Last summer the family and I packed our bags and headed off to Bali. Been so busy that I only managed to look over them now! Well I am finally going to be sharing some of the amazing things from the trip.
As typical tourist we had a list of places and sights we wanted to see, and of course we had to experience some Balinese dancing.
In legends, Legong is the heavenly dance of divine nymphs. Of all classical Balinese dances, it remains the quintessence of femininity and grace. Girls from the age of five aspire to be selected to represent the community as Legong dancers.
The Barong is probably the most well known dance and a typical good vs evil story.
The barong, mystical dragon-like creature, is portrayed by two dancers wearing a huge sway-backed body with trailing hair and a curved tail. He is a symbol of good, associated with the right and white magical powers. His counterpart is Rangda, an evil panged which with long fingernails, pendulous breasts and a long flaming tongue. She is queen of evil spirits and rules the graveyards and the darkest night, specializing in black magic and evil. The Barong and The Rangda are parts of an eternal pantomime that represents the conflict between good and evil, and the symbolic play they enact is part of a purification ceremony that is designed to restore the equilibrium of these two forces, a means of strengthening the spiritual resistance of the village; maintaining the good health, physical and spiritual, of the community.
