limwhow
Senior Member
T R A V E L O G U E
Kecak Dance
I would say that this day was full of hightlights.
One highlight after another highight.
And of course one Lowlight (low light condition) after another Lowlight
.
We have been looking forward to this Kecak Dance since we set foot on Balinese soil.
And finally here we were.
In this dance, the few tens of male dancers in Sarong would alternate between sitting and strutting around in circles,
and in general would keep chanting the word 'kecak kecak', in mimicry of the noise of a monkey.
Our fellow travel-mate Colin aptly described it as hypnotic, for after a while, the kecak-ing would lull one into a half-asleep, trance-like state.
So pardon me for not being able to shoot well.
The story of this Kecak Dance is taken from the Indian epic The Ramayana.
In this story, the Princess Sita was abducted by the evil lord Rhawana and it tells how
the Prince Rama goes about saving her with the help of Hanoman the Monkey God.
limwhow #70
Colin said to me: "Catch the men when they first come streaming out of the doorway.."
So I tried my best here and obediently I did, with him sitting beside me.
The timing of the day was great as it was last light and we could still see the blue of the sky.
limwhow #71
If you ask me who is the most difficult character to photograph, I would say it's Sita the beautiful Princess.
Her delicate hand movements and the slow, sensuous gyration of her hips, coupled with the expressions on her face...
Add onto these, the fact that she would fleet from one part of the stage to another,
all make for a difficult subject to capture.
I have always dreamt of shooting her in the centre surrounded by the male dancers with out-stretched arms Kecak-ing away.
But alas, my dream was not to come true. Here is the best that I could manage.
limwhow #72
Another set of characters whom SereneXMM and I found most attractive were the Legong Dancers.
These are young girls of around 7-8 years of age and they have been trained since very young.
Their movements were synchronised and graceful, and their eye expressions enhanced the whole beauty of their dance.
One thing about these Legong Dancers - once they reached puberty and started have their first periods, they will no longer be able to be a Legong Dancer.
limwhow #73
I am full of loads of nonsensical record shots.
This one serves just to show the ritual in the middle of the dance by the priest.
Here is a video of this Kecak Dance taken by yours truly.
It was done using my iphone, so quality is really not good.
But heck, for the sake of showing it - here goes...
[youtube]xQ6vYgR-Mco&playnext[/youtube]
Kecak Dance
I would say that this day was full of hightlights.
One highlight after another highight.
And of course one Lowlight (low light condition) after another Lowlight
.We have been looking forward to this Kecak Dance since we set foot on Balinese soil.
And finally here we were.
In this dance, the few tens of male dancers in Sarong would alternate between sitting and strutting around in circles,
and in general would keep chanting the word 'kecak kecak', in mimicry of the noise of a monkey.
Our fellow travel-mate Colin aptly described it as hypnotic, for after a while, the kecak-ing would lull one into a half-asleep, trance-like state.
So pardon me for not being able to shoot well.
The story of this Kecak Dance is taken from the Indian epic The Ramayana.
In this story, the Princess Sita was abducted by the evil lord Rhawana and it tells how
the Prince Rama goes about saving her with the help of Hanoman the Monkey God.
limwhow #70
Colin said to me: "Catch the men when they first come streaming out of the doorway.."
So I tried my best here and obediently I did, with him sitting beside me.
The timing of the day was great as it was last light and we could still see the blue of the sky.
limwhow #71
If you ask me who is the most difficult character to photograph, I would say it's Sita the beautiful Princess.
Her delicate hand movements and the slow, sensuous gyration of her hips, coupled with the expressions on her face...
Add onto these, the fact that she would fleet from one part of the stage to another,
all make for a difficult subject to capture.
I have always dreamt of shooting her in the centre surrounded by the male dancers with out-stretched arms Kecak-ing away.
But alas, my dream was not to come true. Here is the best that I could manage.
limwhow #72
Another set of characters whom SereneXMM and I found most attractive were the Legong Dancers.
These are young girls of around 7-8 years of age and they have been trained since very young.
Their movements were synchronised and graceful, and their eye expressions enhanced the whole beauty of their dance.
One thing about these Legong Dancers - once they reached puberty and started have their first periods, they will no longer be able to be a Legong Dancer.
limwhow #73
I am full of loads of nonsensical record shots.
This one serves just to show the ritual in the middle of the dance by the priest.
Here is a video of this Kecak Dance taken by yours truly.
It was done using my iphone, so quality is really not good.
But heck, for the sake of showing it - here goes...
[youtube]xQ6vYgR-Mco&playnext[/youtube]
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