Learning Balinese Dance

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Maybe you come to Bali for not just holiday, but you want to learn about the local culture. One way to do it is learning Balinese dance. There are many studio where the Balinese kids learning to dance. They are scattered all over Bali. One that I would like to present here is Sudi Dancing School in Blahbatuh.
Every afternoon boys and girls from 4 to 15 years old come to the house of Mr. Sudi. Mr. Sudi and his wife, Made, were both dancers. They call their home Sudi Dancing School. But it is not like a formal school where you see many children studying in class room. This is very informal way of learning.

The idea to start this school, according to Mr. Sudi, more than ten years ago, was to prepare the Balinese local children so they can perform dancing at the temple ceremony at their village. That's the main reason. In Bali, there are three kind of dances: dance that dedicated for God or sacred dance, next the social dance, and the last is public performance dance. As you can see, the first was the reason the school was started.

Now they do not just teach religious dance, but also public performance dance. Probably you have seen Legong dance performed somewhere before. This is one of the many dance they teach.

While Made is soft when teaching, Mr. Sudi is more energetic. Sometimes he can be overwhelming for those who are not used to him. But they have their distinctive style. Some students may enjoy soft way and others may need more energetic teachers.

Here is a photo of Mr. Sudi and his wife teaching the local girls dancing. The photo is taken by my friend, Thant Zaw.


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