Breathing New Life Into Legong Bedulu

KOMPAS/AYU SULISTYOWATI

Three dancers practicea Legong Kupu-Kupu Tarum dance accompanied by Seka Legong Ganda Manik music orchestra at the hall of Samuan Tiga Temple, Bedulu village, Gianyar regency, Bali, Thursday (4/5) evening. They have been reconstructing and revitalizing a number of Legong dances with Bedulu style since 1980.

Gusti Ayu Diah, 12, and Gusti Ayu Mei Swari, 13, light-footedly perform the Legong Kupu-Kupu Tarum dance during a training session at the yard of the Samuan Tiga Temple, Bedulu, Gianyar regency on Thursday (4/5) night. The dance had long disappeared before being reconstructed and performed again 37 years ago by the descendants of the old dancers.

Diah and Mei are the youngest generation among the Legong Kupu-kupu Tarum dancers and bringing the Legong Bedulu dances back to the stage requires time and hard work.

One of the people who have concerns is I Gusti Ayu Ketut Kartikawati, 44, a dance trainer who dedicated her time and energy to motivate Gusti Ketut Kantun, 66, a legong dancer in 1960s, to remember the movements of the dance.

“She [Kantun] did not remember the movements without the sound of gamelan. When we first met, the gamelan music had not been reconstructed. So, to recreate the full dance meant waiting for the sound of the gamelan to help her remember,” said Kartikawati.

That night was one of the training sessions for Kartikawati and some other dancers to improve the Legong Kupu-kupu Tarum. They tried to make the dance as similar to the original dance as possible.

It was Kartikawati’s husband, I Gusti Made Sudiarsa, along with his elder brother I Gusti Putu Sudarta,who initiated the preservation of the Legong Bedulu dances, including Legong Kupu-kupu Tarum.

Around 1970s, the Legong Bedulu dance died and people started to forget. Also, there was neither photo documentation nor recordings of the gamelan music.

So, in 1980, they started looking for the old dancers. Luckily, they met some first generation dancers, namely I Ciglek and I Pukel.

However, their meeting with the dancers was useless unless the brothers met I Gusti Putu Mandor or Pekak (kakek) Landung. Pekak Landung was one of the Legong Bedulu gamelan players that used six tones.

To remember the dance movements, the old dancers needed the gamelan music. “The voice of Pekak Landung who repeated the gamelan music was recorded using a modest recorder. Then, using the record we began the reconstruction of the gamelan and the dance,” said Sudarta.

In reconstructing the gamelan music, Sudarta and Sudiarsa got help from their brother, I Gusti Sumarsana, who has now passed away.

A documentary film Arsip Bali 1928, which among other things, tells about Legong Bedulu dance, strengthened Sudarta and Sudiarsa’s belief that the classic dance was from Bedulu around the 1920s. In the muted black and white film watched in 1986, I Ciglek, the first generation of Legong dancer, attended a training session and performed the dance. The Arsip Bali 1928 and Stikom Bali teams are looking for the original copy of the documentary film made by a foreigner. The teams contacted some libraries in United Kingdom and United States.

Sudarta said that during the training session, Ciglek was topless and only wore a simple cloth or kamen. The documentary film was believed to be recorded in Samuan Tiga Temple, Bedulu. The complete outfit was stored at the temple. Sudiarsa repaired the clothes and they were worn during several performances, including the ones at Bentara Budaya Bali last April.

Legong was a classic dance developed at the Bali palace in the 19^th century. In Babad Dalem Sukawati, it was said, the classic dance began from a dream by Sukawati King, I Dewa Agung Made Karna (1775-1825). In his dream, the king was praying at Jogan Agung Temple, Ketewel, when he saw an angel dancing with golden head wear. The dream was brought to life and called Sang Hyang Legong. In its development, there are around 18 Legong dances including the dance from Bedulu village. The dances were Legong Lasem, Kupu-Kupu Tarum, Jobog, Kuntul, Legod Bawa and Smarandhana.

Five generations

From 1920s through 1980s, there were five generations of Legong Bedulu dancers. The first generation dancers were, among other, I Camplung, I Pukel and I Ciglek. The second-generation dancers were I Gusti Putu Brenis, I Resiand I Lambon. The third-generation dancers were I Gusti Putu Pratik, I Nyoman Losin and I Klaga. The fourth generation dancers were I Lemes, I Nyo- man Pasti and I Gusti Ketut Kantun.

Meanwhile, the fifth generation dancers were I Gusti Ayu Ketut Kartikawati, I Gusti Ayu Okaweli and I Gusti Putu Ngempot.

Before 1980, the Legon Bedulu dance was close to death, prompting the fifth generation dancers and Sudarta-Sudiarsa brothers to revitalize it.

“This effort began from a will to preserve the dance. We used our own money to fund the project,” said Sudarta and Sudiarsa that night.

Initially, they borrowed a set of gamelan from Seka Ganda Manik run by the temple management. However, the gamelan did not too fit with the Legong dance. By the end of 1995, the brothers were able to form a gamelan troupe that would play for the Legong dancers. Its name was Seka Legong Ganda Sari.

Along with seven dancers, Seka Legong Ganda Sari now performs a variet of dances and music, namely Legong Kupu-kupu Tarum, Legong Lasem, Legong Kuntul, Legong Smarandana, Tabuh Dang, Tabuh Sekar Gendot and Tabuh Solo Bandung.

Today, Kantun is happy to see her grandchildren attending a training session in preparation for the Bali Art Festival 2017 in July. She is not worried anymore about losing the Legong Bedulu dancers and gamelan musicians.