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BALINESE DANCE STYLE

then extremely quick, Colin McPhee compares the Balinese music to the Javanese music as day and night. He says that Javanese gamelan is soft, shockless of resunance. In strong contrast Balinese gamelan stands out dramatically in its hard metallic vitality and the almost feverish intensity with which the newer music is performed.

Third, the position of the legs is usually open and low, even to the point of squatting. In some dances however, the legs are very straight.
Fourth, the position of the arms is usually open and lifted slightly that the shoulder seems to be lifted too.

It is worth noting that amonsg the Balinese dances there are those danced only by women and others danced only by men, The women's dances are, among others, the Legong Dance, the Aria Dance, the Pendet Dance and the Sanghyang Dance. The dances for men are the Topeng Dance, the Baris Dances and the Jauk Dance.
Characterization in Balinese dancing is almost the same as the Javanese characterization (female, male refined, and male strong, characters) but different in its expression.

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KINDS OF BALINESE DANCES

Much has been written about Balinese dance in books and articles by Western scholars, such as Miguel Covarrubias in his book Island of Bali, Beryl de Zoete and Walter Spies in their book Dance and Drama in Bali, Walter Spies and R. Goris in their long article in the periodical Jawa entitled "Overzicht van Dans en Tooneel in Bali", and Jane-Belo in her book Trance in Bali.
In the above-mentioned books different kinds of Balinese dances are fully described and illustrated by attractive pictures. Those writings, are very valuable for the present generation, for knowledge of the development of Balinese dances at the beginning of the 20th century and before. To know the present development however, since the change in the Indonesian social structure after independence additional information is needed because of the creation of new dance compositions.

Based on its function in society Balinese dancing can be divided -into two classes: the dance's "Which play an important role in' the Hindu-Dharma religion, and the dances which are artistic creations to be enjoyed for their beauty. The first group is sacred or sacral in nature, while 'the second is secular.

SACRAL DANCES

The sacred or sacral dances are those which pertain to the Hindu-Dharma religion. We can say that all Balinese dances- -are religious in nature, because even those that are secular have something to do with the religious life of Balinese society. Based on their function contents and meaning, however, there are some Bali nese dances which can be grouped under secular dances. The sacred or sacral dance can be subdivided into various groups such as temple dances, ritual dances, Sanghyang dances and Barong dances.

PURA DANCES

The pura or temple dances are sacrificial dances which play a very important role in Hindu-Dharma ceremonies. They are performed for religious ceremonies held at fixed times during each year. As a rule they are held in the yard of the pura or temple when it is full moon. To the group of temple dances or sacrificial dances belong the Pendet Dance, the Gabor Dance, the Rejang Dance and the Oleg Dance.

PENDET DANCE. The Pendet Dance is a dance for women