Something that we looked at in class that was incredible to me was the Kecak men’s choruses that acted out scenes with their bodies. The passion with which they performed their acts was so intense and beautiful to me. With a little research, I read on a popular travel site about a nightly performance of a Fire Dance at the Uluwatu temple in Bali, Indonesia. The performance has an incredibly intricate plot about a woman stolen from her husband by a demon, and is open to the public. There is a moment when a monkey king sets fire to a “castle”, hence, the name “Fire Dance”. I was fortunate enough to find a video of the whole performance, and I have attached it below. Enjoy!
Indonesian culture fascinates me in general. I find the detail they put into almost every aspect of life beautiful, and that, of course, extends to their fashion and traditional dress. I visited a cultural website that detailed the traditional dress of Indonesian cultures. I found that in some cultures, traditional dress is reserved for royals and upper class families, but in others, traditional dress has been adapted for everyday use. One traditional type of clothing I learned about was the batik. The batik is a traditional cloth made using dyeing techniques, and looks different based on where it was made. Traditionally, the cloth was tied around the hips, but nowadays, it can be made into shirts, accessories, and more!
Our talks in class inspired me to discover and talk about how cultural ideals span across many art forms and areas of life. Just as the Chinese have very specific ideas of what they find beautiful in music, they have specific ideas of what they find beautiful physically as well. As a person who finds makeup art to be an intricate and beautiful art if done well and has worked on skills in that area, I love finding different kinds of beauty trends from around the world. I’ve seen many “viral” makeup videos of Asian beauty trends, and found them all fascinating. The use of prosthetics and “transformation products” is a daily routine for some young women in China and Korea, and the “transformations” can be incredible and leave people looking unrecognizable. I attached one of the most viewed videos of a “transformation” below. Chinese beauty in physical appearance and beauty in music can be related, if one delves deeper. For example, the want of full lips can be translated to the want of a “fuller” sound in ensembles (with many kinds of instruments that all work together with heterophony).
Nerys' Blog on Music of Diverse Cultures 
I really enjoyed your blog and how you took what we talked about in class and applied it to other aspects of these cultures. I thought it was interesting how you mentioned the attention to detail of the Indonesian culture and you can really see that in the picture of the purse you posted. I was also intrigued by the makeup video and how certain styles are considered beautiful in Chinese culture. Thanks for sharing!
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I enjoyed reading your blog! I thought the video of the “Fire Dance” was very interesting. I also liked the transformation video, and I liked how you tied it back into music.
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The story behind the “Fire Dance” was so cool, and the dance itself did not disappoint! The fire looked very impressive! Also the video of the make-up transformation just amazed me, maybe I should incorporate some of those techniques into my own make-up routine.
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I really want to look into the history of the kecak, as it is probably one of the coolest musical performances I’ve ever seen. I also did not know batik fabric originated in Indonesia… My only (unconfirmed) knowledge of this clothing is that the pattern of the fabric is seen on both sides of the cloth, rather than on one side. A lot of designs on American shirts only appear on the side that’s visible to the public, whereas the inside of the shirt is just the background color. I also loved that you looked at a unique aspect of Chinese culture, makeup, and how it corresponds to their societal (and even musical) values!
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Oh I love that you looked into the dress! I think its so interesting how the traditional dress and class differentiation can impact things. The Chinese Opera costumes are used for several decades as they are passed down due to cost!
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I found the fire dance very interesting. I’ve never seen anything like that before especially in America. I loved watching the transformation video I think make up stuff like that is so cool. I’ve never seen a transformation like that though she looked like a totally different person!
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I loved learning about the kecak dancing, it was very intriguing! I also liked how you added the transformation aspect of the Chinese culture. It surprised me but made sense when you said fuller lips could be taken as fuller sound as well.
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I think it is so interesting how the Chinese have different ideas on what beauty is. As we have Chinese students on campus I have heard them voice their opinions on beauty before and it is very intriguing!
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Talk about wow! I knew that Asian culture is somewhat notorious for their extreme beauty “transformation,” but I didn’t know that it could be translated into also what they are looking for in music. It still absolutely blows my mind that these girls feel the need to literally tape their faces and lighten their skin in order to feel beautiful in their society. It’s very twisted but also very fascinating. Thanks for sharing!
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I know I’m going in probably the wrong order here, but I’ve seen that transformation video before and it just fascinates me every time! I feel like no matter how many times I run across it, I’m bound to click play because it’s just so wild. It’s sad that some people feel the need to do that, but also from her smiles in her “pre” face she looks like she accepts herself just the way she is, and I really hope that’s the case! No matter what, she’s undeniably an incredibly talented woman. And in terms of the other stuff you posted: that video of the kecak dance is super cool, and I agree, the intricacy in Indonesian culture can be astounding! Wonder how much that bag is…
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I’ll admit–I find the makeup video a bit unnerving. I’m sure that that comes from the many years I’ve taught here at the women’s college. While I’ve seen many young women who are secure in themselves and do see make up as an art or a hobby or just something fun, I’ve also seen my fair share of young women who use it as a means of disguising themselves, because they’re afraid that if society sees their un-made-up face they won’t be accepted. I hope the young woman in the video falls into the former category! (And, now that I think about it, she probably does–otherwise she wouldn’t have made the video to start with.)
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