the rain dance [tarian hujan, beneran...] ; literaly

dancer1

dancers2

barong

women dancers on one of the composition

galang, vera, sunu, and me

my old college from which i graduated as a bachelor of English literature 3 years ago has this dance group which seems to me only focusing on Balinese dance named Sekar Jepun.

from a friend of mine i found out that Sekar Jepun means Bunga Kamboja. Bunga Kamboja is the kind of flower which is easily found in Bali. they grow everywhere and lately this flower kind be found intentionally planted as part of any modern architectural building such as cafe’s.

because in Bali it is very common to see bunga kamboja accompanying quirky beautiful buildings.

male dancer

musicians

male dancers

a lady dancer

back to sekar Jepun. this year they had another performance.

this performance consist of several single dances. it’s listed in the programs. really sorry i could not provide the name of those dances.

the performance was held around beringin Soekarno area. this banyan, or beringin was said planted by the late Soekarno. that’s why it was named after him. a very unique place, and somewhat becoming a favorable place for students in my campus to carry out meetings or any art performances.

the performance actually should be started by 7 in the evening. but alas, the rain fell so big, that the show eventually started at 9.30! well, normal people would go away from the place when they knew that the show would be late for around 3 hours, but when i looked around i notice that the people were very enthusiastic to watch the show.

so the saying ‘the show must go on…’ is, again, proven to be so true. re-scheduling is impossible and canceling is not in the list of options for the committee.

so, rain or shine, the stage was soaken wet, the carpet that covered the stage was completely wet i mean. the spectators, audiences covering themselves with rain coat, umbrellas, anything to prevent themselves from becoming so wet. and those hard nosed art enthusiast were going strong despite the rain drops and the chill of night air. not to mention any future cold.

during the show many amateur photographers were caught in sight trying to catch as many moments as they could. the dancers were dancing on that wet red carpet. even when they popped the floor you could see splashes of water from the pores of the carpet. but, again, the show must go on, everyone should keep dancing, the audiences were not going home, they were waiting for the performers to come out from behind the banyan tree.

entertainment business is not for easily giving up people.

a composition that evening

another composition

me at the show

as for myself, now i know that Balinese dancing is not just kecak or legong. there are several other compositions that common people like me does not know. and for art enthusiast, enjoying dance performances of a certain culture of a certain area but outside of the area of origin itself is always a unique experience, especially for me to whom Balinese culture is really having a close connection deep within.