Balinese Dance

Balinese dance is trained into the body from childhood: the eyes flick and hold, the fingers bend back, the whole figure stops dead on a gamelan accent. The tradition is usually divided into sacred dances performed inside the temple, semi-sacred ones for the middle courtyard, and entertainment pieces for the outer yard and the stage. Legong, danced by girls in tight gold cloth, belongs to the last group and is the most technically dense. Barong sets a shaggy lion-like creature against the figure of Rangda in a story with no clean ending. Kecak is younger, devised in the 1930s, and replaces the orchestra with dozens of men chanting in interlocking rhythm.

What you actually see

• Legong - the fastest and most detailed of the court dances, learned from early childhood.
• Barong and Rangda - the masked confrontation that ends without a winner.
• Kecak - scores of men chanting the rhythm in place of a gamelan.
• The eyes and fingers - trained flicks and holds that carry most of the expression.

When to go

Ubud has a different performance almost every night of the week, each at a different venue, with tickets sold on the street a few hours ahead. Cliff-top kecak on the south coast is timed to sunset and sells out in high season. Temple ceremonies with sacred dance follow the Balinese calendar and are announced only locally.

Honest expectations

The nightly shows are made for visitors, an hour long, with a printed synopsis and a lot of camera flashes. Seats are hard plastic and often wet after rain. Sunset kecak venues are crowded and the queue starts long before the performance. Sacred dance inside a temple is not a show and requires a sarong, a sash and restraint with cameras.

Nearby

Ubud's palace courtyard stages several of the regular evening performances.