Folk Dance And Modern Dance

Indonesia's Traditional Folk Dances

One of the biggest folk dance traditions in Indonesia is that of the island of Bali. Bali is regularly visited by tourists seeking not only an exotic location, but also a vibrant arts scene. Bali is able to cater to this tourist desire with ease; organized performances feature classic Balinese dances of several different types.

Balinese Folk Dances

There are two different types of traditional Balinese folk dance. 'Wali' is a sacred folk dance, and 'Bebalihan' are dances intended for entertainment purposes only. This division is one of the best things that Indonesian folk dance could have possibly done to make sure that folk dancing stays alive and well for centuries. While many cultures experience disputes over cultural dances with religious underpinnings, Bali's separation of entertainment and sacred ritual dancing makes it clear

Wali

Pendet: A religious ritual dance, Pendet is traditionally danced by young girls, with the purpose of purifying a temple before something else is going to happen. This dance may be performed in preparation for another dance, or for a religious happening in the temple.

Baris: A sacred warrior dance of Bali, in this dance a male dancer depicts a male soldier about to go off to battle. The dance is a reinforcement of his manhood and his ultimate ability to succeed in battle.

Bebalihan

Topeng: This masked dance has the function of telling stories. Traditionally, a narrator with a half mask tells the story out loud, and some dancers (all with full masks) act out the story that is being told. The stories detail ancient lives and times.

Ketjak: A surprising dance, this one was born only in the 20th century, which may explain why it's so different from other folk dances of Indonesia. In this dance, men form a large circle and reenact a battle, but the dance is thought to have roots in trance induction.

Javanese Folk Dance

Folk dance from Java, another island of Indonesia, has gained media attention around the world for being 'too graphic' sexually. The Javanese Jaipong dance is rooted in Javanese, and therefore Indonesian, cultural and dance history. However, like several Pacific folk dances, like Hawaiian hula dance, outsiders see the sexual innuendo in the dance in places where it is not even present.That's to say that there are no sexual notes in Jaipong-there are. Jaipong dance was created by Gugum Gumbira, who had been asked by the Indonesian president to help revive indigenous music and dance of Indonesia in 1961. Gumbira may have done the job a bit too well, because the dance became widely popular and appreciated. It's easy to see why some people find it inappropriate (traditionally, the singer in the dance was a prostitute); however, the roots of the dance are strong, and the dance can be interpreted in as sexual or in as artistic a manner as one likes.

Modern Dance

The modern dance movement began in the early 1900s as a rebellion against the formality and structure of ballet. Dancers wanted to move freely and naturally through space, not just vertical high as was typical of ballet. They wanted to be free of toe shoes and grasp the floor with bare feet. They wanted to involve the whole body in their dance, using torso, shoulders, head, arms, hands, even fingers. They wanted to incorporate the facial expressions that accompany the feelings and emotions of dance. Most importantly, they wanted their dance to be not just an intellectual and physical endeavor, but a creative one as well! 

In line with its development, modern dance can be categorized into several types, including hip-hop dance, concert dance, break dance, R&B dance, freestyle dance, and finally ballroom dance.

The following are the kinds of modern dance or dance:

1.Free dance

In the early 1900s a few dancers in Europe started to rebel against the rigid constraints of Classical Ballet. Shedding classical ballet technique, costume, and shoes these early modern dance pioneers practiced free dance. Although the term modern dance was not yet coined, these early precursors contributed, through their independence and originality, to dance as a rising art form whose prestige would be firmly established in America by the 1940s

At the turn of the century, in America, Loie Fuller, was captivating audiences with herburlesque techniques that were used in conjunction with her revolutionary lighting equipment and translucent silkcostumes. She patented her apparatus, her methods of stage lighting, and her voluminous silk costumes.

2. Robot Dance / robottic: 

The Robotic Dance is an illusionary dance style that attempts to mimic a dancing robot or mannequin style. It originated by Charles Washington, also known as 'Charles Robot' in the late 1960's, and gained further fame after The Jacksons performed the dance when they performed Dancing Machine. 

3. Blood-Elf Dance: 

This is a flexible dance or flexible dance. This is a new dance in today's era, many young people follow this dance. 

4. Breakdance: 

B-boying or what is commonly referred to as breakdancing, is a dance style that evolved as part of the hip-hop culture among Black and Latin American youth in the South Bronx, New York City during the 1970s. dancing to both hip-hop and other musical genres that are often remixed to extend musical breaks. One who practices this dance style is called a b-boy, b-girl, or breaker. Although breakdancing is a term of b-boying and breaking is preferred by most of the art form's most prominent pioneers and practitioners.

5. Moonwalk Dance:

The Moonwalk or backslide is a dance technique that presents the illusion of the dancer being pulled back while trying to move forward. A breakdancing move, it became popular worldwide after Michael Jackson executed a dance move during a Billie jean performance on Motown 25 on March 25, 1983. It later became his signature move, and is now one of the best known dance techniques in the world.

6. Hip-Hop

A cultural movement that began to grow around the 1970s which was developed by African-American and Latin-American people. Hip Hop is a very dynamic mix of elements consisting of MCing (better known as rapping), DJing, Breakdancing, and Graffiti. Lately, the Hip Hop element has also been colored by beatboxing, fashion, slang, and other lifestyles.

Initially the growth of Hip Hop started from The Bronx in New York City and continues to grow rapidly throughout the world. Hip hop was first introduced by an African-American, Grandmaster Flash and The Furious Five. Initially Hip Hop music was only filled with music from Disk Jockey by making variations from disc rotations to produce unique sounds. "Rapping" was then present to fill in the vocals of these sounds. As for the choreography, the music is then filled with broken dances known as breakdancing. In its development, Hip Hop is also considered as a part of art and to express visual art, graffiti emerged as part of Hip Hop culture.