20 — 23.05
Mang Tri Ray Dewantara Ubud
Dancing with Marya
dance / lecture performance
| Bahasa Indonesia → FR, NL, EN | ⧖ ±40min | €14 / €11 | Limited capacity
Kebyar Duduk is a Balinese dance known for the seated and half-seated positions of the performer, who also carries a fan. I Ketut Marya (known in the West as I Mario) developed the style 100 years ago through improvisation and interpretative expressions, responding to innovations in gamelan music with faster tempos while blending the masculine and feminine styles of the Balinese Gandrung dance. In the 1930s, his performances were documented by Western anthropologists, including Walter Spies and Beryl de Zoete in the book Dance and Drama in Bali. While this helped preserve the art form, it led to a rigidly codified choreography that contrasted with the original fluidity.
Young Balinese choreographer Mang Tri revisits Marya's archives through innovative re-staging. Dancing with Marya begins as a lecture and gradually transforms as Mang Tri brings the choreography to life, aligning his movements with colonial-period footage of Marya, dancing across eras, gazes, and genders. He explores how Kebyar Duduk has been not only shaped by Western perspectives but also constrained by a tourism industry that values static authenticity over evolution. Mang Tri's sensitive engagement with the archives reopens the possibility of this crystallised dance to finally dance again.
20.05
- 18:00
21.05
- 18:00
- + aftertalk
22.05
- 18:00
- 20:30
23.05
- 18:00
- 20:30
Presentation: Kunstenfestivaldesarts, Beursschouwburg
Choreographer, dancer and writer: Mang Tri Ray Dewantara | Dramaturg and writer: Wayan Sumahardika | Producer and writer: Agus Wiratama | Audio and visual designer: Manik Sukadana | Production manager: Puji Widiani
Production: Mulawali Institute, Mang Tri Ray Dewantara | Coproduction and presenting partners: Indonesian Dance Festival, Tainan Arts Festival
With the support of Langsai Tititan Nusantara and B-PART (Bali Performing Arts Meeting)
