Hi everyone! And HAPPY NEW YEAR!
I hope you ended 2014 in a firework of joy and art and that 2015 has brought you exciting new perspectives of work, creativity and love.
I just returned from a trip to Bali, and surely ate (well!), prayed (for more peace in the world), and loved it (Bali, its beaches, its sun, but especially its rich culture that is E-V-E-R-Y-W-H-E-R-E!)
I was particularly impressed that pretty much every house there is a temple. Literally! You don't even have to go out of your way so much to sightsee as everything there is something!
Religion (90% of the population being of Balinese Hinduism faith which mixes aspects of Buddhism, Hinduism and animism, the belief that souls and spirits can be found in all things) is a large part of the Balinese culture and defines the lives of most Balinese people.
It is also at the origin of... DANCE!
Indeed, the very essence of the Balinese culture is dance and drama, which is performed during temple festivals and in ceremonies.
In Bali, dance cannot be separated from religion. Even the small sample of dances that are shown in hotels and restaurants for the tourists are preceded by many dancers praying at their family shrine for taksu (inspiration) from the gods.
Dance there fulfills a number of specific functions: It may be a channel for visiting gods or demons, the dancers acting as a sort of living repository. It may be a welcome for visiting gods. It may be entertainment for visiting gods.
Traditional Balinese dance is rooted in storytelling and based on specific stories and myths from the great Hindu epic The Ramayana, The Barong Dance (showing the effect of the Gods intervention upon the people through supernatural powers. Barong being a lion-like creature and character in the Balinese mythology. He is the King of the Spirits, leader of the hosts of good), The Warrior Dance (depicts the courage of a hero who is going out to war)...
Movement-wise, one of the main characteristic of Balinese dance is probably the use of isolations technique. Particular attention is given to such details as the movements of the eyes, head or fingers positions.
The gestures are codified and symbolic, they're called mudras. While some of them involve the entire body, most are performed with the hands and fingers. My yogis out there have probably heard that word before as in yoga, mudras are used in conjunction with pranayama (yogic breathing exercises), to stimulate different parts of the body involved with breathing and to affect the flow of energy (prana).
The typical posture of Balinese dance has the legs slightly bent, the torso shifting in the opposite direction of the arms, while the elbow raise and lower with suppleness in the hands and fingers.
As to the soundtrack to this mesmerizing movement, it is no less fascinating.
The original purpose of music here again is to serve religious beliefs, accompanying storytelling in the form of dances or wayang theaters (shadow-puppets).
If the traditional Balinese orchestra, called the gamelan, counts a number of string and woodwind instruments, it is mostly composed of various forms of xylophones, gongs and percussions.
Little known fact : The music of Bali has inspired well known composers from all around the world. Bela Bartok titled his No.109 piece "From the island of Bali." It is also said that Debussy, after having met a Balinese musician and seen a Balinese orchestra performed in Europe, was so impressed and affected that some of his later works contain distinct colors of Balinese music.
