What Westerners know as Balinese dance is almost always the kebyar repertoire designed for the tourist market, not what Balinese themselves watch. The most consistently popular genre is Arja, which is the Balinese equivalent to Western classical ballet and opera rolled into one. Arja utilizes a range of classical metres, tembang , which give performance a distinctive and unforgettable tone. Arja is also extremely demanding, because performers must be first class dancers, singers and actors at the same time. Most of Bali 's great dancers were trained in Arja – Balinese say this is because, if you can dance Arja, you can dance anything!
Arja is extremely versatile and used for classical and popular stories. It has a well-developed cast of characters. What is distinctive is that the hero and heroine only sing, they are translated and interpreted throughout by servants, who therefore play many of the key roles. Arja is also interesting for other reasons. Most of the central roles – male or female – are conventionally played by women. And many of the plots of Arja are about the private side of public life and stress the personal rather then the public, dynastic and official accounts of other genres.
One of Balinesedance's initiatives has been to make Arja relevant both to contemporary Indonesians and to non-Indonesian audiences. The first stage was to use contemporary stories. For example in 2005 an all-star cast performed a modern short story, ‘They met in Tampaksiring' ( Katemu ring Tampaksiring ) at the International Bali Arts Festival (available on VCD from Bali Records). On a US tours in 2006, Professor I Wayan Dibia and Ni Madé Pujawati worked on an Arja version of Oedipus Rex with the arias in English. In the future, they plan to use contemporary dress as well.
Arja, frequently referred to as operatic in nature (de Zoete and Spies 1972: 196), is a form of total theatre, which holistically integrates elements of music, dance, and drama. To enact a story, Arja performers incorporate intricate vocal forms, stylized dance movements and elaborate spoken dialogue, in response to the elaborate, melodic, and dynamic gamelan music played on a chamber-like ensemble known as Gamelan Gaguntangan featuring two bamboo zithers called guntang (McPhee 1966).
Most audiences in Bali consider Arja identical to vocal forms using traditional meters known as tembang . This is because this dramatic form is almost entirely sung and tembang is Arja's most essential element. Therefore one can say that Arja cannot exist without tembang . This also means that, to perform Arja, one must be able to sing tembang . In fact a crucial aspect of the skill of any Arja performer lies in their ability to sing tembang.
Like the classical Gambuh dance drama, Arja has always been associated with the Panji dance drama. This is mainly because Malat or Panji Romances (from eleventh-century East Java ) has been Arja's most important source of dramatic inspiration. This does not mean however that Arja confines its stories only to Panji. Since the early decades of the twentieth century, Arja began to enact stories derived from Balinese tales, Chinese and Arabic, and from the Mahabharata and Ramayana. During the last ten years, several times Arja performances have enacted Western and contemporary Indonesian stories. It is important to mention that, whatever the stories to be enacted, the episodes always revolve around a plot involving romantic intrigue and comic scenes.
According to the function Arja classified into groups Balih Dance-shaped balihan theater. As a form of theater art theater Arja is very complex because it is a mix of different types of art that lives in Bali, such as dance, drama, art, vocal, instrumental arts, poetry, acting, mime art, the art of fashion, art and so on. All types of art are united in Arja are able to come together and united, so that each other are not mutually detrimental.The combination is very unified and coherent, as well as sound art exibits tone slendro / pelog a song very melodious and attractive, while supporters and penagasan story through monologues and dialogues.Indeed Arja is a combination of the two supporters of the theater, the idea came from supporters (players) and the audience.As a form of total theater, Arja is very communicative with the audience. For the Balinese this is not surprising as it is, as with many other art forms. What is unique is the involvement of the audience to the theater in Bali. Attendance has since begun performing together as if he determines the success of a show with the attitude that they are doing in response to the expression of the performer or performers posed as they bermain.Nama Arja at the thought comes from the word Reja (Sanskrit), which means beautiful. Arja is a kind of Balinese opera, is a dramatari the dialogue with the song. Dramatari Arja is one art that is very popular among the people.
Arja is expected to appear in the 1820s, during the reign of king of Klungkung I Dewa Agung Way. Three important phase in the development of Arja is:
Emergence Doyong Arja (Arja without the accompaniment of gamelan, played by one person).Arja Gaguntangan (using gamelan Gaguntangan by the number of actors more than one person).Arja Gede (brought by between 10 to 15 actors to show a fixed structure as it exists now).Gamelan is usually used to accompany Arja called Gaguntangan a soft and melodious voice that can add to the beauty of the song that was sung by the dancers.
Emergence Doyong Arja (Arja without the accompaniment of gamelan, played by one person).Arja Gaguntangan (using gamelan Gaguntangan by the number of actors more than one person).Arja Gede (brought by between 10 to 15 actors to show a fixed structure as it exists now).Gamelan is usually used to accompany Arja called Gaguntangan a soft and melodious voice that can add to the beauty of the song that was sung by the dancers.
The main source of the play is the story Arja Panji (Malate), then was born a number of stories like Bandasura, Pakang Raras, Linggar, I Godogan, Copyright Kelangen, Made Umbara, Cilinaya and Dempu Awang is widely known by the public.
Arja also show the character of folklore as Jayaprana, Sampik Ingtai, Basur and Cupak Grantang and some act lifted from the story of the Mahabharata and Ramayana. Any act that brought Arja always show the main characters which include Inya, Galuh, Desak (Desak Rai), Limbur, Kembar, Panasar, Mantri Manis, Mantri Buduh and two pairs of brothers clown or Panasar that each - each consisting of Punta and Kartala. Almost all areas in Bali still has Arja groups are still active.
Towards the end of the twentieth century was born Arja Muani, players all men, some women play. Arja was greeted with great enthusiasm by the public because, delivering fresh comedy.Apart from the dancers, the music accompaniment accompaniment Arja is growing, from geguntangan until now accompanied by gong kebyar.
Shows growing Arja alone, from ordinary events to large-scale events such as the Bali Arts Festival (PKB) and every Temple Ceremony.
Shows growing Arja alone, from ordinary events to large-scale events such as the Bali Arts Festival (PKB) and every Temple Ceremony.
you will be able to see different types of entertainment in Bali. during a birthday celebration in every temple in Bali, is expected to use traditional Balinese clothes, if you want to watch the entertainment at the Temple
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