Bali traditional dances – a celebration of local tradition

An island blossomed from the tales of Hinduism, Bali is a region devoted to its faith and the many towering temples stand proof to that. Entwined with the faith is the tales of Ramayana which has given rise to a dance of its own. The Ramayana is one of the most sacred dances in Bali and is slightly different from the Ramayana performed in India. The foundation of Balinese dance, the great story of Rama has inspired several types of performances in Bali. The dance is made up of a series of acts which depicts the story of Rama and his encounter with Rakhawana to save his wife Seeta from the demon's malicious hands. The story is long and has several enactments but what is performed in Bali is a colorful abridged version which quite dramatically portrays this incident in Ramas life.

Although traditional, the Panyembrama is predominantly a social dance that is performed in welcoming guests of honor to Bali. In keeping with its reputation as the island of the gods, the Panymebrama is exquisitely performed to the accompaniment of vibrant gamelan music by 4 or 8 young girls who have on their hand a heavily engraved flower filled bowl made of silver or aluminum called the Boko. With a warm smile on their faces, the girls during the dance procession scatter the flowers over the guest being honored or the audiences as an expression of welcome. The Panymebrama is actually a combination of a number of temple dances, such as the Rejang Dance, Pendet and Gabor, both of which are performed as a means of honoring the God. If you are staying at one of the Ubud Villas like the Alila Villas Bali Ubud you are like to witness this performance at some time or the other.

This interesting traditional dance in Bali although portrays male characters, is performed by female dancers. The dance is intense in nature as it is performed depicting a war which was fought by the kamikaze warrior in defending the truth. A rather new dance, this performance was created in 1987 and is based on the Baris dance. The combination of female portraying a male in the Yudapati dance gives this performance a set of unique moves which reveal all the subtle gestures in the dance by using the flexibility of a woman's body.

Being a dance that reenacts the blissful simplicity evident in the typical Balinese lifestyle, there is an aura of tranquility in such a performance. In addition to its note of peace, there is something markedly entertaining about this dance. The 5 dancers are usually young males and the characters of the Ghopala dance depicted by them are particularly funny and are bound to draw laughter from the audience.