Kecak Fire Dance in Uluwatu, Bali

The Kecak Dance performance takes place everyday in area near Uluwatu temple in Bali. The place is usually packed with visitors who want to watch the dance. This dance is very popular nowadays that it is performed twice a day , at 6 PM and 7PM for the second show.

I was lucky enough to get my clients to watch the first show. Even at 5.30 PM the amphiteathre was full of people. These people came from different countries, but this time it was mostly Indonesian and Indian travelers.

The dance has no music, instead, a group of dancers imitated the sound of Balinese music (like a choir). The length of the show is about an hour and it depicts the story of Ramayana. The Ramayana is an epic tale from India which was popular in some Asian countries like Indonesia especially Bali.

In the story, one of the leading character, Hanuman or the monkey god, went to Alengka to bring a message from Rama to Sita (Rama's wife who was kidnapped by an evil King, Rahwana). Hanuman was successfully delivered the message, but then captured by Alengka armies.

Hanuman let himself caught and tied. Even then, he let himself burnt. He managed to escape from Alenka while causing a lot of damages in Rahwana's castle.

The part when Hanuman escaped and caused fire was the most interesting part. The dancer who acted as Hanoman ran around the stage kicking fire every where. But he carefully kicked the fire so as not hit the spectators. The rest of the dancers were scattered evading the fire. Later they swept the remain and the ashes, and the story continued.

The story was ended by the fight between Rama versus Rahwana. With the help of Hanuman, Rama defeated Rahwana. Sita was then saved and brought back to her home.