What makes it authentic?

The interplay between sacred and profane performance is part of the dynamic repertoire of Balinese performance culture, which, from the early 1920s until the present, has evolved in relation to the international tourist economy.

--from the liner notes of the DVD Legong: Dance of the Virgins by Peter J. Bloom and Katherine J. Hagedorn
(full text available at http://www.gsj.org/docs/bloom_hagedorn_legongDVD.pdf)

As we begin thinking about performing arts programming for the Bali exhibition coming to the Asian Art Museum in Summer 2010, we will have many questions about how best to present Balinese music and dance in the secular space of the art museum. (Incidentally, I realize many museum goers report having spiritual experiences in the galleries and at programs, and much of the art housed in the Asian Art Museum is sacred, so for some people it may feel like a sacred space, even though in legal terms the museum is a secular institution.)

While we don't want any programs to come off as proselytizing one faith over another, we do want to strive for authenticity--itself a loaded concept. Most traditional Balinese performing arts were, and many still are, carried out in a sacred context, often on the temple grounds, sometimes involving a trance state for the dancers. Many are accompanied by elaborate rituals before, during and after a performance to ensure that the ever present polars of good and evil remain in balance, and that none of the dancers is harmed or overtaken by the bad spirits. As I understand it, these sacred rituals represent a synthesis of Balinese Hinduism and pre-Hindu animist practices.

The reality in present-day Bali, and indeed since travelers from the West first started seeking out an ideal of paradise there in the early 1900s, is that Balinese dance, in particular, has been streamlined for a shorter attention spans, and adapted to serve as exotic entertainment, not just for Western tourists anymore, but for people from all over the world. No one blames the Balinese for wanting to delight their many visitors, and for seeing a business opportunity, especially in the 1930s when a lot of folks were very poor. Today, tourism is still Bali's greatest economic engine. It is impossible to think these visitors and returning Balinese ex-pats are not continuing to shape the arts in Bali today. I don't mean to sound overly nostalgic or negative about these changes. It is my feeling that no culture should stagnate or stay impervious to the outside world. It just makes my job as an educator a lot more challenging and interesting.

How can the museum represent "authentic" Balinese performance, or for that matter, even know for sure what that is? These are the questions I hope to come closer to having answers to this time next year. How will I tackle these questions? Reading, seeing lots of Balinese performance with my own eyes, here, in Bali, and even on YouTube, and talking to lots of people who know more than I do. (If you know of someone I should talk to, please comment to this post).

Image "Follow Me," taken Oct. 30, 2004 showing "Young Balinese girls in Ubud were practising for the night performance. " courtesy of Riza Nugraha.
License information at http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/deed.en