PERFORMING ARTS

From graceful court and temple dances to charming folk dances and boisterous play, the performing arts of Indonesia offer an astounding range of types and styles for the visitor to study or enjoy, reflecting, as they, do, the soul and traditions of the various ethnic groups who support them.

Music, dance and drama are very often intertwined, such as the ludruk transvestite theatre of East Java and the lenong folk theatre of Jakarta, both known also for their slapstick humor and early Shakespearean simplicity on their stage settings.

An important form of indigenous theatre is the puppets play, of which the most celebrated is the wayang kulit shadow play of Java where the characters are represented by the shadows of intricately carved and painted flat leather puppets, cast on a screen with the help of a torch (nowdays often substituted by an electric bulb).

The puppet theatre has many forms and employs a variety of media. more...