Kupu Kupu Tarum Dance - A Peaceful Butterfly Dance Of Bali

Kupu-Kupu Tarum is a beautiful Balinese traditional dance, featuring a group of butterflies playfully, flying around while flapping its wings. This dance is the art work of the dance artists I Wayan Beratha, which was created in the 1960s.

This is derived from the word "kupu-kupu" means butterfly, while "tarum" means indigo. Indigo gets its name from a plant called "indigo", usually used for dyeing cloth. Indigo is a deep color and associated with service to humanity, integrity, deep sincerity, peace and spiritual wisdom. This dance is about reflection of peace and tranquility.

The dance is performed by a group of female dancers, consisting of five dancers or more. This dance has a soft, agile and dynamic movement. This is a Balih-balihan dance, which is purposely to entertain or enliven an event. This dance is performed during the temple ceremony for entertainment and also performed in traditional dance competitions.

First dancers entered the stage in pairs, and then followed by other dancers, joined in the formation and then they danced together. Dancers move in circles, spin, jump sideways and sit on their knees while dancing and playing their wings.

Each dancer holds, and flapping an artistic wings in their hands resembles butterflies. This dance is accompanied by traditional Balinese gamelan, Gong Kebyar. The sweet sound of gamelans and the soft melody of bamboo flutes create a peaceful and graceful impression.

The dancers wear beautiful costumes with a harmonious blend of colors. At the top, the dancer wears a special headdress made of carved leather with gold-painted, complete with beautiful antennas, resembling the butterfly antennas.

The hair section is arranged in such a way, equipped with imitation hair, and decorated with flowers, such as: gonjer flowers, semanggi (gold gilded clovers) and fresh flowers. A beautiful pair of "subeng" adorns the ear.

In the middle, the dancer wearing a long belt ("sabuk prada") with golden patterns, covering the waist to the chest and the tip is attached together with pins. Furthermore, this part is completed with a chest cap ("tutup dada") with dark colors, a "badong" on the neck, bracelets ("gelang kana") on the arm, a pair of fine shawls and "ampok-ampok" at the waist.

While at the bottom, dark green fabric with a golden motif covers from the waist to the ankle. Dancers hold dance property, a pair of wings that resemble butterfly wings, designed in such a way and painted in beautiful colors. This is a work of art that fascinates and amazes anyone who watches it.

Reference

1. google.co.id
2. wikipedia.org _ Balinese Dance _ on July 22, 2019
   https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Balinese_dance
3. Image : Original Collection

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