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The Performing Art
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 interwined, 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. In West Java, for example, the most
popular form is the Wayang Golek, using carved and painted three
dimensional wooden puppets. Both the Wayang Kulit and Wayang Golek
take their repertoire from the classical Indian epics but in Central
Java, the wooden puppet theatre traditionally brings only stories
derived from popular folk legends revolving around the spread of
Islam. There are other forms still alive today, such as the Wayang
Klitik and Wayang Kruci, each having its own standard repertoire.
The oldest form of "shadow" play is probably
the Wayang Beber, in which the dalang or puppeteer simply unrolls
a scroll bearing the scenes and figures of the story while he delivers
his narration accompanied by a gamelan orchestra. A popular contemporary
form of wayang theatre is the Wayang Wong, is which actors or dancers
represent the characters in the story which is presented on a conventional
stage.
These are establishments for the purpose of entertainment and
are found in many of the big cities of Indonesia. They are a kind
of permanent night fairs presenting nightly performances of local
folk theatre, local handicrafts and other attractions of popular
character. One of the oldest and best-known entertainment parks
is the Sriwedari park in Solo (Surakarta) which offers nightly performances
of popular wayang wong plays.
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