her disposal. Hundreds of fresh frangipani flowers, with one big red hibiscus in the center, are the crowning touch to her make-up.

      Putting on a New Face

      A basic make-up formula is used for both males and females as well as make-up for specific character types and roles. Since the Balinese use their eyes so much in dance, make-up for the eyes is the most important. The eyes are widened by thick black lines on top and bottom, with a fishtail at the sides. In the past, soot from wood-burning stoves was used for this purpose. The eyebrows are arched and colored. Traditionally, the entire face may have been shaved to emphasize the largeness of the eyes. Since the advent of televised performances, blue and orange eye shadow are used, whereas none was applied in the past. Foundation, rouge and lipstick are used by both male and female actors. The latest touch is glitter gel on the arms!

      Probably the most interesting part of stage makeup is the cundang (dot between the eyebrows) symbolizing the Third Eye of strength and concentration. This is usually a simple red or white dot, sometimes an upside-down black V, and one or three white dots (urna) at the outer corners of the eyebrow. Some dancers recite a mantra while drawing this and ask for divine inspiration (taksu). Some say these three dots symbolize the Hindu Trinity of Brahma, Wisnu and Siwa. Others claim it is pure decoration. Today, performers use toothpaste for these dots, whereas in the past pamor (powdered limestone) was used.

      In dance-dramas, the make-up is more elaborate. Many attributes of Wayang Kulit puppets are transferred to costumes for actors, particularly for the headdresses. Servant and clown characters and demons sport the most dramatic make-up. The entire face may be painted red, such as that of Rawana in the Hindu epic Ramayana. White dots are