Kecak dance was originally a trance ritual accompanied by male chorus. German painter and musician Walter Spies became deeply interested in the ritual while living in Bali in the 1930’s and worked to recreate it into a drama, based on the Hindu Ramayana and including dance, intended to be presented to Western tourist audiences. This transformation is an example of what James Clifford describes as part of the “modern art-culture system in which, “the West or the central power adopts, transforms, and consumes non-Western or peripheral cultural elements, while making ‘art’ which was once embedded in the culture as a whole, into a separate entity. Spies worked with Wayan Limbak and Limbak popularized the dance by traveling throughout the world with Balinese performance groups. These travels have helped to make the Kecak famous throughout the world. Performer, choreographer, and scholar I Wayan Dibia cites a contrasting theory that the Balinese were already developing the form when Spies arrived on the island. For example, well-known dancer I Limbak had incorporated Baris movements into the cak leader role during the 1920s. “Spies liked this innovation,” and it suggested that Limbak, “devise a spectacle based on the Ramayana,” accompanied by cak chorus rather than gamelan, as would have been usual. Kecak Dance
is a dance that tells the story of the war between Rama and Ravana, the name of this story is the Ramayana and the arrival of India
The Kecak dance is a story of good versus evil battle, Short story of Rama has a wife named Shinta, Shinta very beautiful because makes him have a bad intention to Rama and Ravana sends a deer to deceive Rama, Rama was hunting the deer that was helped by Rama brother named Laksamana
Shinta in the place they were living alone because Rama and Laksamana hunt deer, then came the evil Ravana who intend to Shinta, Shinta was eventually abducted by the Ravana and taken to “Alenka”
Alenka’s a world of giants or that is evil, Alenka also Shinta on hold by these giants.After Rama came home from hunting deer, Rama Shinta was surprised no one else in the hut, and then Rama asked for help to the white monkey (Hanuman) to investigate the existence of Shinta, after knowing the existence of Shinta, Hanuman returned to Rama that Shinta in parentheses Alenka by the giants, then Rama sent Hanuman to Alenka again by giving a ring to Shinta as evidence that Hanuman is the messenger of Rama, after successfully delivering the ring Shinta also gave Hanuman a hairpin to Rama, Hanuman then back to Rama to give hairpin it, and there was a great battle between Rama (Goodnes) and Ravana (Evil)
Yande Tour Bali 