Balinese Dances

The main Balinese dances are a very ancient dance tradition that is a part of the religious and artistic expression among the Balinese people, native to Bali island. Balinese dance is dynamic, angular and intensely expressive. The Balinese dancers express the story of dance-drama through the whole bodily gestures; fingers, hands and body gestures to head and eyes movements.
Balinese dancers is an integral part of Balinese religion and culture. Dance is performed at the main temple festivals and ceremonies of the cycle of life and death.
Balinese dance goes as far back as Balinese written history. With the exception of the trance dances, much of the Balinese dance heritage originating from Java.
Balinese dance can not be separated from religion. Even dances for the tourists are always preceded by a small offering of food and flowers. Before performing, a dancer goes to pray at his family shrine to beseech the holy inspiration from the gods.
In the dance context, dance fulfills a number of specific functions as:
A channel for the visiting gods or demonic gods, the dancers being then a sort of living repository; these are the trance dances, A welcome for the visiting gods, and n entertainment for the visiting gods.

Besides its religious function, dance and drama have also a religious content. Balinese cultural memory has been transmitted through drama. The episodes performed are usually relevant with the rites taking place; during a wedding one performs a wedding story, and at a death ritual a visit to hell by the heroes.
Besides costumes, male and female roles are identified mostly by the accentuation of the movements. Women's legs are bent and huddled together, the feet open, so as to reveal a sensual arching of the back. While the men, their legs are arched and their shoulders pulled up, with sharper gestures, so as to give the impression of power.
Dance movements come out of each other in a continuum of gestures which has no break and no jumping - except for some demonic or animal characters. The expression is completed by mimicry of the face. Even the eyes are dancing.
There are many Balinese dance performances to see in Bali, such as; Pendet dance, Rejang dance, Barong dance, Legong dance, Kecak dance and much more