I like Bali because of its unique culture that you can't find anywhere else in the world, not even in other parts of Indonesia. Correct me if I'm wrong, but in China, for instance, their culture is pretty much homogeneous throughout the country. And if you go to any other country where there is a big Chinese community, you'll find that they also share an almost similar culture to the people in mainland China. Buddhist temples in China don't look that much different from Buddhist temples in Malaysia. And I think you can say the same thing about the Indian culture. But this is not so in Bali.
Coming from Malaysia where all Malays are Muslims and where most Hindus are of Indian descent, when I went to Bali for the first time, I found it fascinating to see the Balinese people who mostly looked like me (Malay) but embraced Hinduism, albeit their own version of Hinduism. Even more fascinating was the fact that this Hindu island exists in a country that has the largest Muslim population in the world.
I was also particularly attracted to the traditional Balinese dance--the one called Tari Legong Kraton, performed by women. Saw it for the first time on YouTube, and I loved seeing the moves that were so graceful (look at their fingers!) and yet so strong. Their expression was haunting--eyes open wide and a smile that was incongruous with the eyes, as if suggesting that hey, I may look nice but don't mess around.
Then when I was in Bali for the second time, I saw it performed live at a shopping mall near Seminyak by a bunch of schoolgirls. And I thought, if they can do it, so can I. So on my third visit to Bali, in 2017, I decided to take a one-day private lesson in Ubud.
The owner of the hotel where I stayed gave me the addresses of the dance schools in Ubud. There were a few. I chose the nearest. I don't remember the name or where it was exactly, but here's a picture of how it looked from the outside. It was in Ubud town, on the street with the mosaic art tiles.
The instructor was a woman about my age, who claimed that she had once worked with Malaysia's famous dancer, Ramli Ibrahim. She gave me a sarong and helped to drape it around me, covering my jeans. Then we went into the dance studio. It didn't have mirrors on the wall as a studio normally would. So she had to face me while demonstrating. She assumed I was an experienced dancer looking to add another dance into my repertoire. I should have warned her that she couldn't be further from the truth, and that in fact I had two left feet. Maybe they're both right feet. I should have probably also warned her that I had trouble telling left from right.
The class took only one hour but my legs and arms were sore like I had been slogging off at the gym. My instructor did it all so effortlessly. I had to constantly be reminded to bend my legs more, more, more. Then at the end of the session, I did the dance on my own without her dancing along.
Please excuse my stiffness. I had just climbed Mount Batur a couple of days before. And my jeans were tight (excuses, excuses..)
Coming from Malaysia where all Malays are Muslims and where most Hindus are of Indian descent, when I went to Bali for the first time, I found it fascinating to see the Balinese people who mostly looked like me (Malay) but embraced Hinduism, albeit their own version of Hinduism. Even more fascinating was the fact that this Hindu island exists in a country that has the largest Muslim population in the world.
I was also particularly attracted to the traditional Balinese dance--the one called Tari Legong Kraton, performed by women. Saw it for the first time on YouTube, and I loved seeing the moves that were so graceful (look at their fingers!) and yet so strong. Their expression was haunting--eyes open wide and a smile that was incongruous with the eyes, as if suggesting that hey, I may look nice but don't mess around.
Then when I was in Bali for the second time, I saw it performed live at a shopping mall near Seminyak by a bunch of schoolgirls. And I thought, if they can do it, so can I. So on my third visit to Bali, in 2017, I decided to take a one-day private lesson in Ubud.
The owner of the hotel where I stayed gave me the addresses of the dance schools in Ubud. There were a few. I chose the nearest. I don't remember the name or where it was exactly, but here's a picture of how it looked from the outside. It was in Ubud town, on the street with the mosaic art tiles.
The instructor was a woman about my age, who claimed that she had once worked with Malaysia's famous dancer, Ramli Ibrahim. She gave me a sarong and helped to drape it around me, covering my jeans. Then we went into the dance studio. It didn't have mirrors on the wall as a studio normally would. So she had to face me while demonstrating. She assumed I was an experienced dancer looking to add another dance into my repertoire. I should have warned her that she couldn't be further from the truth, and that in fact I had two left feet. Maybe they're both right feet. I should have probably also warned her that I had trouble telling left from right.
The class took only one hour but my legs and arms were sore like I had been slogging off at the gym. My instructor did it all so effortlessly. I had to constantly be reminded to bend my legs more, more, more. Then at the end of the session, I did the dance on my own without her dancing along.
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| With my instructor |
Please excuse my stiffness. I had just climbed Mount Batur a couple of days before. And my jeans were tight (excuses, excuses..)
