Joged is a secular social dance which originated from an ancient dance called gandrung. Whilst gandrung was performed exclusively by a young solo male dancer, joged is danced by young women. Joged dancers may wear two different types of costumes, including a simple lace kebaya blouse and a kamen (sarong) or gold gilded material wrapped around their bodies. The headdress is in the legong style, covered in flowers and gold paint. A dancer carries a fan and a sash which is used to wrap a dancer from the audience.
Joged bumbung or pejogedan is the name of the gamelan used to accompany joged. It is made up of 2-8 bamboo instruments known as rindik, grantang or tingklik which play the melody; a horizontal gong called a gong pulu; small cymbals; two pot gongs to keep the time; a small flute which enriches the melody of the rindik at a higher octave; and a kendang drum. The kendang plays a fundamental role in the dance, interacting with the dancers and emphasizing their movements. A good kendang player will be able to react spontaneously to any improvised dance moves.
The movements of joged are simple and slightly evocative, in the effort to encourage members of the audience to join in and out-dance her. Slightly evocative may be an understatement in some villages where sexy female dancers gyrate their hips and bottoms à la dangdut dancers. This style is extremely popular amongst young Balinese men, but it has been heavily criticized by conservatives who dismiss it as ‘pornography’.
You can see performances of joged at parties, receptions, at arts festivals and many other venues. Some of the participants from the audience are great dancers, but not all, and it’s wonderful to watch the different improvised styles. If you get the chance, check out a joged performance, but don’t stand back and pretend to be shy - get up on the stage and give it go!
Copyright@ Kulture Kid 2005
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