Contradanyc.com – Ahead of G20 President of the United States (US) Joe Biden arrived in Bali on Sunday (13/11/2022) evening at I Gusti Ngurah Rai International Airport, Badung, Bali. His arrival was also welcomed by the Minister of Tourism and Creative Economy, Sandiaga Uno.
Joe Biden was also welcomed with a Balinese dance, the Pendet Dance. Meanwhile, Sandiaga Uno said that when walking with the speech, the US President also expressed his admiration for the dance.
“I have the honor and duty from the state to welcome President Joe Biden, who landed in Bali tonight at around 21.45 WITA using the Air Force One plane,” said Sandiaga in a written statement received by Contradanyc.com, Monday (11/14/2022) .
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Ahead of G20 As soon as he landed, Biden was immediately greeted by a pendet dance. While walking, the number 1 US person admitted that he was amazed by the welcoming dance.
“He was very impressed and he said amazing, splendid, wonderful. As gratitude, he said thank you to the dancers,” Sandi said.
Pendet dance is one of the oldest welcome dances in Bali. Ahmad Yunus in the P-J Series Encyclopedia of Indonesian Dance explains that pendet is a dance performed for the ancestors called Bhatara and Bhatari. Usually performed in the courtyard of the temple and facing the sacred place where Bhatara and Bhatari reside.
Ahead of G20 And The Pendet dance is performed by women wearing traditional clothes. The dancers carry a bowl full of flowers/canang sari, kanggen, and others. Some of them brought ceremonial tools, such as sangku, silver bowls, jugs, and so on. This Balinese dance is performed en masse, accompanied by gamelan gong, and led by a Pemangku (ceremonial leader) carrying a pasepan (censer) full of burning incense.
“At the end of the dance, the dancers put the tools on the pelinggih. There are also those who sprinkle flowers on the pratima (a symbol of Bhatara and Bhatari) as a tribute,” said Ahmad Yunus.
The History of Pendet Dance
The Pendet dance is the oldest dance from the area of Bali because it has been around since 1950. The Pendet dance is a worship dance that is performed when praying in a temple.
This dance is also shown as a form of welcome for the descent of the god on earth.
Pendet dance is the result of compositions by a dance maestro from Bali named I Wayan Rindi. This figure is a dance artist who has mastery over dance movements which is quite great and the development and spread of this dance is partly due to his services.
The movements of the Pendet dance are taken from the standard movements of the Pendet Dewa dance or the original Pendet dance which are performed for offerings and without losing the value of the dance, namely its religious, sacred and beauty values.
I Wayan and Ni Ketut Reneng succeeded in incorporating elements of the Pendet Dewa dance into the Pendet dance which is still popular today.
As time goes by, the Pendet Dance also has a change in its function because now the Pendet Dance is used as a means of performance and greeting for welcome or welcome dances.
The Pendet dance was also first performed in 1960 when the opening of the Asean Games was opened by President Soekarno.
The Meaning of Pendet Dance
Quoting from the article from the Indonesian Institute of the Arts Denpasar (ISI), Pendet Dance has its source of inspiration from a sacred odalan ritual at the temple which is known as mendet or mendet. Mendet itself etymologically comes from the word sudden or welcome.
The dancers are not always specially prepared and generally performed by all participants and do not see the age range from the old to the young who can do it.
When the gamelan has been sung, those who want to dance sincerely can take turns appearing in the temple’s sacred courtyard, either solo, in pairs, or in bulk. All dances can be performed as an offering which means joy in welcoming the presence of the gods.
The Pendet Dance used in welcoming guests also has a meaning as a sense of joy in welcoming guests who have attended the event.
Therefore, Pendet Dance has two functions, starting from the function as a guardian dance and being displayed in temples during religious and cultural ceremonies. And has a function as a welcome dance that is displayed when welcoming guests.
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