Balinese dancing

Jimbaran is on the coast, and overlooks the Bali airport across the bay. Planes come and go frequently. My expectation is that the culture of Jimbaran will be more aligned with that of Koh Samui. Still lots of shops and food outlets, but with the addition of more bars. Shops too I expect will be newer and with more European labels and styling rather than the traditional art and crafts seen in Sayan, wood and stone carving and the like. We will find out more later this morning as we explore Jimbaran further. Last night we saw traditional Balinese dancers and a Gamalan band. My favourite musicians were the two guys who each had a set of drums, similar to those we saw in one of the temples. These guys really rocked a rhythm and the sounds they produced, in unison, were amazing. Quite eerie, and unlike the sing song sounds of the rest of the performers instruments. The dancers were very interesting. Luckily we had a translation sheet to the story behind each dance. Due to this I could basically follow the story line, and still enjoy the movement and colour. A bit like opera really. You have no idea what they are saying, but the emotion comes through....and you either love it, or hate it. The highlight of the dances for me last night was the one where two girls were interpreting the courtship rituals of male birds of paradise. I could see the connection following the research I have been doing of late. An unexpected bonus really and much less scary than the old man in the first dance. I was glad though that we took the time to watch the performance as it was quite different to the Thai dancing we saw in Chiang Mai in January. 30.5.13