Barong Dance - Bali

2014/05/01

So I made a trip to exotic Bali. I will be disclosing each and every where I visited with my companion and may I start with Barong Kris dances.

Barong dances are a traditional dance in Bali which is performed to symbolize the fight between evil and good spirits. The dancers use their whole body to express the meaning with Balinese traditional music is played in the background. They also use verses in Balinese while they perform.

Barong is the king of good spirits. It is symbolized as a lion for the strength and braveness.

Below is the king of evil spirits, Ranghda.  Barong dances mainly portrait the fights between Barong and Ranghda.

The following characters come up in the dances while the story flows. Below is a servant of a goddess who is beautifully cladded in flowers and showing  graceful movements with eyes and fingers.

Below is a minister who gets caught in a spell by Ranghda and loses his servants. The minister is saved by the power of Barong.

Personally I enjoyed the performance even the verses were sung in Balinese. Their costumes were elegant and the music was lovely. A handout describing each performance is distributed among the audience so it is not that hard to understand which act is being played at the moment.
Sadly some annoying acts were included in the plays, which I could not relate it to being anything traditional.

If you are in Bali, and if  you love cultural events I would recommend booking a Balinese dance performance but , for your own sake, do not have high hopes.

All Rights Reserved.