The Dancers and Musicians of Bali to perform at WSU

With glittering sounds and stylized motion, The Dancers and Musicians of Bali will enchant its WSU audience at 7:30 p.m. Feb. 26 in Miller Concert Hall. Tickets are $13 for faculty and staff. Only a few tickets remain.

Based in the South Bali village of Peliatan, a center for music and art, the 35-member company draws from the finest master performers of the island, presenting both ancient communal rituals and dramatic dances. Balinese dancing is based on Indian forms with stylized movements of the entire body.

“Balinese fire! Certainly anyone interested in the art forms of the Far East cannot afford to miss it,” said The New York Times.

The company presents a fascinating experience of this ancient culture through ritual dances and music. The orchestra, known as the Gamelan, is made up of a glittering array of bronze xylophone-like gongs, chimes and drums. The orchestra is made up of the gong-chime called “trompony,” xylophones called “gender,” and drums called “kendang.”

Within Balinese dance-drama, a performer is expected to communicate character, mood and dramatic action through the use of gesture. Highly stylized facial expression, mime and dance provide the non-verbal tools of the performers. In keeping with the Balinese concern for proper orientation with regard to religious influence, a performance space will always be arranged so that the dancers enter from the direction of the sacred mountain.