The Bedhaya Court Dances of Central Java

Erscheinungsjahr 1992
ISBN: 978-90-04-09424-6
Verlag: Brill

Buch, Englisch, 368 Seiten, Format (B × H): 163 mm x 240 mm, Gewicht: 798 g

The ritual bedhaya dances of the Central Javanese courts form a highly valued expression of Javanese culture. These stately dance forms, comprising complex choreographies executed to the accompaniment of archaic songs and gamelan music, are part of the cultural tradition of the Mataram dynasty. They have been preserved in the two main court centres of Central Java: Surakarta and Yogyakarta.
The contents of the book range from a relatively general introduction to a detailed analysis of structural, formal features of the dances. Included are theories on the origin, social context and esoteric meaning, as well as 19th and 20th century scores of performances.
The two main components of the art form, choral singing and group dancing, have each been discussed in a separate chapter. A number of song texts and choreographies, transcribed from palace manuscripts, are published for the first time. These songs represent an archaic singing style, which holds important information on the development of Javanese vocal and instrumental music.
An analysis of bedhaya choreographies which are seldom performed nowadays may serve to prevent the impending disappearance of this beautiful and stylized art form. The choreographic discussion has been visualized on a 60 minute video-tape, produced from research material which was filmed between 1983-1985. This video-tape may be ordered from the author.

Autoren/Hrsg.

Brakel-Papenhuijzen, Clara

Fachgebiete

• Geisteswissenschaften Musikwissenschaft Musikgattungen Volksmusik
• Interdisziplinäres Wissenschaften Wissenschaft und Gesellschaft | Kulturwissenschaften Kulturwissenschaften
• Geisteswissenschaften Theater- und Filmwissenschaft | Andere Darstellende Künste Tanz

Über Autor(innen)

Clara Brakel-Papenhuyzen, Ph.D. (1988), Leiden University, is Researcher with the Indonesian Linguistics Development Project for a project on relationships between dance and language in Java at the University of Leiden. Her publications include numerous articles on the subject of Javanese performing arts.