Gambuh performance in Budakeling, Bali
Gamelan orchestra for a Gambuh performance

Balinese theatre and dramas include Janger dance, pendet dance performances, and masked performances of Topèng. Performances are also part of funeral rituals involving a procession, war dance, and other rituals before the cremation of the patulangan. Balinese use the word sesolahan for both theatre and dance.

  • Arja (dance), Balinese dance-opera
  • Barong dance performances featuring Rangda, a dancer with keris, Jero Gede (black masked figures), and Jero Luh (white masked performers)

Barong Ket: lion barong, the most common Barong, is the symbol of a good spirit. Barong Landung: giant barong, the form is similar to Betawi Ondel-Ondel Barong Celeng: boar barong Barong Macan: tiger barong Barong Naga: dragon (or serpent)

  • Gambuh plays with chanting and music including the use of long flute-like instruments
  • Topèng, masked theatre
  • Calonarang, performances at temples during times of danger or difficulty that involve stories
  • Drama Gong, popular theatre developed in the late 1960s
  • Sendratari, a group ballet form that emerged in the 1960s includes a dhalang puppeteer giving dialogue and often a gamelan (orchestra), Sendratari, or Kècak chant

Javanese Wayang shadow plays are performed in Bali.

Gallery

See also