 Kecak Balinese Traditional Dances
The Kecak is an unusual Balinese dance
The Kecak is an unusual Balinese dance for a couple of reasons. First, there is no musical accompaniment. The gamelan is not there. Rhythm is provided by a chanting 'monkey' chorus. The polyrhythmic sound of the chanting ‘choirs’ of men ” Cak.. a. Cak..cak..cak ” noise, by Kecak Dancer it self. Kecak Dance was originally part of Shanghyang Trance Dance. Kecak was originally a trance ritual accompanied by male chorus.
The story line for tohe Kecak is taken from the Ramayana. Prince Rama goes hunting for a golden deer and his beautiful wife is kidnapped by the evil Rawana.
A choreography based upon (the coordination of movements of the head, arms and upper body of this group of men, seated on the ground in a circular pattern, transform the entire stage into a swaying, living, flower-like configuration. In the midst of this melee, the dancers enacting the story sway and leap by torchlight, whilst a story teller chants the story enacted. Regular performances of the Kecak dance are held in the village in the evenings, and the opportunity to witness this unique dance should not be missed.
|
|
|
Kecak, a form of Balinese music drama, originated in the 1930s and is performed primarily by men. Also known as the Ramayana Monkey Chant, the piece, performed by a circle of 100 or more performers are bare chested, and just wearing sarong around their waists, percussively chanting "cak" and throwing up their arms, depicts a battle from the Ramayana where the monkey-like Vanara helped Prince Rama fight the evil King Ravana. However, Kecak has roots in sanghyang, a trance-inducing exorcism dance.
|
|
Story is secondary in this performance, though. If you want to see the story of the Ramayana, you should see a Ramayana performance. The Kecak is a triumph of style and mood, rather than story. Watch the faces of audience members. More than any other Balinese dance, the Kecak turns every viewer into a child, wide-eyed and transfixed. The fifty man chorus gathers in a ring around a flame, to create a stage.
|
They also act as various monkey armies in the story, and become a undulating snake in one of the pivotal scenes. With only the flame as lighting, this performance takes on a primeval fell, especially when staget outside of a hotel setting.
Kecak Dance is one the best known of many Balinese Dance, Kecak Dance in performance doesn’t use gammelan ( Balinese Music Instrument ) accompaniment. The kecak is one of the only dances that was invented for tourist. It’s almost never watched by the Balinese.
|
