Balinese Dance: Basic Techniques

In your first attempt at learning Balinese dance, I guarantee you that the positions of Balinese dance will feel unnatural and uncomfortable for your body. Even experienced dancers know that in order to pull off the perfect position, they will need to endure some pain. I hope to break down the basics for you so that you will feel a little more comfortable and less daunted by the strange poses as you learn Balinese dance.Today I will be focusing on the basic female style and plan on posting about the 'bebancihan' and male styles of Balinese dance later on.

Firstly, the position of the body is very important to master if you want to learn Balinese dance properly. The lower back needs to be arched, and your butt needs to stick out. Your toes need to be lifted up. Your shoulders need to be pulled back and even. You must tuck in your stomach and lift up your chest. This is called cengkek. It not only creates a very 'womanly' image but adds strength and elegance to all your movements. The body is always pulled taught while dancing and if you 'slack off' even for a moment, you will lose your beautiful line. Below is the basic cengkek ('s-shaped) position in tampak sirang pada (open foot position), which is often used when warming up and stretching the body ready for dance. In tampak sirang pada, your heels are about a fist apart and your feet point out in a 90 degree angle. While cengkek in sirang pada, you can practice moving down and up, holding the body taught, keeping the knees apart. It's a fantastic lower back and thighs workout!

Cengkek (curving lower back) in Tampak sirang pada foot position

Next, we will learn basic agem. An agem is actually any stationary position in Balinese dance but the most commonly used agems are agem kanan and agem kiri (that is, right agem and left agem). Series of movements are based around these agems. Starting with the feet for agem kanan, the body weight sits on the right, held by the right leg. The left foot is about a fist apart from the right foot, turned out at an angle of 90 degrees (or more). The toes on the 'empty foot' (the left foot) are raised.

Positioning of the feet for agem kanan

 Moving up from the feet, the knees are bent to create a wide space between them. The body leans to the right but the left hip is pushed to the side and your butt needs to stick out, too! Your lower back is arched, your stomach held in. Your chest is pushed up and your arms are raised up, and bent at the elbows, which also must be held high. Your right hand is in line with your eyes, and your left hand is in line with your chest. Your thumbs are tucked in. Your head is slightly tilted to the right. Your shoulders must be even and pulled back. Your eyes need to be opened up...Oh, and don't forget to smile! Sounds like a lot to remember? Please have a look at the picture for a clearer idea.

Agem kanan (right agem) The body weight is all in the right leg, but the left hip protrudes.

Agem kiri (left agem) follows the same rules as agem kanan but the body weight is on the left. The right hip protrudes and the left hand is in line with the eyes, and the right hand in line with your chest. The left hand is turned horizontally for agem kiri. For those right-handed people, I'm sure you'll find that your agem kiri isn't quite as good as your right. Be aware of that when you dance, and make sure you pull your shoulders back and lift your left elbows up extra high to compensate!

Agem kiri: the body weight rests in the left leg

An extension of the agem is seledet which is a glance to the left or right with the eyes that occurs as a kind of accent (in line with the pattern of the gamelan music). It often happens on the second last beat and the eyes and chin are 'flicked' to the left or right, then back to the centre on the last beat of the gong cycle. It is a distinct feature of Balinese dance. Many people ask me what it means but I just tel them it's a movment that adds to the overall effect and accents other movments. 

To do a sledet in agem kanan, the dancer will glance to the right, and to the left when in agem kiri. The chin is pushed and pulled in the direction of the eye movement. When returning from seledet, the eyes need to be opened wide. When doing a sledet the dancer needs to avoid blinking and keep them wide open, even if their eyes hurt. As a matter of fact, you should try your best not to blink too much when you dance. If you learn Balinese dance in Bali, your teacher may have you repeat the sledet pattern over and over until your eyes hurt!

Seledet in agem kanan

Returning from seledet, the eyes need to be opened extra wide to finish it off.

To finish this basic introduction, I'll show you the two most basic facial expressions in Balinese dance: happy and angry. Yes, facial expressions are an essential part of Balinese dance and set the mood as the dance is played out. The dancer's face must perform at all times. The standard facial position requires the dancer to hold the lips in a tight smile, with the eyes wide open. They cannot show their teeth and shouldn't let their eyelids droop. Even if you have small eyes, it doesn't matter as long as they're given life!