Bali Girls Dance Art

Dances and dramatic performances form an important part of nearly every ritual on Bali.









They are seen as an integral part of Balinese religion and culture and are employed as an expression of one's devotion to the gods (ngayah) as well as a means of instilling centuries-old values in each new generation of Balinese, through the medium of movement, music and words.










Wali dances are those performed or originating in the jeroan or innermost courtyard of the temple. It is here that the sacred icons are kept and worshipped, and these forms are often group dances with no dramatic elements.










They are considered indigenously Balinese, and as with all Balinese dances, are performed to propitiate the ancestral spirits. Rejang, Baris Gede and Sanghyang trance dances all fall into this category.









Bebali dances are ceremonial - performed in the jaba tengah or middle courtyard of the temple. This is the meeting point of the divine and the worldly, and these are mostly dance dramas whose stories derive from the Hindu-Javanese epics. These include Gambuh and Wayang Wong.










Balih-balihan dances are secular and performed in the jaba or outer courtyard, usually beyond the prescribed sacred space itself (although often this space will be consecrated by a priest before the performance). Into this category fall a number of classical and modern forms like Legong, Baris, Arja, Kebyar, Sendratari and others.