ICOMOS en Balinese dans als cultureel erfgoed, 5 juni 2013

Op de laatste ICOMOS bijeenkomst van dit seizoen, woensdag 5 juni, licht Prof. Bambang Hari Wibisono, cultureel attaché van de Indonesische ambassade, de voordracht bij UNESCO toe om de Balinese danstradities en met name de Legong dans, tot ‘World Intangible Heritage’ te benoemen.
Dr. Bulantrisna Djelantik, arts en specialist op het gebied van Balinese dans, zal in haar toelichting putten uit haar brede kennis van de Balinese dans, die zij al vanaf haar jeugd zelf beoefent.

 

The richness of intangible heritage of Indonesia

By Prof. Bambang Hari Wibisono, PhD

Indonesia, a country with 238 million people consists of around 300 ethnic groups and 742 different languages and dialects, have a rich intangible heritage. And if we refer to the definition of intangible heritage in the UNESCO Convention 2003, the intangible cultural heritage is manifested inter alia in the following domains:

(a) oral traditions and expressions, including language as a vehicle of the intangible cultural heritage; (b) performing arts; (c) social practices, rituals and festive events; (d) knowledge and practices concerning nature and the universe;

(e) traditional craftsmanship. Prof. Bambang Hari Wibisono, PhD. the Cultural Attache of the Indonesian Embassy in the Netherlands, which is in his post since May 2013, will share stories about the richness of intangible heritage of Indonesia and efforts to keep it alive.

 

The Legong Dance of Bali

By Dr. Bulantrisna Djelantik

The Legong dance dates from the 18th century, although it draws on older traditions. Legong, one of the most popular dance forms of Bali, has been a prominent feature of Balinese society from the past until today. Beautiful, young girls in headdresses of frangipani flowers wrapped in elegant gold costumes are easily recognized by the general public as characteristics of Legong and Balinese dance. From its creation, Legong was a court dance inspired by the sacred Sang Hyang Dedari trance dance by little girls, and the ancient 

dance theatre form Gambuh. It is believed that a past time King of Bali has seen divine nymphs dancing down to earth in glittering golden dress and delicate vibrating movements in his dream. He then ordered the best of dance masters to create the dance according to his dream. From the start, Legong dances have been performed as purely entertainment and it was considered a status symbol for the local Kings to have a Legong dance group. Only in some parts of Bali, the Legong is danced in the temple and is strictly a sacred

dance, one of them is the sacred Legong in Ketewel, where five girls wear coloured masks that must have originated from the Java Hindu times. Legong dance is now considered as a technical complicated and difficult dance and highly sophisticated classical form whose level of refinement can be compared with the Bedhaya of Central Java. In 1937, Legong was for the first time brought by the Balinese King from Karangasem, Bulan’s grandfather, to dance at the Mangkunegaran Palace or Keraton in Central Java. Since then the term Legong Keraton is often used. So many types of Legong dances exist that they constitute the genre of Legong which has had a powerful influence on other Balinese dance forms. Although we can enjoy Legong as a pure dance form, behind the dance is an abstract, mythological drama. Each dancer can change her character through movements and symbolic expressions according to the context of the story without a change of costume.

Prof. Bambang Hari Wibisono, PhD is Education and Cultural Attache, Indonesian Embassy in the Netherlands (since May 2013). Trained originally as an architect at University Gajah Mada Indonesia and later has an interest in urban design and urban planning. As he is called by his nickname, ‘Hari’ studied doctoral degree in University of Melbourne in Australia with the thesis about the famous Malioboro Street in Yogyakarta, researching the morphology and dynamics of a Javanese street. His master degrees in urban planning and transportation engineering were obtained in University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee USA, United States. His last job before coming to the Netherlands was the Vice-Dean in the Faculty of Engineering, Gajah Mada University.

Dr. Bulantrisna (‘Bulan’) Djelantik is a practitioner medical doctor (retired) and the most respected Balinese dancer in Indonesia with specialisation of Legong Dance. Called by her nickname ‘Bulan’ is a specialist in Balinese dance since childhood, especially the classical dance called Legong. In spite of her profession as a medical doctor, Bulan has never stopped dancing. She has danced in villages and courts in Bali for ceremonies and tourists, as well as at the Presidential palaces for state guests and many cultural missions abroad. Now retired from her profession, Bulan lives in Jakarta and has continued dancing, teaching, choreographing and writing about Balinese dance. Currently Bulan is involved in the efforts to propose Legong and other Balinese dances to be acquired by UNESCO as the World Intangible Heritage for the period 2014-2015.

*Note: the entrance of the venue of the ICOMOS-meeting isn’t the main entrance of Museum Geelvinck Hinlopen Huis, please use the entrance of Herengracht 518 – sous.

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The lecture takes place from 19h30 till 21h30 Entrance is free for ICOMOS-members Non-ICOMOS members pay € 5,- for attending the lecture

The evening starts from 18h30 with informal drinks and meal Costs for drinks and meal are € 10,- p.p. (to be payed on the spot) for members as well as for non-members Please report your attendance for lecture and drinks/meal beforehand at:

icomac@icomos.nl