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MUSIC THE
DANCE In the temple Mertasari in Semawang (near Sanur) there is a small stone shrine Shaped like a dancing helmet (gelungan), and often legong go there to deposit offerings. Once a year, a day (tumpak wayang) is dedicated to the theatre, when all theatrical aceessories costumes, masks, and marionettes as well as musical instruments, receive offerings, perhaps to restore their original effectiveness. On this day theatrical organizations all over the island give feasts, but no performance of any kind is permitted. there is also a day when literary manuscripts receive offerings; the day is dedicated to Saraswati, goddess of learning, science, and literature, when no one may read. The size of the crowd is the only indication of whether a performance is successful or not. The Balinese do not applaud or show their appreciation of a performer in any other way. This seeming lack of encouragement does not influence the enthusiasm for the art, and it is my impression that the dance and the theatre of today are even more developed than in the past. Judging from old reports, it seems that there are more performances, the shows are more elaborate and varied, and their are many new styles besides that of the jealously preserved classic theatre.
There is hardly a village that does not have some sort of dancing organization,
and even the fact that the old custom of exempting actors and musicians
from payment of taxes has been abolished by the Government has not diminished
interest in dancing and acting. There is not even the incentive of commercial
gain for the individual; the small amounts received at private festivals
go to the society's fund for new costumes, new instruments, and the
communal feasts. links
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