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Dance and Music |
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Written by asiamind
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Monday, 20 October 2008 14:48 |
In the area of dance, culturally, it can be seen through the Joget, which is a traditional dance descended from the Malays, the Chinese would have its own version of the Fan Dance, Lion Dances, the Indians with their traditional dances, and also many other ethnic groups who maintain their own unique dance styles as well. The silat, which is typically a marital arts form, is also a type of performance art because some states have their own version, and is performed during events and festival.
Similarly to most traditions, dances are very much community based here, but a huge influence can be found in around the agricultural events like fishing, hunting, harvesting and planting. In some very traditional scenarios, especially in villages, there are performances during most events like engagements, weddings and even circumcision.
Incorporating dance, comical sketches and music, the Boria is perhaps one of the most recognizable dances in Malaysia apart from the Joget. Said to have come from Persia, the performance include a group of performers that take on various roles including the comedians, the musicians, the chorus and a leader. It usually starts with the comic sketch before singing and dancing follow suit through some solo and choral segments.
Mostly performed by village female in Terengganu, the Balai is a dance performance mostly used in the worship of the paddy spirit otherwise known as the Semangat. The dance evolves demonstrating the paddy farmer’s lives where an umbrella is used as props and put in the middle of the stage. The female dancers will hover around the umbrella that represents the spirit. In between the performance, items like the farmer’s hat, winnowing material and the hoe are used in within the singing and dancing.
Another form of performance is the Dikir Barat. It is actually a modified and secularized zikir. Usually composing of two groups, they go into some sort of ‘debate’ where one group will sing and the other will response. They usually uses a ‘poem’ or in local terms the ‘pantun’ and the Tukang Karut is the one who dictates the lyrics of the performance. Dikir Barat, although is a traditional performance have since been modernized to include other languages like English and Cantonese to be performed for tourists and in shopping malls, often a great attraction due to its highly energetic clapping and singing.
Wearing traditional Malay costumes, the Labi-labi is known as the Turtle Dance. There are typically two different versions of this dance, one from Johor, found around Endau and other from Pahang in Pekan, where the Johorian version is performed by a solo dancer while the latter version uses more than 2 dancers. This highly entertaining dance is performed to demonstrate the limited movements of the turtle and is mostly performed by male.
The Kuda Kepang is another traditional performance originated from Johor. It was formerly a form of totemic worship which was believed to have some relations to spiritual possession. Traditionally the dancers are believed to have gone into some sort of trance up until the conversion to Islam, which rebukes such beliefs. Typically, Kuda Kepang is performed to tell the tale of nine Muslim evangelists who rode on horseback and their battle stories and how it was won for the Islamic cause. Today, it is performed by nine dancers who are ‘riding’ horses made from hide or pleated rattan. They basically re-enact the battle for Islam and is in synch to demonstrate great vigor and gestures. The performance normally is played with accompanying musical instruments like gongs, tambourines and angklungs.
Apart from the traditional performances, the more contemporary artists would usually put on display their art works either in painting or sculpture form in around the various galleries. The National Art Gallery in Kuala Lumpur is mandated by the government to help build this industry, holding exhibitions, performances, exchange programs and other art related festivals.
The country has its own local film industry that produces about 20 films each year in within hundreds of made for TV programmes. Although not as dynamic as neighbouring countries like Singapore and region neighbours like Hong Kong, Taiwan and Japan, local film makers are beginning to ride the tidal entertainment wave that is beginning to gain recognition in the international film scene.
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