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THE LEGONG At each accent of the music the whole body of the tjondong jerks; she stamps her foot, which quivers faster ~and faster, the vibration spreading to her thigh and up her hips until the entire body shakes so violently that the flowers of her head-dress fly in all directions. the gradually growing spell breaks off unexpectedly and the girl glides with swift side-steps, first to the right, then to the left, swaying from her flexible waist while her arms break into sharp patterns at the wrists and elbows. Without stopping, she picks up two fans that lie on the mat and continues dancing with one in each hand, In an elegant winding stride. At a cue from the music, the two other girls straighten up and begin to dance with their hands, neck, and eves, still kneeling oil the mat. Then they rise and dance with the tjondong, forming intricate patterns with six arms and thirty fingers until the musical theme ends. Then the tjondong hands a fan to each of the Iegongs and retires into the background. The orchestra plays a more vigorous melody and the Icgongs dance again, with the open fans fluttering at such a speed that their outline is lost like the wings of a humming-bird flying suspended in space. The two dancers seem the double image of one, much alike are their movements, their necks snap from side to side in such perfect accord, synchronized in double time to the flashes of their eyes. The most absolute discipline controls their sharp, accurate eyes. Each motion follows the last in perfect rhythmic sequence, technical perfection transformed into beauty and style. At times the music becomes playful and delicate; the two girls come together, bringing their faces close to each other and delicately "rubbing noses" (ngaras), following this by a flutter of the shoulders, a thrill of pleasure. This represents a love scene, a kiss, done to a special musical theme (pengipuk) After a pause the orchestra plays the Lasem theme and the actual play begins. The story is based on an episode from the Malat, the Balinese Thousand and One Nights, in which Princess Rangkesari is stolen by the arrogant King Lasem, her despised suitor, while he is waging war against her father. Rangkesari spurns Lasem's advances even after he promises to give up the war if she will yield to him. He threatens to kill her father, but still she will not submit. Enraged, the king goes to carry out his threat, but during the battle that ensues, a blackbird flies in front of him, a bad omen, and Lasem is killed. The dancers enact the various characters of the story that everyone in the audience knows by heart. The acting of the legong is abstract pantomime with such stylized action and economy of gesture that it becomes merely a danced interpretation of .the literary text, which is recited by a story-teller, who chants the episodes and dialogues while the dance is in progress.
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