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Dance Movements

"But what does it all mean?" This is a common lament heard among visitors when watching Balinese dance for the first or fiftieth time. With so many hand gestures, eye movements and stances, it is difficult to decipher the meaning. Balinese hand gestures are not storytelling movements as in East Indian dance; rather, they embellish expressions of the body. All movements are done on both the right and left sides to establish harmony and cohesion.

Elegant in positioning, Balinese hand gestures are used to emphasize emotional expression.

Most Balinese dance movements are abstract, even in those dances which tell a story. The movements have little to do with the progression of the plot. The Balinese love seeing how well a performer executes and interprets a dance. It is similar to watching a performance of the Nutcracker; it is not so much the story as the skill of the dancers that is compelling. What is important is that special quality of a performer which can transport the audience to a different sphere, something known as taksu (spiritual charisma) (see p. 11).

Agem

The pokok (foundation) of the dance is an asymmetrical basic stance or agem. In right agem, the body weight is on the right foot with the left foot in a modified third position or 45 degrees in front of the right foot. The torso is shifted to the right with the shoulder blades squeezed together—giving the back that typically arched look of female Balinese dance roles. For most female dances and refined male roles, the arms are bent at 90 degree angles with the wrists lower than the elbows and the hands bent back at the wrist. The right hand is level with the eyes; the left hand is level with the breast and the head is tilted slightly to the right. The left agem is the opposite. For a strong male style, everything is bigger: the forearms cut through more space and the shoulders are lifted close to the ears. In the female agem, the feet are one fist length apart; the refined male agem has the feet two fist lengths apart and the strong male agem is very wide.

The posture is a reminder of the importance of balance in Balinese culture. Since the agem is unbalanced, it is difficult to hold, with the weight usually centered on one or another foot, not both. It thus demonstrates human control over imbalance, even if transitory. An agem is where all dances begin and end and all movements progress from it, but the position is held only momentarily.

Transitions from one static posture to another (tangkis) come in a variety of moves. A locomotive as opposed to a stationary transition is called tandang. A common one in Kebyar style is called angsel: the feet and arms do quick, energetic bursts of movement from one side to the other, reflected in the music.

Seledet, Keeping Your Eyes on the Eyes

Throughout Indonesia, only Balinese dance utilizes eye movements. Many people believe that its origin is East Indian although there is no concrete evidence of this. In an eight-count phrase, the eyes dart to the side on count six or seven and return to the center on eight, marked by the strike of a gong.

Ni Komang Suharriati depicting the many moods of youth in the Taruna Jaya dance. This dance is one of the more difficult in the repertoire due to the rapid changes from strong to soft movement, as well as fleeting changes in mood reflected in bodily and facial expression.

Learning How to Walk

Dance students spend hours just learning how to walk. The walking pattern for women (ngumbang) is a sensual swaying of the hips stemming from the knees. The body traces a figure eight (luk penyalin) or an S pattern (ombak segara, literally "ocean waves") on the floor. The lower the dancer can get to the ground (ngaad), the better. For males, learning how to "walk" can take weeks, if not months. This is the pokok, where one's strength originates from. In the basic male walk (malpal), the legs are turned out in a diamond-shaped pattern with one heel lifted towards the opposite knee. The chest and shoulders are lifted up and the torso remains still. It is imperative to be as low as possible. The Balinese live close to nature, so this striving to become one with the earth is evident in the dance. Contrast this to ballet where the dancers defy gravity with every move.

Breath is the vital force of the dance and is reflected in the movements. The up and down movement of the agem, called meangkihan, symbolizes breath itself. Dancers are trained to control their breath, hold it and expel it consciously in order to give maximum power to the movement.

Facial and body expressions (tangkep) are also crucial, although today's dancers tend to neglect this part of their training. The mouth should be in a semi-smile with the eyes alive and vibrant. To denote anger the shape of the mouth changes to a more neutral expression and the eyes widen (nelik). The body also expresses emotion and must be full of bayu (energy). A dancer whose performance is lackluster will be called car a anak won ("like someone worn out").

Movements from Nature

Very few hand gestures have symbolic meaning. Only a few movements actually depict specific things: ulapulap (peeping), nuding (sending a message or being angry) and manganjali (both hands in a prayer position in front of the chest in a gesture of welcome). Many movements are abstractions of things in nature, such as ngelo (ripe rice stalks blown by the wind), kijang rebut muring (deer swatting flies from its face), lasan megat yeh (lizard skittering above water), and capung manjus (dragonfly bathing). There are abstractions with little reference to content or plot. Many of the movements are named after their function: adjusting the flowers in the headdress (nabdab gelungan), lifting up the dance cape (nyingsing), and touching the bracelet (nabdab gelang hand). In fact, performers are constantly adjusting their costumes while on stage.

No Balinese dance is complete without the quick, fluttering vibrato of the fingers. Princess's fingers may quiver elegantly, a warrior's with pulsating energy. This is symbolic of the bayu radiating from the dancer's center. It weaves its way up and out into the fingers. In a master dancer, this happens naturally; in student dancers, it must be taught.

The fan is an essential part of both Legong and Kebyar style dances. It is made out of a number of small bamboo sticks covered with gold-painted cloth. Each side of the fan is a different color, adding to the beauty of the movements. There are various names for how the fan is held. Musical punctuation can be exaggerated with the fan. The fan can be static, twirled, held at the chest or closed and pointed at someone in anger or in threat.

There are many variations in the eye movements of dancers: to the side (seledet leser); to the upper corners (seledet tegeh); to the ground and back to the center (nyegut, describing the center vein of a leaf); with the neck and head tilted to the side and returned to the center with the eyes squinting, then widening, symbolizing a tiger awakening from a nap (ngeliyer); and when the dancer catches the eye of a member of the audience, looks away shyly and then focuses again on that person (seledet nganceng).