All the sacred rituals of daily life help the Balinese to achieve spiritual fulfillment and happiness, harmony and peace. During the Odalan, the most common festival, the coming of the gods is celebrated on each anniversary of the temple’s foundation. People dress in traditional costumes and women carry offerings on their heads to the temple. The temples are beautifully decorated with flowers and offerings.
While only the men play in the gamelan orchestras (strange xylophones), the actors in the dance dramas are women and men performing a wide range of roles, sometimes impersonating animals. Every procession is accompanied by music of gongs, drums and cymbals.
Balinese dances are and remain sacred, although shortened performances are given for tourists. There are a multitude of them: kebyar, barong, rangda, kecak, topeng… and the most classic, legong. Each dance is different, but always tells a story about demons, gods, warriors, princes and princesses. The costumes are divinely decorated and the gestures are majestic. The girls’ dances are extraordinary spectacles of exceptional grace. In most cases, the dancers are amateurs, and the children begin their apprenticeship at a very early age. There are many dance schools on the island of Bali.
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