The Kecak and Cultural Tourism on Bali

Book excerpt: "The Kecak is one of the most well-known dramatic dance performance practices on Bali. It is based on stories from the Old-Indian epic Ramayana, performed by an ensemble of male and female solo dancers and accompanied by a group consisting of approximately 100 men, who function both as musical accompaniment and living scenery that can be flexibly choreographed. Since its genesis in the 1930s the Kecak has been almost solely performed in a tourist context. This book gives a thorough analysis and description of the Kecak in its present form and explores how the Kecak became and stayed a tourist genre for more than 80 years. The book is divided into two parts. The first part focuses on the Kecak in its present form, including musical, choreographic, and dramatic elements. The connection between cultural tourism on Bali and Kecak performance practice is analyzed in detail, including the dependency between tourism professionals and artists and ways of promoting the kecak. Tourists' perspectives on the Kecak are addressed separately. The second part deals with the genesis and development of the Kecak from the 1930s onward"--