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CRUISES•GETAWAYS•CULTURE•VACATIONS
BUCKET List
Studying
Dance in Bali
BY KAtIE BOtKIN
In the cold of winter, when the days
become short and the snow piles up on the
curbs, I find myself wanting to be barefoot
somewhere warm. The darkness of 4 pm
inspires me to dream of sunnier places
where fragrant flowers litter the sidewalks.
Last winter, I followed my instinct and
checked a bucket item off my list in the
process. I flew to Bali, Indonesia, and settled
down in Ubud for ten days to take Balinese
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and convey emotion—sometimes many
Traditional Balinese dances tell stories
emotions in quick succession. Our teacher
showed us how to sweep the hands and
feet while we flicked our eyes to the side,
and then intensely gazed forward. That
really got the audience’s attention, even
if the audience was just us in the mirror.
Walking in a certain way and tossing
imaginary flowers into the air was a sign
of welcome.
A few hundred feet from the dance
classes, the Yoga Barn hosts a bi-weekly
ecstatic dance that is so popular, you have
to wait about two hours in line ahead of time
to get your place. The waiting, however,
becomes part of the experience. Participants
hang out on the wooden deck, chatting.
Some make space to do acro yoga—partner
yoga with acrobatic moves—as they wait in
line. At each event, there are 150 tickets for
those who are patient enough.
© WitthayaP, Bigstock.com. Ecstatic dance is a practice shaped by
the dancer. There are no specific rules
dance and participate in one of the world’s of movement. Maintaining proper tech-
most popular ecstatic dance events. nique—or even any technique —is not
Ubud is a mecca for yogis and dance part of the equation. At the bi-weekly
enthusiasts and draws people from all over Yoga Barn event, the MC reminded us that
the world who study, meditate, and talk dancing well was not the point. Forget
together. The destination became especially how good you look, he said. The point is
well-known after it was featured in the film to express what you’re feeling.
Eat, Pray, Love starring Julia Roberts. Music curated by the DJ swept across
The Yoga Barn, the largest studio com- the floor, slower at first and then build-
plex in the Ubud area, hosts Balinese ing intensity. Dancers stretched gently,
dance classes. I walked over from my jumped around, shimmied. They rolled
homestay with a local family to learn like centipedes, reared like cats, stretched
traditional hand positions, foot positions, their arms as if to grow wings. A few tried
and short choreographies from a profes- incorporating Balinese dance.
sional Balinese dancer. The heat of Bali swept through the
I’d taken various dance forms space, open on all sides and protected
throughout my life, but several things from rain by an intricate handcrafted roof.
set Balinese dance apart from other With the myriad of dance styles on display,
styles I’d learned. The dance required it was fun to guess what had influenced
holding your arms, hands, feet, legs and people’s moves.
body at precise and exaggerated angles. I spotted one woman dancing in a par-
Eye movement and facial expressions ticularly recognizable way and asked if
were codified along with hand gestures she’d taken Rachel Brice’s Eight Elements
and larger body movements. curriculum—a course I had also happened
to take, thousands
of miles away in
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• Fresh Baked Cookies I took the experi-
• Extended Continental ences of ecstatic and
Balinese dance back
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where there is also
an ecstatic dance
community. It may
be less frenzied, but
the upside is, you
don’t have to wait
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